Andy Murray says it only took him a few days to put a chastening Wimbledon exit behind him and get back to work in preparation for the US Open.
Murray, 36, cut a forlorn figure after losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas, saying motivation was “a big thing” when asked if he would be back next year.
“Immediately after matches, especially at Wimbledon and majors, there is greater disappointment and greater emotion than at any other time,” said Murray, who is one of six Britons starting their US Open bids on Tuesday.
“I went away on holiday straight afterwards and after three or four days of being away from it, I chatted to my team about things that I feel I need to change.
“I did that, went away and worked on some technical points. I’ve been working on them every day and it has been good.”
Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray, who won his first major at the US Open in 2012, plays France’s Corentin Moutet on day two at Flushing Meadows.
Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Jack Draper also begin their campaigns, with Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage in action in the women’s draw.
British qualifier Lily Miyazaki is already through after earning her first Grand Slam win with a confident display against Russia’s Margarita Betova.
| Andy Murray v Corentin Moutet (Fra) – Grandstand, about 18:00 |
| Katie Boulter v Diane Parry (Fra) – court six, 16:00 |
| Jodie Burrage v Anna Blinkova – court nine, about 23:30 |
| Cameron Norrie [16] v Alexander Shevchenko – court 11, about 18:00 |
| Dan Evans [26] v Daniel Elahi Galan (Col) – court 12, about 23:00 |
| Jack Draper v Radu Albot (Mda) – court 15, about 21:00 |
Murray working hard to achieve deep run
Putting together a deep run at a major remains Murray’s prime target in the twilight of his career.
Going into the four Grand Slam events with a seeding would, on paper, make that a stronger possibility and he has fallen narrowly short of the top 32 going into the US Open.
Those ambitions were hindered by the Scot pulling out of tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati this month because of an abdominal injury.
Murray continued to train in the US and says he has had no more “issues” in the past week.
Despite the setback at Wimbledon, Murray is in an encouraging place.
His recent ranking of 36th in the world was his highest since having the hip resurfacing surgery that left him fearing for his career in 2019.
The level of his performances have been consistently higher than at any point since he had a metal plate inserted into the joint. He has spent recent weeks working on the technical points he believes can help him beat the world’s best.
“I wanted to put some work in technically to play the way I want to and the way my team wants me to,” Murray added.
“We did that and it has helped.”
How are the other British men shaping up?
Norrie is still Britain’s highest-ranked man and will be seeded 16th at Flushing Meadows.
However, the 28-year-old comes into the tournament without a win on the North American hard court swing, having lost his opening matches in Los Cabos, Toronto and Cincinnati.
When asked what was behind his dip in form, Norrie said: “I think a little bit of expectation, trying to feel perfect on practice court and being too tough on myself.
“I’m improving every day. I feel ready to attack the US Open.”
Evans had struggled for form this year before ending a run of seven successive Tour-level defeats by winning his first ATP 500 event in Washington.
The 33-year-old, who lost his two opening matches in Toronto and Cincinnati after the Washington triumph, will be seeded 26th in New York.
“I’m not stupid, it would be very surprising if I ever get near winning a Grand Slam, but I’m capable of having a very good run in some of them,” said Evans.
“First and foremost, I enjoy coming to these Grand Slams. They’re amazing tournaments. It’s why you play.”
Draper is hoping for a change of fortunes after seeing his progress stalled by a series of physical issues.
A shoulder injury picked up at the French Open meant the 21-year-old missed the entire British grass-court season and he retired from his second-round match at the Winston-Salem Open last week with the same issue.
“Playing [at the US Open] was in a fair bit of doubt. My shoulder played up a little bit so I had to be cautious,” he said.
“I’m not expecting it to be perfect but just trying to take it day by day.”
Boulter and Burrage leading the British women
The lack of British women earning direct entry into the major tournaments was a talking point after no players from the nation earned a place in the French Open and Wimbledon draws based on their ranking.
Since then, the form of Boulter and Burrage has made the picture look rosier.
Both players reached career-high rankings in an encouraging grass-court season, earning direct entry into the US Open main draw as a result.
British number one Boulter won the first WTA title of her career at the Nottingham Open, going on to reach the third round of Wimbledon and more recently fought through qualifying to reach the Canadian Open third round.
Winning 33 of her 48 matches this year has lifted the 27-year-old up to 61st in the world.
“I’ve earned this place. I’ve spent many years trying to get there and I feel like I should have been here for the past few years,” said Boulter, who insists she has “no problems” with a foot injury which led to a retirement in Cincinnati.
“But I’m not happy at all with where I’m at, because I want to keep pushing and I really feel like I’ve got a great chance to do so.”
Burrage cracked the world’s top 100 for the first time on the back of reaching the Nottingham final and earning her first Grand Slam main draw win at Wimbledon.
The 26-year-old thought about quitting the sport in 2020 after a series of injuries but has gone on to reach new heights in the past three months.
“It’s my first time in the main draw of a Slam without a wildcard so it definitely feels a bit surreal,” she said.
“Being around while qualifying is on felt a little weird, but obviously very happy I didn’t have to do that. It shows the hard work I’ve put in throughout the last year.”
Where is Raducanu?
Raducanu, 20, became a worldwide star by winning the 2021 US Open as a teenage qualifier, but her progress since has been hampered by a host of injuries.
The former world number 10 only played 10 matches this year before deciding to have three operations in May to solve issues on both wrists and her left ankle.
It was always likely she would miss the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, but she returned to the practice court shortly before the final Grand Slam of the season began.
Skupski leads the doubles interest
There is another strong British presence in the men’s doubles, with Wimbledon winner Neal Skupski and two-time defending champion Joe Salisbury leading the way.
Skupski and his Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof are the top ranked men’s doubles team, achieving what the Briton called the “pinnacle” of his career by winning the Wimbledon title last month.
The pair reached the US Open final last year and will be the favourites to go one better this time around.
Salisbury and American Rajeev Ram will be seeded third, while 12th seed Jamie Murray and 13th seed Lloyd Glasspool hope to go far with their respective partners, as do the team of Julian Cash and Henry Patten.
Boulter plays alongside Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva in the women’s doubles, with Heather Watson – who did not qualify in the singles – teaming up with Anna Danilina.
Alfie Hewett will be defending his men’s wheelchair singles title, while Gordon Reid, Lucy Shuker and Andy Lapthorne are also competing in the wheelchair and quad events.