Andy Murray still aiming for 'best-in-the-world standards' for tilt at US Open

Andy Murray is aiming to do more than just make up the numbers at the 2020 US Open despite his hip problems and the coronavirus pandemic.

The 33-year-old Scotsman last featured at a Grand Slam tournament at the 2019 Australian Open, where there was speculation his career was close to over.

He has played just three ATP Tour matches since October 2019 but he is not treating the US Open merely as way to feel himself back into the game.

"Well, my opinion is that you should set yourself the best-in-the-world standards for everything that you do because then it means that you're going to prepare properly for tournaments," he said.

"That's why they are the best, so if you do all of that stuff right, that's positive. And if on the match courts you fall short of that, I'd rather fall short of the best-in-the-world standards rather than sort of accept, 'Okay, I'm going to play 80, 100 in the world, that's going to be my standard this week and if I play at that level, I'm happy'."

Murray is ranked 134th in the world after years of battling back from his injury, though he beat Alexander Zverev in the second round of the Western & Southern Open.

He expects that this year's attempt in New York to be a vast improvement on his last outing.

"I really was not feeling good at all when I played it last. I fought as hard as I could, but it's not that enjoyable when you're feeling so uncomfortable on the court," he explained.

"At least I'm a lot more comfortable now, so I will be able to enjoy the experience more."

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said that he hoped his travails would inspire others who are dealing with similar hip problems.

"It's a challenge playing with a metal hip. It's not that easy. I have learned lots, learned lots about myself. It's been a good journey," he said.

"There are a lot of people that told me I should stop, which probably made me want to do it even more. A few surgeons and things that told me it was done, which annoyed me a lot.

"After the latest setback in November, I was pretty gutted, to be honest, about that. It was, like, 'I'm back, I can play, I can compete, I can win tournaments', and stuff, and then I got a setback and I didn't really know whether that was going to get better or not, so that was hard.

"But I think if I can stay healthy, I'll have some more good moments on the tennis court."