Andy Murray talks about his 2020 schedule and expectations from Grand Slams
Life seems to be going well for Scottish tennis player Andy Murray, who recently launched his first sportswear clothing line (AMC) on King's Road in Chelsea, London. In the short interview that he gave to reporters from The Tennis Podcast, Murray talked about his scheduling for the 2020 season and his physical condition after the Antwerp title, as well as his opinion on the new Davis Cup format that will begin next week.
On his schedule for 2020
Murray mentioned that his scheduling for the 2020 season will be influenced a lot by how much time he can spend with his family. His son was born just a few weeks ago, and Murray specified that he doesn't want to travel much outside of Europe, as he wishes to be close to home.
He added that the big tournaments outside of Europe are still going to be on his schedule, but that he does not see himself playing smaller tournaments away from home in 2020.
When asked about his off-season and his preparation for the Australian Open, Murray talked about how he is going to schedule everything for this time of the year in a different way, compared to other years. He wishes to be home for Christmas and leave for Australia on the 27th of December, which is a bit later than he used to depart for the first Grand Slam of the year.
While he used to leave one month in advance in the past, he believes that he should have enough time to prepare, even with this schedule. He mentioned that this time around, his family is the priority during the Christmas holidays. The Scottish player believes that this more lenient schedule is better for his body at this point.
His physical condition after the Antwerp title
Murray felt he had to take a long break after the Antwerp tournament, as it was the culmination of four long weeks of tennis for him. He did not have any pain in his hip, and he is happy about that, but he said that his elbow was pretty sore after the Antwerp title. Still, he does not think it is going to be an issue in the long run.
Murray said that overall he is happy with his physical condition after playing so many matches this autumn. Going further, he specified that right now he is heavier than he ever was in his professional career, at 88.5 kg, compared to his normal weight of 84 that he managed to hold for most of his career. But does not bother Murray, because he believes that he can get back in shape fast during the off-season, when he starts training.
His expectations from five-set matches
With the Australian Open being just two months away, it was normal for Murray to be asked about how he believes his body will hold up in five-set matches. He said that at this point, with no off-season training, he does not know what to expect from longer matches. He mentioned that his hip had not troubled him since he returned, so he is quite optimistic about his chances of being fine even in Grand Slam matches.
Furthermore, he mentioned that his trainer actually likes the idea of Grand Slam matches more compared to the ones from normal tournaments. Murray talked about how at a Grand Slam he has a day off between rounds, and his body can recover better because of that. He mentioned how difficult the Antwerp tournament was for him, with back-to-back matches for an entire week.
On the new Davis Cup format
Murray talked about how he is excited and intrigued about the new Davis Cup format. He mentioned how he believes that the only detrimental part to this new format is going to be the atmosphere, as he does not think that it will rise to the level of the home atmosphere that they used to have in the Finals.
When asked about Great Britain's chances, Murray sounded quite optimistic. He said that on paper they seem to have the best team from the group. At the same time, he mentioned that Kazakhstan also has two good singles players, and the Dutch national team can be very dangerous in the doubles match.