Novak Djokovic's coach Boris Becker believes US Open hopeful and third seed Andy Murray is better placed than the rest of the field given his tricky first-round match at Flushing Meadows.
Brit Murray - the 2012 champion - opened his campaign with a tough 7-5 6-3 4-6 6-1 victory over an erratic Nick Kyrgios on Tuesday.
World number one Djokovic, meanwhile, barely raised a sweat as he eased past Joao Souza 6-1 6-1 6-1 the day before in New York and Becker feels Murray holds an advantage over the field heading into the second round and beyond.
"Every tournament you have that one match that you need to really get going," Becker told Sky Sports.
"[Murray's match against Kyrgios] was a tight one, especially the first three sets. That's when you know he's done his homework, the practice before the tournament and he's ready to go.
"Usually you get that in the third or fourth round or quarter-final but Andy got it in the first round.
"So maybe he's a step ahead of the rest of the field."
Murray tallied 18 aces despite serving at just 58 per cent as he set up a showdown with Frenchman Adrian Mannarino after two hours, 43 minutes on court.
Becker added: "It was a big challenge. It was a real test, probably the worst first round you could have had as one of the top seeds and he handled it beautifully.
"Nick played well, especially at the beginning of the match when he was up a break. Andy broke back. Once the first set was done, Nick got irritated.
"It was the tough match we expected it to be. It was the right challenge at the right time."
