FOR once at Flushing Meadows, Andy Murray finds himself ahead of the curve.

The Scotsman stole a march on the remainder of the field when he destroyed Croatia's Ivan Dodig in straight sets in the early hours of yesterday morning to become the first man through to the third round of the US Open. It was an emphatic performance for the loss of just six games and gives him two full days to himself while the rest of the men's draw catches up, ahead of his return to action against Spain's Feliciano Lopez, which is scheduled – albeit at the mercy of US television network CBS – for Saturday evening UK time.

This state of affairs is quite something, considering this time last year he had only just completed his first-round match.

Rain then intervened, causing Murray and Rafael Nadal to lead a delegation on behalf of the players to the United States Tennis Association in an attempt to ease the logjam. Throw in the Olympics, where the Scot had to play back-to-back for days before winning the gold medal, and the 25-year-old might not know exactly what to do with himself during his down time.

"I don't think it has ever happened," Murray said. "I have never played my matches here Monday, Wednesday. The first year I played I definitely didn't and the last few years it has not been like that. It's nice to be in that position because I have had some tough schedules here. I was happy to play on Monday and it has worked out well."

The Scot doubts it has anything to with the fact that he arrives in New York as Olympic champion, but with the weather seemingly set fair, the Murray schedule – which may run Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday – has a reasonably smooth look to it. Although there is no resolution yet to the ongoing discussions between tour players and tournament organisers with a view to ending the convention whereby the semi-finals and final are played back to back, the world No.4 was content with the way the rain delay prior to his first-round match with Alex Bogomolov Jnr was handled, and hopes lessons have been learned from 12 months ago.

"The players were disappointed [last year]," the Scot said. "It was raining and we were hanging around all day, then when we were going on the court, it was still wet and whatnot. All we were asking for was to be kept informed.

"It can be hard when you have to wait around for six hours not knowing when you're going to go on. But when it rained the other day, we were very informed about when we were going to go on, and what they were expecting with the weather. There are ongoing discussions about the semis and finals. This is the only slam where the second rounds are split up differently and they are things the players are trying to change."

The downside of the Scot's schedule is that he will almost certainly be pitched back into action against his Spanish opponent in the humidity that can oppress New York at this time of year. Consequently, he will practise in the afternoon heat on both of his rest days, and will hope to hydrate his body better than he managed when enduring those first-round cramps against Bogomolov.

Any doubts over Murray's form during his first-round encounter were dispelled during his 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Dodig, played out in prime time for the US networks, and a match which was watched by an unfamiliar face from the players' box, Ivan Lendl's daughter Marika.

"They live in Connecticut. It is a couple of hours' drive so she'll come for a few of the matches," the Scot said.

Against Lopez – the 30-year-old Spaniard having come through a marathon five-set encounter against his countryman Pablo Andujar out on Court No.7 – Murray has won all six of their previous meetings. Two of those meetings came in grand slams, both last year, here and at Wimbledon, and Lopez, one of the few Spaniards who likes to serve and volley, should suit the Scot's strengths.

"I've always played well against him," Murray said. "I have had good success against him in the past. But because of his style he can make it very tricky if he plays well."

While the Dunblane player's path continues, his brother Jamie is packing his bags after the 26-year-old and his doubles partner Andre Sa of Brazil were beaten in the men's doubles competition. They went down 6-2, 6-2 to No.15 seeds Alexander Peya of Austria and Bruno Soares, also of Brazil, on Court No 12.

Scot Colin Fleming maintained his 100% record at this tournament when he and his partner Sania Mirza of India recorded a 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) victory in the mixed doubles against Germany's Andrea Petkovic and Eric Butorac of the USA.

"It was a very, very high standard," Mirza said. "Because we were playing together for the first time it took some time to adjust but he is a doubles specialist and a very good player, so that really helped."