Fourth seed Andy Murray, 4/1 to win the title with bookmaker, made a winning start at the US Open by defeating Somdev Devvarman in straight sets.
Murray is still searching for an elusive first Grand Slam title and admitted that he had started slowly against his Indian opponent before beginning to hit top form.
He said: “I was a little bit nervous at the start and made some bad decisions. Then once I calmed down, I felt better the middle of the first set and started hitting the ball a little bit better.
“The second and third sets were good. I was hitting the ball pretty cleanly.”
Next up for Murray is Dutchman Robin Haase, who reached round two thanks to a 6-0 6-4 6-4 thrashing of Portuguese Rui Machado.
The two men have met on only one previous occasion, with Haase winning 7-5 6-3 on home soil in Rotterdam back in 2008, but Murray is 1/16 to triumph three years later.