Andy Murray seeded fourth for US Open

• Andy Murray beat Rafael Nadal in the 2008 US Open semi-final. Now he must go one better Picture: Getty

The 23-year-old Scot, who is currently without a coach after parting company with Miles Maclagan last month, has been in good form of late, beating Roger Federer in the final of the Toronto Masters and reaching the quarter-finals in Cincinnati last week. World No 1 Rafael Nadal, who Murray beat in last year's US Open, will be the top seed as the Spaniard looks to win the only grand slam title to have eluded him so far, while five-time champion Federer is the second seed.

Novak Djokovic is seeded third while Andy Roddick, the ninth seed, is the top ranked home hope. The women's seedings will be announced today with the singles draws set to take place tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Russian Dinara Safina upset French Open champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the opening round of the Pilot Pen tennis tournament at New Haven, Connecticut. Safina's win came less than a week after she lost in straight sets to Schiavone in Montreal. She has been hampered all year by a back injury. "When you lose a match you say, 'God, I wish I could replay this match one more time to do the things different'," she said. "And I got this chance to play (Schiavone) here."

Nadia Petrova of Russia rallied to beat Varvara Lepchenko of the United States 1-6, 7-5, 6-1. Petrova was a late addition to the field after an ankle injury forced Ana Ivanovic to withdraw. "It's been an amazing opportunity, because I feel like I need a few matches before the US Open," Petrova said.

Russia's Elena Dementieva almost missed the start of her first-round match and had to be tracked down on the practice courts. She then went out and beat Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain 6-1, 6-2.

In the men's draw, two-time Pilot Pen champion James Blake, who grew up in nearby Fairfield, beat Pere Riba of Spain 6-0, 6-1 in just 35 minutes - the fastest completed match on the ATP Tour this season.