Andy Murray to play singles in Winston-Salem; skip US Open altogether

After deciding not to play singles at the US Open, Andy Murray will instead continue testing the waters next week at the Winston-Salem Open, the tournament announced Thursday evening.

Murray accepted a wild card into the ATP 250 event, which begins Sunday at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.

“I know from speaking to players who have played there that the site is great,” said Murray. “Good facilities for practice, gym, the weather will be good from what I've seen. It's another step for me in the comeback and we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I can have a good run."

Having returned in June from a hip resurfacing surgery, Murray entered five events in doubles before playing a singles match this week for the first time since the Australian Open. He lost his Cincinnati opener to Richard Gasquet, 6-4, 6-4, and shortly thereafter, revealed to press he was not prepared to meet the US Open’s wild card deadline.

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In his decision for adding North Carolina to his schedule, Murray said, “What I need now is matches. I want to get myself back on the singles court and keep testing myself. Winston-Salem is a perfect place for me to do that.”

Early Friday morning, the BBC revealed Murray has decided to skip playing men's or mixed doubles at the US Open and will instead consider an ATP Challenger event, before preparing for the Asian indoor hard-court swing. For the time being, Murray will discontinue pursuing doubles in order to prioritize his singles game.

"If I do well in Winston-Salem, I'll know my level is good enough and I'm ready to win matches at tour level, but if not it makes sense to drop down a level and maybe play some smaller tournaments," Murray told the BBC.

In Winston-Salem, the former world No. 1 joins a field that includes Kevin Anderson, Denis Shapovalov, Frances Tiafoe, Andrey Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz, Feliciano Lopez and Tomas Berdych. Ashleigh Barty and Coco Gauff are also scheduled to participate in a women’s exhibition on Wednesday, August 21.

Murray and Lopez, who triumphed on their team debut at Queen's Club, are set to play their Cincinnati quarterfinal on Friday. The two will meet Andy's older brother, Jamie Murray, and Neal Skupski.