ANDY Murray has been here, there and everywhere since arriving in New York.

TV stations to speak to, sponsors to satisfy, draw ceremony duties to perform. That is what happens when you are the defending US Open champion. Everyone wants a piece.

Yet one place, a special part of Flushing Meadows, which was integral to the Scot finally realising his Grand Slam dream a year ago, has yet to be visited. The Arthur Ashe court where Novak Djokovic was beaten in five thrilling sets? No. Murray has already made that voyage into the glorious past.

It's a place close to the player's entrance here. It's a toilet - but not a normal one. In fact, it is the temporary hideaway which helped Murray regain his composure after the Serb had seemingly come back from the brink to level at two sets all.

Hardly the place of dreams. But for Murray the importance of its tranquillity will never be forgotten. If it wasn't for one of the most famous bathroom breathers in tennis history, the last 12 months could well have been very different.

Another final defeat - it would have been a crushing fifth in a row - might have been such a hammer blow that winning Wimbledon - or any Grand Slam - would have felt even more of a pipedream.

Murray has recalled how he stood before the bathroom mirror, a sweaty, ranting mess. When he returned to court he came out "totally different".

"No I haven't been there yet," Murray said last night. "If I am a couple of sets down I may head in there.

"Coming back here and going back out on to the main court for the first time has been really nice, though, because last year I was so relieved at the end that I don't feel like I really enjoyed it as much as I should have done.

"It was a bit more enjoyable coming back and being on the court and actually remembering that I had won the tournament last year. It was frantic and I wasn't really thinking enough to enjoy that.

"It was the same at Wimbledon. I went back there six or seven days afterwards and I was just there on the court by myself and actually getting to enjoy that moment because when everyone is looking at you and the cameras are on it is very difficult.

"You enjoy it, but it isn't the same. I felt like I remembered more about what was going on when I actually went back to the court when there was no-one there."

You get the feeling there won't be any impromptu trips to the toilet just yet.

His early rounds, with Michael Llodra first up, should be routine enough. A possible last-eight encounter with Tomas Berdych will set him up nicely for a crack at Djokovic and then Nadal if the form book is anything to go by.

But no matter who is standing at the other end of the court, they will see a radically different player from the one of 12 months ago.

Winning improves people. Their mindsets become different. The springs in their steps are there for a reason. Murray is no different.

"I probably feel more confident, but I think that when the tournament rolls around I will be very nervous," he said.

Naturally there is always a buzz for Nadal and Roger Federer when the majors come around, but Murray is walking tallest right now. Locker room glances are different.

They see a champion, not a contender desperately trying to make his mark. The new-found attention sits well.

"It's been a bit busier, everything that goes with entering a tournament like this as defending champion," said Murray. "More people recognise you, you have to do things like the draw, I guess that is just what you expect.

"Getting in and out of the city is obviously pretty busy so you need to make sure that the time you have during the day you are using properly and not using up too much energy. There is even less going around the city or out in the evenings.

"It's the first time for me playing a Grand Slam as defending champion, it's a new experience for me, so I have no idea how I'll respond to that because it's new. But I hope I enjoy it and put on a good show."

That's exactly what British No 2 Dan Evans, 23, did in the early hours of yesterday, showing tremendous heart to qualify for a slam for the first time by seeing off Spain's Adrián Menéndez-Maceiras 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, to set up a first-round match with No 11 seed Kei Nishikori.

Murray has promising company from home in the main draw of a major outside of Wimbledon. Whatever next?