Resilient Murray begins bid for US Open seeding

For Andy Murray, what happens in the next few weeks could go a long way to deciding how long he continues to try to battle it out at the top level.

The Scot, a three-time Grand Slam champion, twice an Olympic gold medallist and a Davis Cup champion, continues to put himself through the ringer, pushing his metal hip to the limit as he tries to get back towards the top of a game he dominated in 2016, before hip surgery derailed him.

At 36, time is running out but Murray shows no sign of slowing down, no sign of giving in to time and nature, still motivated enough to put himself through all the work required to win matches and go deep in the biggest tournaments around the world.

What would help his chances, in theory, would be if he could get his ranking up high enough to be seeded at the Grand Slam events. It’s been his main aim from the beginning of the year and he will begin the US hard-court season next week knowing that a few good wins could put him inside the top 32 by the time the US Open rolls around at the end of next month.

Andy at the practice in Washington 🎾 pic.twitter.com/FjWO9EhoYW

— Andy Murray Fan Club (@MagicMurrayFans) July 27, 2023

Murray begins US hardcourt season in Washington

Murray has three chances to earn points before arriving at the US Open. Back to back Masters 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati are yet to come, but first Murray begins in Washington for the Mubadala City DC Open, which starts on Monday.

With just 45 points to defend before the US Open, Murray has opportunities but will be well aware that with the exception of his first-round win at Wimbledon, he has not won a regular Tour match since Indian Wells in March.

He did win three Challenger Tour titles in that period, which has helped him rise to a live ranking of No 43, but he knows he needs to deliver in tournaments like Washington, where 500 points are available to the winner. Murray probably needs around 200 points in the next month to secure that top-32 ranking and a US Open seeding.

He will begin his Washington campaign with a first-round bye but he’ll need to hit the ground running, with Brandon Nakashima or Aleksandar Vukic awaiting in round two, while top seed Taylor Fritz is almost certain to be his opponent should he make round three.

Murray can take confidence from Wimbledon despite early exit

The way Murray played against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round at Wimbledon, a match he lost in five but might have won in four had the match not ended the previous night, Murray will take some confidence into the hard courts.

But the Scot knows the pressure is on if he wants to secure a seeding for New York and potentially the Australian Open, something that should, theoretically, help him to go deep.

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