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Andy Murray will be back where he loves to be tonight as he begins his quest to win a first Grand Slam title. The great and the good of tennis believe the Briton is destined to break his major title duck at Flushing Meadows this year, with Andre Agassi the latest to add his name to the growing list of admirers that includes John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova.
Yet when Murray emerges from the locker room to play Latvia's Ernests Gulbis during the prestigious night session on the Arthur Ashe court, the tag of favourite will not affect the Scot in the same manner as it did at Wimbledon when he was beaten by Andy Roddick in the semi-finals.
The 22-year-old likes to think of New York as his second home and there can be no more fitting place to start than with a prime-time clash with Gulbis.
The stadium is often transformed into a chaotic mix of noise from rowdy fans, smells from burger stands and high-octane action that makes Wimbledon's Centre Court look like a tea-party.
Murray can expect plenty of support from local fans who love his all-action style and penchant for the odd temper tantrum — he won the junior event here in 2004 and reached the final last year when beaten by Roger Federer.
At least Murray is no stranger to long floodlit battles, having come through an epic five-setter with Stanislas Wawrinka in the Wimbledon fourth-round when the roof was closed.
It is a testament to Murray's new-found status as the world No2 that the organisers decided his first-round match against a player he has beaten in three previous meetings warranted top billing, following on from Maria Sharapova's match with Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, which kicks off the evening schedule.
Murray said: “I am really looking forward to this first match and the fact it is under lights is great.
“The atmosphere is unique and I have always enjoyed this tournament, even though there are a lot of things going on. That's what I really like and there are lots of things to do away from the court.
“I have worked hard on my game following last year's US Open and I am a better player than I was then but this is a tough first match against Gulbis.
“One of the few things that I want to do now is to win a Slam. It's something that's incredibly difficult to do but something I believe is possible.”
Roddick, the 2003 champion, is seeded No5 and carries American hopes in the men's section courtesy of his amazing Wimbledon final battle with Federer which saw him lose an epic contest 16-14 in the final set of the longest-ever final.
It was a much quicker affair last night, with Roddick happy to get off court as quickly as possible as he hit the final winner with the clock showing 12.45am for a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Germany's Bjorn Phau that allowed the fans to finally head home.
Roddick said: “This feels real great, the later the better.
“I'm just enjoying playing so much that I'm going to stick around for a while.”
Roddick was particularly pleased about his first service which was above 80 per cent.
“That's good because after Wimbledon I didn't serve too great in the couple of tournaments that I played. I was hitting the ball well but I just didn't serve great. So that's a welcome sign and hopefully I can keep it going.”
Defending champion Federer, chasing a sixth successive title here, is a much bigger “name” than any other competitor thanks to his record breaking career and his aura is still a major factor for any opponent.
It was too much for 18-year-old wild card Devin Britton, who lost 6-1, 6-3, 7-5, and Federer is ready to add another US Open crown to the French Open and Wimbledon titles he has already collected this year.
The Swiss is very confident, something he admits to feeling at a young age, and said: “I always had that belief as a boy and I always knew I could be a great player.
“I knew I could beat the other guy across the net and then it's just a belief that you do it day in, day out and show it against the world.”
* US Open coverage is brought to you in conjunction with financial services company AEGON, which is backing British Tennis at all levels
