Andy Murray weighing up Davis Cup tie in Glasgow

Andy Murray left the US Open contemplating whether to squeeze one last Davis Cup trip to Glasgow into his long-term recovery plans.

The former world number one was beaten in the second round of his comeback grand slam in New York by Fernando Verdasco on Wednesday evening.

Murray is not scheduled to return to ATP Tour action until September 24 at the Shenzhen Open, which will be followed by the China Open in Beijing, and he has already said he will play relatively sparingly to avoid stressing his troublesome hip.

The Davis Cup, therefore, offers a real dilemma. Murray has not played in the competition for two years but next month's play-off against Uzbekistan at the Emirates Arena from September 14-16 could be his final chance to play in front of his home fans in Glasgow.

The changes coming into effect next season mean the number of ties Britain will host is set to be much reduced, with potentially several years between home matches.

Murray said to be BBC: “I'd have to chat to my team because this is obviously a very important period in my rehab and my long-term strategy.

“Playing five sets takes a lot out of you, which I've obviously learned in the last couple of days, and the Davis Cup has also taken a lot out of me. But there's a big part of me that would love to play and get the opportunity to play one last time in Glasgow.''

Murray has had some of the most memorable moments of his career in the Davis Cup and in Glasgow in particular, and one option would be just to play doubles with brother Jamie.

Before making any decision, the Scot must see how he pulls up physically after the gruelling battle with Verdasco in stifling conditions, which he finally lost after three hours and 23 minutes.

There were plenty of encouraging signs and Murray's fitness was certainly one of those, although the Scot is not yet feeling battle-hardened.

He said: “This is still quite early in the process for me. Your body, your hands, you build up callouses from playing a lot and never get issues with blisters and stuff. These are all things that your body protects you against when you've been playing a lot.

“And when you haven't, it's just little bits and pieces that come up. I did all right. I chased balls down right to the end of the match. I wasn't giving up on points. It wasn't the most comfortable I felt on a tennis court. I got through it and fought right to the end.''

Murray's biggest challenge will be to find a game style that allows him to return to the top of the game while taking into account the limitations caused by his hip.

Verdasco had played Murray 14 times previously and beaten him only once. Asked about the differences in the Scot's game, Verdasco said: “Obviously he's not with the same confidence when he was top four. But that's normal.

“He made more double faults maybe than he used to. Obviously with the serve he is not with the same confidence. Moving to the forehand, he has more, I think, pain or he is maybe scared of the hip.''

Murray is well aware he needs to be patient but at times the frustration threatened to boil over, which is a sign both of how intensely the fire still burns and how difficult this process is.

He said: “I didn't have any expectations to win this event. But then when I come off the court and I've made some of the mistakes I did in the first set, which potentially could have made the match very different - I get frustrated at that.

“I was trying to play more offensively, and I made more mistakes than I usually would. It's difficult to always make the right decisions. It's something that is going to take a bit of time getting used to again."