But the sixth seed -- who had won just one clay-court match this year prior to facing Cirstea -- suddenly found her form in devastating fashion, winning 11 of the next 12 games to run out a comfortable 6-3 6-1 winner.
Gulbis did well to hang in for most of the third set as the boisterous New York crowd willed him to make a fight of it, but Murray finally made the breakthrough in game 11 with a fantastic cross-court backhand winner and he served out for a comfortable victory.