A look at Andy Murray's possible route to the US Open final

25 August 2017 09:09

Provided his dodgy hip holds up, Andy Murray will begin his US Open campaign next week with his sights on another grand slam title.

The Scot is the second seed for the year's final major and was placed in the opposite side of the draw to both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Here, Press Association Sport looks at Murray's route to the title.

Round one - Tennys Sandgren

Murray's first test comes against an American ranked 104 with probably the best name in tennis. Sandgren, 26, only made his grand slam debut at the French Open and should not provide much of an obstacle.

Round two - Florian Mayer

Veteran German Mayer is now ranked 75th after reaching a career high of 18 six years ago. An unorthodox opponent, he is more at home on clay. Mayer won his most recent clash with Murray in 2014 but had previously lost three times, including in New York in 2013.

Round three - Diego Schwartzman

The first seed in Murray's path is 29th seed Schwartzman. The 25-year-old Argentinian stands only 5ft 7in tall but what he lacks in height he makes up for in power. Schwartzman took Novak Djokovic to five sets at the French Open this year.

Round four - Lucas Pouille

If Murray makes the last 16 he could find old rival David Ferrer in his path but Frenchman Pouille is the higher seed. It has been a difficult season for the 23-year-old, who beat Rafael Nadal to make the quarter-finals here last year.

Quarter-finals - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

On paper, the draw was very kind to Murray, and a quarter-final against Tsonga should hold no fears for the Scot. Murray has a famously excellent record against French players having won his last 28 matches at grand slams dating back to an Australian Open loss to Tsonga in 2008.

Semi-finals - Alexander Zverev

Having avoided Federer, Murray's projected semi-final opponent is German wunderkind Zverev. Murray won easily the first time they met at the Australian Open last year but 20-year-old Zverev has soared since then and has won five titles this year, albeit without making it past the fourth round of a slam.

Final - Roger Federer

Nadal is the top seed but hard courts favour Federer, who is looking to complete a remarkable year at the slams by winning his third title. The Swiss won in New York for five years in a row between 2004 and 2008, beating Murray the last time, but has not lifted the trophy since.

Source: PA