Andy Murray says he is not “expecting to go far” when he makes his first appearance at a Grand Slam for 14 months at next week’s US Open.

Murray, 31, has not played at a major since Wimbledon 2017 because of a hip injury that required surgery.

The Briton, now ranked 378th in the world, will play Australia’s James Duckworth in the first round at Flushing Meadows on Monday.

“It is a slightly odd mentality to be coming in with,” he said.

“These are the tournaments for the past 10, 12 years of my life that I’ve been training for, preparing for and trying to compete for and maybe one day win one of them.

“It is different this year as I don’t have that expectation.”

The three-time Grand Slam champion, who is unseeded at a Slam for the first time since 2006, has played seven matches since coming back in January.

He has lost three matches against Nick Kyrgios, Kyle Edmund and Lucas Pouille, all ranked inside the world’s top 20.

“I’m coming into these events with not loads of preparation and very little practice – and certainly no match practice,” said the Scot.

“So if I can keep progressing in the right way and keep physically getting better then there is no reason why I can’t get to playing at that level.

“I’m already competing with them with not much preparation.”

New Davis Cup ‘needs a chance’ to work

Murray, who led Great Britain to Davis Cup victory in 2015, says the radical new proposals to change the 118-year-old competition need to be given an opportunity to work.

National tennis federations voted in favour of an 18-team, season-ending event – funded by a company led by Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique – earlier this month.

The decision, in which players had no say, has sparked anger among some of the world’s leading stars.

The ATP intends to stage a revamped World Team Cup in Australia in the first week of January from 2020 – less than two months after the conclusion of the Davis Cup finale in November.

Murray, who says he would have abstained if he had been given a vote, thinks having two rival tournaments leaves players with a tough decision and could be confusing for fans.

“Something wasn’t working because the top players were not playing,” he said.

“I think there was potentially less drastic changes that could have taken place to make it better, like even keeping potentially the same format but doing it every couple of years.

“But you have to give the decision that’s been made a chance to work and see. We should try to get behind it and support it and see if it works.

“If it does, fantastic. But if not, I believe you can always change and go back. That’s also an option.”