ANDY MURRAY hopes the rain continues to play havoc at the Western & Southern Open so he can enjoy an extended rest following his Olympic gold medal win.
The 29-year-old Scot, who won his second Wimbledon title in July, beat Juan Martin del Potro over four sets in a thrilling Rio 2016 final on Sunday night, and just 48 hours later he was on a practice court in Cincinnati.
After receiving a bye, world number two Murray will face either Ivo Karlovic or Juan Monaco in the second round, with a potential showdown against Kevin Anderson or Richard Gasquet in the last 16.
Croatia's Karlovic and Monaco of Argentina must first complete a match which was one of many to fall foul of inclement weather on Tuesday.
And Murray is keen for the present unplayable conditions to remain, giving him extra time to focus on recovering from his exertions in Brazil.
Quoted in the Daily Mail, he said: "The match against Juan Martin was so up and down, so emotional, physical. It was a really, really hard match, one of the hardest matches I've played.
"Doing the long trip straight afterwards was tough. Hopefully it will be able to rain in the next few days."
Neither world number one Novak Djokovic nor last year's winner Roger Federer is competing in Cincinnati, where Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka is the second seed in a field headed by Murray.
The Scot shared a private jet to the United States with third seed Rafael Nadal, the Cincinnati Masters champion three years ago.
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