FLUSHING MEADOWS YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

Murray makes his Grand Slam return and admits he has no real chance of winning in New York

ANDY MURRAY admits he cannot mount a serious US Open challenge.

But the British former world No.1 is convinced he can get back to a level where he is competing for Major titles again as he looks to put his injury hell behind him.

Murray will return to Grand Slam action for the first time in 14 months when he takes on Australian James Duckworth at Flushing Meadows on Monday.

He spent more than a decade of his career trying to compete with the very best, but knows that is an unrealistic aim in New York after more than a year out with his hip injury. The 31-year-old, who won his maiden Major at the US Open in 2012 before adding two Wimbledon titles, said: “It is important to be back at a Grand Slam.

“These are the tournaments I have dedicated all my training and off-season to perform at these events.

“Missing them is hard and coming back is great. But this one feels slightly different because for the last 10, 11 years I have been preparing to try and win the event where I don’t think that is realistic for me this year.

“It’s a slightly different mentality coming in than what I have had in the past 10, 11 years of my life, so it feels a bit odd. I’m trying to deal with the situation I’ve been in as best as I can, but I do feel once my body is right again – which takes time when you haven’t played many matches in a year – I’m sure that my level will be OK to get me competing at the top of the game again.”

Murray, unseeded for the first time since 2006, has been handed a favourable first-round draw against Aussie Duckworth, who only made it into the main draw as a replacement for the injured Jowilfried Tsonga.

But it will only get tougher for the Scot as he tests his body in best-of-five play for the first time since losing last year’s Wimbledon quarter-final to Sam Querrey. If Murray overcomes Duckworth, he faces the winner of the all-spanish battle between Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco and victory there would put him on a potential third-round collision course with 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro.

Murray said: “I haven’t played a best-of-five match so I’ll need to see if my body is ready because you don’t know until you actually get out there and do it.

“The benefit of the Grand Slams is having that day off to recover, which will help me.

“My expectations are to give my best effort in the matches and if I do that hopefully my tennis will get better.”

NOT IN WITH A SHOUT Murray admits he has little chance of adding to his tally of Grand Slam titles at the USOpen