Andy Murray suffers brutal draw for US Open with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Novak Djokovic standing in his path

The practice set was hard-fought, and when Djokovic fell behind in the tie-break he signalled his commitment by hurling his racket to the ground and walloping a ball out of the stadium (or as near as you can get in this cavernous place). The mini-tantrum seemed to revive him and he promptly reeled off six straight points to finish the contest and underline Murrays recent problems in closing out winning positions.

From Murrays perspective, even to reach the second week would be a respectable achievement. He opens against Robin Haase, the talented Dutchman who gave him a real scare in the second round of the 2011 US Open.

If he gets through that one, his most likely opponents would be Radek Stepanek, who beat him at Queens a couple of months ago, in the second round, followed by possible meetings with Verdasco and Tsonga.

Of course, draws rarely pan out the way they look on paper, but there is no doubt that Murrays quarter of the field is the spikiest on show. By contrast, the two Swiss masters Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka can thank the US Opens computers for spitting out some comfortable opponents in the early rounds.

On the womens side, Heather Watson should be pleased to have drawn Romanias Sorana Cirstea, who started the year just outside the top 20 but now stands at No81. If Watson wins that one, she could play Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard in what would be a fascinating second-round match-up, especially as Bouchard has also struggled for form since the grass-court season.

Britains No2, Johanna Konta, also has a winnable tie against Shahar Peer, of Israel, who stands 44 places below her on the ladder at No155. The most enticing first-round match in the tournament, though, must be the one between defending champion Serena Williams and the gifted and stylish 18-year-old Taylor Townsend.

Williams has rediscovered her form since the bizarre episode at Wimbledon when she walked onto court in what looked like a hypnotic trance, and could not even catch the balls when they were passed to her, let alone hit them across the net. Asked about the mystery on Thursday, she was typically enigmatic. I worked really hard before Wimbledon, Williams said, but it just didnt transpire there.

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Andy Murray suffers brutal draw for US Open with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Novak Djokovic standing in his path