Murray realistic about Open chances

NEW YORK - As one of the most prominent names in men’s tennis the past decade, Andy Murray is accustomed to being considered a candidate for victory at any Grand Slam.

This year, however, no one is anticipating the 31-year-old to leave the U.S. Open, which starts Monday, as the champion. Not even Murray has that kind of high hopes, taking into account he’s on the comeback trail and is making his first Grand Slam appearance since Wimbledon 2017.

A right hip injury, which eventually required surgery in early January, kept the Scotsman off the courts for nearly 11 months. His return started during the grass court season in June and has been nothing short of sporadic.

“These are the tournaments, like, for pretty much the last 10 or 11 years of my life I’ve dedicated all of my sort of training and off-seasons and stuff to prepare to perform well in these events,” Murray said at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Friday.

“It feels slightly different, this one because, again, for the last 10 years or so I’ve been coming and trying to prepare to win the event, whereas I don’t feel like that’s realistic for me this year. It’s a slightly different mentality for me coming in than what I’ve had the last 10, 11 years of my life.

“That feels a bit odd.”

Murray, a former world No. 1 who captured the first of his three Grand Slam titles at the 2012 U.S. Open, will kick off this year’s Open by facing James Duckworth of Australia on Monday.

This marks the first time that Murray, who also won at Wimbledon in 2013 and ’16, is unseeded at a Grand Slam in 12 years.

Initially, Murray wasn’t sure how serious his injury was and had even journeyed to New York to compete at last year’s U.S. Open before determining less than 48 hours out he would be unable to play.

In the end, his return came at the Queen’s Club tournament in London in June, where he fell in the first round.