Murray’s victory also marked the first time since 2016 that he had reached the third round at Flushing Meadows, where he won his maiden Grand Slam title a decade ago.
“Physically this is the best I’ve felt in years… I’m getting closer to where I want to be. Hopefully I can have a deep run here,” Murray said in an on-court interview. Murray struggled with his first serve but is always happy to graft in Grand Slams, and broke the inexperienced Nava twice in the second set to level the match after the American made several unforced errors.
With Nava on the ropes, Murray was ruthless with two early breaks to go 4-0 up. Nava nearly got on the board in the fifth game but Murray stood firm to break again before serving out the set.