"A different landscape": Murray notes the opportunity at hand in Cincinnati without Big Three presence 

Roger Federer isn't playing the US Open, Rafael Nadal is doubtful and Novak Djokovic won't have played any warmups going in. That opens up the field at Flushing Meadows for others, just like these two weeks of Masters events in Cincinnati and Toronto, which were both missing the Big Three.

That's a big change, notes Andy Murray.

"It's lot easier to win the tournament when only one of them is playing instead of all three of them. "So it's an opportunity for a lot of those guys who are just behind in the rankings or, you know, haven't won these sorts of events before, gives them a bit more of an opportunity. Yeah, it's a different landscape, I think," Murray told press from Cincinnati."It's felt anyway when I come to these sorts of tournaments and buildup to the US Open, for all of, almost all of my career those guys have been there and competing to win."

Not so much this season—while Djokovic has won all three Grand Slam events and he and Nadal played each other in the final of Rome, there have been eight other players in Grand Slam and Masters finals. But according to Murray, that is more because established champions like Federer, Nadal and Djokovic—along with three-time Grand Slam winners Murray and Stan Wawrinka—are starting to experience more frequent injuries, and not players competing at a higher level.

"My feeling is it's changing because guys are getting their bodies broken down a little bit and getting injured rather than the tennis," said Murray.

As it stands, Murray is the only member of the Big Four playing Cincinnati this week, and even he needed a wildcard. The former No. 1 has been on and off the tour since his hip surgery in 2019, and has played just five singles events this season.

"I thought it was feeling pretty good during Wimbledon, and in the build-up to the Olympics. Then obviously found a tear in my quad, so that slowed things down. Again here, yeah, feel good again," he said, though adding that he was unsure of his physical fitness week to week.

Murray is No.105 in the rankings.