Lucky draw for Andy at US Open
AUSSIE JOURNEYMAN FIRST UP FOR SCOT
ANDY MURRAY avoided the big names for his Grand Slam comeback with the former world No 1 to face unseeded Australian James Duckworth in the US Open’s first round.
Murray, 31, now 378th in the world after 14 months out with a hip problem, managed to draw an opponent ranked below him in No 445 Duckworth. The Scot won at Flushing Meadows in 2012 and will head into his first Grand Slam match in more than a year as favourite to reach the second round.
Should he win, he will face either Fernando Verdasco or Feliciano Lopez, before a potential clash with No 3 seed Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina.
No 16 seed Kyle Edmund, who has impressed since taking over from Murray as British No 1 after his run to the Australian Open semi-final in January, meets Italian Paolo Lorenzi, ranked 94th in the world.
Edmund’s preparations for the tournament suffered a blow last night as he endured a heavy defeat in the Winston-Salem Open quarterfinals, losing 6-1, 6-2 to American Steve Johnson. If the 23-year- old bounces back to make the fourth round at Flushing Meadows, he is set to face world No 1 and defending champion Rafa Nadal, who must first take on fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.
Another Brit, Cameron Norrie, meets Australia’s Jordan Thompson.
Elsewhere, Roger Federer plays Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan.
In the women’s draw, Johanna Konta may have been left cursing her luck. Britain’s No 1 faces a tough task against French world No 6 Caroline Garcia in the first round.
The US Open gets under way on Monday.