The 36-year-old, champion at Flushing Meadows in 2012, was forced to withdraw from this year’s warm-up tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati after suffering an abdominal strain.
But he put any doubts behind him as he became the eighth man to register 200 Grand Slam victories in the Open era with an entertaining 6-2 7-5 6-3 victory over France’s Corentin Moutet on Grandstand Court.
He’s one of the most skilful players on the tour, with so many ways to disrupt you, and he always causes a little bit of chaos,” said Murray of Moutet.
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“I hope it was entertaining, there were some fun points, so I’m happy to get through in straight sets.
Murray has joined an illustrious list by reaching 200 Grand Slam wins, headed by his three main career rivals in Roger Federer (369), Novak Djokovic (355) and Rafael Nadal (314).
That trio are more than 80 wins clear of anyone else, with Jimmy Connors in fourth (233), ahead of Andre Agassi (224) and Murray’s coach Ivan Lendl (222).
The Scot is just three wins behind Pete Sampras (203) in seventh and will move above the 14-time major champion with a run to the quarter-finals at the US Open