Andy Murray to be 'hunted' during defence of US Open crown, says US legend John McEnroe

US tennis legend John McEnroe has said that he believed that Wimbledon champion Andy Murray will be 'hunted' when he starts defending his US Open title on Monday.

According to the Mirror, the British No.1 will be seeded No 3 in Flushing Meadow and could need to face No 7 seed Roger Federer, No 2 Rafael Nadal and No 1 Novak Djokovic to retain the title.

Stating that the Scot will have the added pressure of closing in the world No 1 spot if he wins his second Grand Slam of the season, McEnroe, a four-time US Open winner, said that it would be a different type of pressure for Murray as he will be even more hunted that he had been in the past.

According to McEnroe, people will be putting their hopes on Murray more than before after his Wimbledon win, adding that the US Open this year will be Murray's first shot of a legitimate chance to be No 1 for the year if he can get two Majors.

However, the former US star backed Murray, saying that he will ready to accept the challenge as he is much tougher to beat in a best of five than he is in best of three, although he added that Nadal and Djokovic will also be trying their best given that they also have won three Majors.

Meanwhile, Murray, who has only played five matches since his Wimbledon triumph at Montreal and Cincinnati, said that he does not think that there is favourite for the US Open this year given that Djokovic has played well on the hard courts for the last year, and Nadal is in form with a good recovery from his knee injury.