Murray draws inspiration from McIlroy to end year-long wait by wining US Open title

British number one Andy Murray is determined to put his recent disappointments behind him and is hoping to draw inspiration from the stunning exploits of Northern Irish golf ace Rory McIlroy by ending his year long wait for a tournament victory at the US Open.

The Briton will begin his campaign for a third Grand Slam title, and second at Flushing Meadows, against Dutchman Robin Haase on Monday. Murray arrived at Flushing Meadows on the back of three successive quarterfinal defeats, and without a title or a win over a top 10 player since Wimbledon last year.

Two major upheavals in his career have occurred since that landmark victory at the All England Club, his back surgery last September and a split with coach Ivan Lendl in March, The BBC reported.

However, a confident Murray said that one has got to look forward in light of his recent defeats to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Roger Federer.

He currently stands at ninth place in the world rankings, up from 10 last month, his lowest position since 2008, and with his place at the season-ending ATP Finals in London far from secure.

The reality on court is that the Briton remains almost exactly where he has been for the last five years in most of the headline statistics.

Murray said that he has been playing well the last few weeks, adding that he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Toronto and Roger Federer in Cincinnati who won the events, and had quite big opportunities in both those matches.

He said that he feels like he is playing well, adding that he feels one of the most important things in sport is to not be too hard on oneself after matches, to be able to move on.

Murray said one needs to learn to be able to move forward and make sure it doesn't eat into his preparation time, or any mental energy that one might need going into a tournament like this.

Murray draws his inspiration from McIlroy, who endured a similar barren spell, going 18 months without a win on the European and US tours before a spectacular return to form this summer.

On Friday Murray took the unusual step of breaking from his Flushing Meadow preparations to watch the Open and US PGA champion at The Barclays in nearby New Jersey and then went with the Ulsterman to Madison Square Garden, where the United States beat Puerto Rico in an exhibition basketball game.

After spending time in McIlroy's company discussing what it takes to be the top dog in an individual sport Murray appeared energized by the experience as he gears up for another Flushing Meadows campaign.

The Scot said that he had trained for five days in a row, so he took Friday off and went to watch the basketball at Madison Square Garden. He said that he spent some time with McIlroy, adding that the Northern Irish golfer is a very nice guy.

Murray said that McIlroy is enjoying himself just now and he has played great the last few months. He said that obviously they are both in individual sports and there has been a lot of expectation on both of them over the last few years.

He said that it is nice and can be helpful to talk to other athletes in different sports, adding that it can give one a different way of looking at things.

If Murray is to repeat his 2012 US Open triumph then he will have to overcome some formidable obstacles over the next fortnight including a potential quarterfinal showdown with Novak Djokovic, the report added.