Murray in a hurry to reach quarters

After almost two full days of waiting, as rain dogged the tournament, Murray resumed yesterday trailing 2-1 in the opening set against Young.

However, he dominated the match to win 6-2, 6-3, 6-3, giving him some time to recover for a quarter-final today against American John Isner, who saw off 12th seed Gilles Simon from France 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4).

Murray said: “I’m very happy because it’s getting very warm now. It’s tough conditions.

“After the last couple of days it’s good to get off in straight sets, get some rest, because it’s going to be a long few days.”

Murray is bracing himself to play every day – weather-permitting – if he is to win his first Grand Slam. The forecast for New York is not good, though, and the tournament could run into a third week.

Murray was not at his best against Young, with his serve letting him down badly on occasion, but did not need to be to beat the former teenage prodigy.

“I could have made it easier for myself if I’d served better so I’ll go and hit some serves this afternoon,” Murray said.

Of his opponent in the quarter-final, he said: “Against John it can come down to a few points if he’s serving great.”

The Scot will need to improve his serve substantially if he is to go further, but a quick victory was just what the circumstances required.

Young had provided one of the stories of the tournament, the teenage sensation written off as a flop who looks like he has finally started to fulfil his potential at the age of 22. But all the delays seemed likely to play into the hands of the more experienced player and Murray duly won the first seven points before breaking for 3-2 when Young served a double fault.

Murray upped the pace with two brilliant backhands in the seventh game and secured another break when Young fired wide before polishing off the set.

The momentum stayed with him at the start of the second set, with Murray claiming his third successive break. Young finally stopped the rot at seven games in a row but it was now a huge task for the wild card.

However, buoyed by winning a game and a sudden drop in intensity from his opponent, the 22-year-old brought up three break points.

Murray saved the first but on the second opted for an ill-advised challenge on a line call and lost the point and the game when the replay showed Young’s shot was well in.

The Scot was let off the hook when, from 30-0, Young played four poor shots to hand the break back, only for Murray to serve a double fault on break point and square the set again at 3-3. Incredibly, a fourth consecutive break followed, and then Murray managed to hold.

Young, though, was still struggling, his tally of unforced errors at a prohibitive 35, and a double fault on set point handed it to the Scot.

Murray played a superb running forehand to help him hold serve in the opening game of the third set. He broke through again in the fourth game when the American netted a simple volley but a backhand into the net from the world No 4 continued the topsy-turvy nature of the clash.

Murray broke again in the eighth game as he moved to the brink of victory, which he completed with an ace.

Meanwhile, Andy Roddick and fifth seed David Ferrer were sent out to Court 13 to complete their fourth-round US Open match after bizarre scenes on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The players had resumed their clash with Roddick leading 3-1, but had only completed two games when, water began to seep through a small crack in the court behind the baseline.

The frustrated players were taken off as staff worked on fixing the problem. Towels, tape and a vacuuming device were all tried, with even tournament referee Brian Earley helping out.

After more than an hour’s delay, the players were called back on court but Roddick was clearly unimpressed, telling Earley he was “baffled” why they were out there when water was still coming through.

Court 13, with no provision for line-call challenges, was then offered as the only available option. Roddick had not played a match outside Arthur Ashe Stadium since winning the tournament in 2003 but he did not hesitate, leading the way with a horde of spectators in pursuit.

Roddick’s pent-up frustration seemed to help him as he then secured an impressive victory 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.