Cincinnati return a target for Andy Murray

Former world number one Andy Murray says he is targeting a return to singles action in the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. The three-time Grand Slam winner and two-time Olympic champion underwent hip surgery after the Australian Open earlier this year but has since returned to doubles.

Murray won at Queen’s Club with Feliciano Lopez and then competed in the men’s doubles and the mixed doubles at Wimbledon, partnering Serena Williams in the latter. The Scot has been happy with his return so far and is now hoping to make a comeback in singles soon, with the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati a potential target.

The Western & Southern Open begins on August 11 and Murray says if he doesn’t enter that tournament, he won’t be returning to singles at the US Open. “In terms of how I’m moving and feeling and pulling up the next day from these practices, I’m really happy with where I’m at.

I think I’m quite close [to playing singles],” he told the ATP website. “If I was to play a tournament in a few weeks’ time, I could do it. But it’s just to get to maybe where I want to get to, I’ll need to play matches and get a little bit more work done in the gym on my cardio.”

He added: “If I keep progressing and I feel good in three weeks’ time then I’ll play singles as soon as I’m ready. I’m not quite ready at this week but I hope at some stage soon I will be.

“Best-case scenario probably would be Cincinnati, and then if I wasn’t able to play in Cincinnati there’s a good chance I would probably wait until after New York because I wouldn’t want my first tournament to be playing best of five [sets].”

Novak Djokovic is rated as the 2.20 favourite to win the US Open outright, while Alexander Zverev is available at 13.00.