World number two Andy Murray has admitted that he felt "nervous" ahead of his second-round win over Mikhail Youzhny in the Cincinnati Open.
Murray had received a bye in the opening round, meaning that he had not played a singles match since losing to Ernests Gulbis six days earlier.
With less than two weeks to go until he begins the defence of his US Open title at Flushing Meadows, the Scot says that a victory was vital to enable him to get a few more hard court matches under his belt.
"It was an important match for me to get through because obviously I want to try and get as many matches as possible this week before the US Open," he told Sky Sports News.
"I only got a couple last week so I was a little bit nervous before the start of the match because it was pretty important.
"I didn't make too many mistakes, I just tried to play a solid match and tried to find a way to win and hopefully feel better tomorrow."
Murray, who beat Youzhny 6-2 6-3 will now face Julien Benneteau in round three.
He has beaten the Frenchman in all three of their meetings to date.
Robert Summerscales
