Andy Murray sees ‘opportunity’ for Cam Norrie at US Open

Andy Murray predicts a more open than usual US Open and believes Cameron Norrie can enjoy another deep run at a grand slam.

British number one Norrie is set to be seeded eighth at Flushing Meadows due to the absence of Novak Djokovic, who will miss out on the final major of 2022 owing to United States rules restricting non-citizens from entering the country without being fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

World number two Alexander Zverev has already pulled out with an ankle injury while Rafael Nadal has only played once since his retirement from Wimbledon, which could open the door for Norrie to back up his last-four showing at SW19 last month.

Murray said: “It’s definitely more open this year but I’d imagine some of the guys that you would expect to go deep will go deep like your (Daniil) Medvedevs.

“I’d still expect Rafa to have a good tournament, (Carlos) Alcaraz and (Stefanos) Tsitsipas, but I do think there is going to be an opportunity there for Cam.

“Cam’s ranked in the top eight if Novak doesn’t play, right? So, that helps and it does matter. It doesn’t guarantee making the job easier but it increases the chances because if a guy ranked 15 or 16 loses then you maybe don’t play anyone in the top 25 before the quarter-finals.

“He’s been very consistent against guys ranked below him for most parts of this year so he’s definitely got the chance of a good run.”

Murray and Norrie faced each other at the Western and Southern Open last week, with the latter winning 3-6 6-3 6-4.

World number 49 Murray, who won his maiden grand slam title at Flushing Meadows a decade ago, struggled with cramp during their two-hour-and-38-minute battle.

It was not the first time the 35-year-old had been hampered by the issue, which also