US Open: Andy Murray squeezes into main draw after Stan Wawrinka's withdrawal

NEW YORK: Former world number one, Andy Murray has moved into the main draw of the US Open after former champion Stan Wawrinka withdrew because of his ongoing recovery from foot surgery.

Earlier in June, Wawrinka underwent his second left foot surgery of the year. The Swiss star has constantly struggled to find his A-game since the knee injury in 2017 when he underwent two surgeries in August and skipped the rest of the season that year. Wawrinka claimed the title in Geneva in May that year, and that remains his last ATP trophy.

Stan has played four tournaments in 2021, with a record of 3-3, and has stayed around the 30th spot on the ATP ranking list. He last competed in Doha in March and also underwent surgery on his first left foot later that month.

2012 US Open champion Murray was the first player on the alternate list after he missed out on the initial main draw field in July.

Murray, last month pulled out of the men's singles event of the Tokyo Olympics where he was defending his gold medal. However, he continued to compete for Team GB in the men's doubles tournament with Joe Salisbury and reached the quarter-finals at the Games.