ndy Murray will fly house to Britain on Friday, pondering fastidiously about what his subsequent steps could also be after his US Open marketing campaign ended abruptly right here within the second spherical.

The 36-year-old was beaten 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 by Grigor Dimitrov on Thursday and, although he was not as dejected as he was after dropping to Stefanos Tsitsipas at Wimbledon in July, he admitted the following few months might decide how lengthy he continues to try for extra huge moments within the sport.

And that might begin with lacking the Davis Cup group stage in Manchester later this month.

“The plan was to play Davis Cup, but if I’m being honest, the other guys deserve to play ahead of me,” Murray mentioned, an announcement that should have been exhausting to confess for a person who has gained three Grand Slam titles, two gold medals, been ranked world No1 and who led Britain to Davis Cup glory in 2015.

“I know it’s obviously probably a difficult situation, for Leon (Smith, the captain), with Jack (Draper). He’s had quite a few injuries coming in, but if he’s fit and healthy, he’s obviously playing very well.

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“Cam (Norrie) and Evo (Dan Evans), Evo has had a great run in Washington, so we’ll see about Davis Cup and what happens there. I think there is probably a chance that I’m not on the team, see where I go from there.”

After a number of days at house and a while to replicate, Murray might realise that he nonetheless has a lot to supply.

Speaking quickly after his defeat by Dimitrov, he mentioned his motivation remains to be excessive, however he has not been previous the third spherical of a slam since he had a steel hip inserted in 2019. If he continues to battle within the greatest occasions, that motivation might waver.

“I still enjoy everything that goes into playing at a high level,” mentioned the world No37. “I enjoy the work, the training and trying to improve and trying to get ­better, I do still enjoy that. That’s what keeps me going.

“If things change and if I start to go backwards in that respect, if, in a few months’ time I was ranked 60 in the world or whatever instead of moving up, things might change.”

Murray can be ranked round world No40 when the record is up to date after the US Open and remains to be hoping to climb additional up the rankings to attain certainly one of his goals for the 12 months, to be seeded for the following Grand Slam occasion, the Australian Open in January.

An unusually robust entry record for Beijing later this month means Murray might need to delay his deliberate journey to Asia, however even when he does get inside the highest 32, it's no assure of simple attracts.

“Obviously, being seeded avoids them [the big guns] early,” he mentioned. “But for me it’s more about the level you put out there and the performance.

“Whether I was seeded or not here in the top 32, I don’t think that guarantees that I’m going to have a deep run either.

“But you can see, in the bottom half of the draw just now, there are possibilities. A lot of the top guys are not having deep runs, so it is possible that the draw has opened up a little bit, but it wouldn’t necessarily matter if you don’t play a good enough level.”