IT has often been said that if tennis had an indoor grand slam event, then Andy Murray would have won a few more titles.

But as the Arthur Ashe Stadium Court transforms into a more intimate arena thanks to the roof that will be completed next year, the Scot’s chances of a third grand slam title may not be quite as good as before.

In terms of form, he has probably never been better but it’s the changing conditions created by the half-built roof – far less wind – that could count against him.

Murray is an excellent indoor player but his ability to cope, mentally and technically, with windy conditions means that when it blows, he feels he has an advantage.

When he beat Novak Djokovic to win the US Open for his first grand slam title in 2012, Murray coped far better than the Serb with the gusty conditions.

And at Wimbledon the same year he was on top in the final against Roger Federer until the roof was closed because of rain.

“I quite like windy conditions,” said Murray, after his hard-fought but impressive four-set win over Nick Kyrgios of Australia in round one on Tuesday night.

“I think windy conditions unsettle everybody. It’s not comfortable to play in, so I think the level of tennis that will be played there this year will probably be better than usual because of that.

“I don’t mind the wind. It’s a challenge. It’s a skill to be able to use it in your favour. Mentally it can also be a challenge to not get too frustrated because it’s easy to mishit balls in the wind and obviously we’re not used to mishitting balls.

“Sometimes you mishit a couple and guys think: ‘Oh my God, my timing’s off.’ It can be mentally pretty challenging as well when it’s windy.”

Murray, who takes on France’s Adrian Mannarino in the second round today, will not play every match on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

But given that he has had difficulty at times in the past on the second court, Louis Armstrong Stadium, the United States Tennis Association could well be conspiring against him, albeit unintentionally.

“It’s pretty different,” Murray said of the roof, which will be in place and in use from 2016.

“I played on it during the day, when it’s empty and you can still hear yourself making contact with the ball. (At night), with all the people in there it did feel very different.

“You couldn’t really hear yourself making contact with the ball. There was just a constant kind of buzz in there. There’s always been a buzz, but I think with the roof, it kind of accentuates it a little bit more. It’s definitely different to usual.”

Murray, therefore, will have to trust his tennis is better than that of everyone else he meets on route to what he hopes will be another final here.

The spectre of Roger Federer, seeded to be his semi-final opponent, may begin to loom large soon but first he has to deal with Mannarino, ranked 35.

Against Kyrgios, who hits the ball as hard as anyone out there, he spent most of the time defending; against Mannarino, it will be a totally different match-up.

“It was hard for me to kind of go out there and be like really aggressive or play the way I wanted to,” he said of the Kyrgios match.

“He's a very powerful guy. He goes for unpredictable shots. You don't know exactly what to expect each point. A lot of the time I felt like I was just reacting and ended up having to do quite a bit of defending and running because of that.

“But against him, you're going to have to play that way at times. Hopefully in the next round, I'll have a little bit more time, be a little bit more comfortable out on the court, be able to play a little bit different.”

The left-hander has a languid style and Murray dealt with him pretty easily in their only previous meeting, in Indian Wells earlier this year.

But no one is being taken lightly and Murray expects a decent test.

“Mannarino has very little racket-head speed on either of his shots but he has phenomenal timing and that’s where he generates his power,” Murray said.

“He's a tricky player. He's a lefty. He hits the ball extremely flat off both sides. Very short, compact swings. Excellent timing. He's quick. Good athlete. Very good hands. Talented guy. He's had some good results this year. It will be a tough match, for sure.”