Andy Murray’s route to the ultimate prize in his distinguished career – toppling Novak Djokovic from the summit of the tennis mountain by winning his second US Open – was decluttered in a kind draw here on Friday that served up the 31-year-old Czech journeyman Lukas Rosol in the first round and middling opposition up to the semi-finals.  Djokovic, who opens his defence of the title against the talented but unreliable Pole Jerzy Janowicz, not only has a slightly tougher path to the final weekend, he also had to set aside rumours he was considering withdrawing from the tournament after suddenly curtailing his morning practice session.  “I can’t wait to start,” Djokovic said but an injury to his left wrist, which he picked up during his early exit at the Rio Olympics, forcing him to miss the Cincinnati Open, might be worse than originally thought.  On Tuesday his wife, Jelena, put up an Instagram screenshot of Djokovic with his left wrist wrapped in an electrified bandage, apparently a “transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation therapy” device.  “The wrist hasn’t been in an ideal state for the last three-and-a-a half weeks,” Djokovic said on Friday, “but I’m doing everything in my power with the medical team so I’m as close to 100% as possible, at least at the start of this tournament.  “It started in Rio. I’d never experienced this particular injury before. I played against Juan Martín del Potro, who had been absent from the Tour with a wrist injury himself. After undergoing certain treatments, I’ve gotten better and I just hope I can get as close as possible to executing my backhand.  “There are different methods of healing that I am considering, consulting different medical experts. One of them is the electricity treatment that you see. Some times, time is what you need as an athlete. And with the US Open around the corner, I improvised the best way I can.”  It is as much medical information as has ever come out of the Serb’s camp. The wrap is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and it also promotes analgesia: in other words it is a painkiller. In other words, Djokovic more than likely will be playing in some pain, as was Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros before pulling out after two excellent wins in the first week.  “I’m getting there,” Djokovic said after the draw. “A couple of days and hopefully when it starts on Monday, I’ll be there. I’m the kind of player that likes to give everything in every single match. I was aware we were going to have a more congested schedule.”  Djokovic revealed he has also been having personal problems. He described it as, “nothing physical, but something that has nothing to do with the wrist injury, something privately”.  He added: “Everyone has a time when they are in a position like this. You have private issues where there are some challenges and issues which you have to overcome as a human being. For me, it was personal and it has happened. They have been resolved for me. Life is going on.”  Djokovic did not sound totally convincing about his prospects of even getting out of the first week. He has played only six matches since his shock defeat in the first week at Wimbledon and nine since the French Open. If he gets past the big serve and inventive, unpredictable all-court game of Janowicz, the world No1 could be in for a run that includes John Isner, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nadal and, at the bottom half of his draw, this year’s Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic. Nadal, who is also nursing an injured wrist back to full health, plays the tough Uzbek Denis Istomin in the first round.  But the key imponderables in the men’s draw at the beginning of the fortnight remain: can Murray, the Wimbledon and Olympic champion, carry his magnificent summer run into the autumnal conclusion to the grand slam season, and will Djokovic be fit enough to hold him at bay and remain at the top of the world rankings?  Murray, closing fast on his old rival in the race to the ATP World Tour Finals in London, did look tired in losing to Marin Cilic in the final in Cincinnati on Sunday, but later said the schedule and a sore shoulder hindered him and he hoped to be back to full working order after a few days’ rest.  Beyond Rosol lie either Feliciano López or Grigor Dimitrov, who is looking more like his old self lately but not quite at the level when he beat Murray at Wimbledon in 2014, and the sixth seed Kei Nishikori, whom Murray invariably grinds down on the big occasion.  Elsewhere in the men’s draw, Birmingham’s Dan Evans drew a qualifier in the top quarter, where the eighth seed Dominic Thiem will start against the in-form Australian John Millman. British ambitions took a blow when Aljaz Bedene drew Nick Kyrgios, who is worth more than his 14th seeding on ability alone, yet still is struggling for consistency.  In the women’s draw, the British No1 and the No14 seed here, Johanna Konta, plays the American wild card Bethanie Mattek-Sands, with the Olympic champion Mónica Puig, the resurgent Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova and the rising American Madison Keys in her quarter of the draw.  Heather Watson, who, like Konta, had a disappointing Olympics, plays a qualifier first up – but finds herself in Serena Williams’s quarter. Before the draw, the dangerous but inconsistent American Sloane Stephens withdrew with a foot injury.
Andy Murray has been drawn against Lukas Rosol at the US Open while Novak Djokovic both a wrist injury and personal problems