Washington, August 28: Andy Murray could meet some familiar faces if he repeats last year’s feat of reaching the final of the US Open, which begins here on Monday.
The 22-year-old Scot, who is the No 2 seed at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, is scheduled to play Roger Federer in the final, Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals and Juan Martin del Potro in the quarter-finals. He faced the same opponents at the same stages last year.
Murray’s victory over Nadal, his first over the Spaniard after five successive defeats, was the best performance of his career, while his four-set win over Del Potro was a gruelling match that took nearly four hours. Murray went on to lose to Federer in straight sets, having had 24 hours less to prepare for the final than the Swiss.
Ernests Gulbis, who reached No 38 in the world rankings last year but has since slipped to No 95, will be Murray’s first-round opponent. The Scot beat Gulbis in the second round at Wimbledon and has won all three of his matches against the Latvian.
–Agencies