NEW YORK - SCOT Andy Murray overcame a second set stumble to hold on and beat Michael Llodra 6-4, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (9/7) in the second round of the US$20.6 million (S$29.2 million) US Open on Thursday.

This was the second career meeting between the two as Murray needed a tiebreaker in the fourth set of the two hour, 33-minute match to take his second straight victory over Llodra.

'I am very happy with the match,' Murray said. 'I didn't feel like I made many mistakes from the baseline.' The 21-year-old Murray, of Dunblane, clinched the victory on his second match point after Llodra committed a pair of crucial back-to-back errors with the tiebreaker on the line.

Serving for the set late in the tiebreaker, Llodra hit an routine short drop shot into the net, setting up match point for Murray. He also placed another shot into the net on the previous point at the National Tennis Center's Grandstand Stadium.

The 28-year-old Llodra, of Suresnes, finished with four double faults and had more than three times the number of unforced errors as Murray (46-13).

The sixth-seeded Murray moves through to the third round where he will play Jurgen Melzner of Austria, who beat Czech Jiri Vanek 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday.

Murray fired 12 aces and converted four of six break point opportunities as he tries to improve on his previous US Open best performance - a fourth round finish in 2006.

Murray was upset with the number of missed calls by one of the line judges.

He said that after both he and Llodra complained, the official was moved to a less prominent position.

'When calls are like that in one of the biggest tournaments in the world it is not nice,' Murray said. 'I didn't let it linger too long though. I was able to come back from all the difficult situations he put me in.'

Both Murray and Llodra came into the US Open with multi hardcourts wins to their credit this year and rankings that reflected the career seasons they were having.

'He is always tough and being a lefty makes him even more difficult to play,' Murray said of Llodra. 'He will give anyone a tough match. I would say he is one of the top two or three players at the net right now.'

Murray, who is ranked sixth in the world, won earlier this year in Dubai, Marseille and Cincinnati. He also made the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

Two of the 38th ranked Llodra's three career titles came in 2008 in Adelaide and Rotterdam.

Murray reached the third round of the US Open last season, but had just recently returned from a wrist injury. -- AFP