Former men's world No 1 Andy Murray is considering returning to singles action at Cincinnati next month, saying he is "closer than he thought" to being ready.
The 32-year-old has not played singles since losing in the first round of the Australian Open in January to Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut, after which he underwent hip resurfacing surgery in a bid to salvage his career.
He returned to doubles action at Queen's Club this year, winning the title with Spain's Feliciano Lopez, and also played men's doubles with Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert and mixed with Serena Williams at Wimbledon.
Three-time grand slam champion Murray had previously said it was extremely unlikely he would be ready to play singles at the US Open, the final major of the season in New York.
But now believes a return on the Cincinnati hard courts in two weeks time is possible - which could in theory open the door to the possibility of playing at Flushing Meadows, where he won his first grand slam in 2012, at the end of August for the first time in three years.
"I'm closer than I thought," Murray said at the Citi Open in Washington where he is playing doubles with brother Jamie.
"Best case scenario probably would be Cincinnati," he said.
"And then if I wasn't able to play in Cincinnati, there's a good chance I would probably wait until after New York, because I wouldn't want my first tournament, either, to be playing best-of-five sets."
Murray played in Cincinnati 12 months ago, but struggled. He was beaten in straights sets by Frenchman Lucas Pouille.
The Briton's lone title there came in 2011 and he reached the final in 2016 where he was beaten by Marin Cilic.
Murray said he is practising singles in Washington and is also lined up to play doubles at the Rogers Cup next week in Toronto with Lopez as they look to recapture the success they enjoyed at Queen's in June.
"In terms of moving and feeling and waking up the next day, I'm feeling good," Murray said. "I'm quite close but there's stuff that would need to get better.
"I could (play singles), but to get where I would want to be I'd have to get back in the gym and get my cardio better."
