Murray, Hewitt turn up heat as US Open sweats

Defending champion Andy Murray and 2001 winner Lleyton Hewitt made light of the heavy, humid New York conditions to breeze into the US Open last 16.
Third-seeded Murray, who ended his country's 76-year wait for a Grand Slam men's champion when he won his maiden major title in New York last year, eased past Germany's world number 49 Florian Mayer, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2, 6-2. His win was built on an impressive 42 winners and seven aces.
"I think I need to start my matches quicker than I have been doing. I am not that fast out of the blocks," said the 26-year-old. "But once I got going I was striking the ball cleanly."

Murray, the reigning Olympic and Wimbledon champion, will next face Uzbekistan's world number 65 Denis Istomin, who put out Italian 20th seed Andreas Seppi, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 3-6, 6-1.
Istomin will be playing in the last 16 in New York for the first time after ending Seppi's perfect streak of seven five-set wins in 2013. Two of those came against him at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Murray defeated Istomin in their only match in the quarter-finals at Brisbane in January this year.

Meanwhile, Hewitt reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the 30th time with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 win over Russia's Evgeny Donskoy.

The former world number one and 2001 champion, who knocked out sixth seed and 2009 winner Juan Martin Del Potro in the second round, last reached the fourth round in New York in 2006, when he went on to the quarter-finals.
"It's always great to come back to New York where it all started for me -- I won the doubles in 2000 and singles in 2001. I have played some of my best tennis here," said Hewitt, who claimed victory on a third match point.
"I think the crowd supports me because my personality is the joy of coming out to play. I feel pretty good. I have had three tough matches where I have had to keep bouncing back all the time.