Can Andy Murray win the US Open?
In the absence of both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at Flushing Meadows this week, it’s cleared the way for 8/11 favourite Novak Djokovic to claim his fourth US Open title.
But there’s going to be some young upstarts and wily competitors looking to upset the world number one in New York. One of those men is wildcard entrant Andy Murray, but can the 2012 US Open champ roll back the years and be a 40/1 winner?
Kinder side of the draw?
Murray proved he can still hang with the best with victories over Frances Tiafoe and world number seven Alexander Zverev at the Western & Southern Open.
And he’ll take heart knowing he could reach the final, avoiding all of Djokovic, Zverev and world number six Stefanos Tsitsipas.
First up is Yoshihito Nishioka, with the potential of British compatriot Dan Evans in the third round before a battle with last year’s finalist Daniil Medvedev. If Murray can pick up some early momentum, then we could see the 33-year-old go deep into the tournament.
We go 33s for Djokovic and Murray to meet in another Flushing Meadows final.
Contenders
Murray will have to dump out some of the game’s glowing ‘next-gen’ to reach the showpiece.
The 24-year-old Medvedev lost to Nadal in last year’s final, but with the defending champion not around, he’s 6/1 to go one better in 2020.
Elsewhere, Tsitsipas is at 8s to win his first Grand Slam, and Murray’s W&S Open slayer Milos Raonic is at 18/1 to go all the way.
Dominic Thiem is another of the potential title winners this week, but despite his current world number three rank – his troubles on the hardcourt mean Thiem’s at 10/1 to win the whole thing.
The 26-year-old’s best run was to the quarter-finals in 2018, but it’s the clay court where he really excels, reaching the French Open final in 2018 and 2019, falling to ‘the King of Clay’ Nadal on both occasions.
Another name to keep an eye on is the evergreen Roberto Bautista-Agut. He made the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2019 and his experience over much of the field has him chalked up at 22/1.
Can Murray do it again?
Murray’s resurgence has been miraculous, even returning to the court seemed impossible at one stage.
And for all the new generation’s obvious talent, none of them have converted this into silverware. Nadal’s stranglehold at Roland-Garros, Djokovic in Australia and Federer at Wimbledon have only been regularly troubled by three-time Grand Slam winners Murray and Stan Wawrinka.
Murray is 12/1 to win his quarter of the draw which would represent a massive step forward in his comeback.
New York has been a happy hunting ground for the former world number one, reaching the last-eight or better in six of his 13 appearances.
His dogged, never-say-die spirit still exists, but at 40s can another US Open title be the crowning glory?
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication