Andy Murray upbeat despite gruelling schedule
Paris, Oct 29 (IANS) Britain's Olympic tennis champion Andy Murray is playing for the sixth consecutive week at the ongoing Paris Masters, but the World No.8 said that he feels no physical strain and is looking forward to being on court in the event.
"Last time I did it was when I was 18 after Wimbledon. I went and played 10 weeks in a row over in America," the 27-year-old said here Tuesday, reports Xinhua.
"It's been a long few weeks but it's been very beneficial for me. I have gained a lot of confidence in my body again from playing these many matches and I have been fighting extremely hard and got some good results."
Last Sunday, Murray plotted an excellent comeback against Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the final of Valencia Open, winning 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(8) taking over three gruelling hours to clinch the title. The victory, one of the three trophies in his last five events, helped him become the biggest mover in the rankings, to eighth, and climb to fifth spot in the race to qualify for next month's ATP World Tour Finals in London.
"It's supposed to have been a terrible year for me. Right now I'm No.5 in the race and I'm happy with that. I have come back well from a tough surgery and there is still hopefully a couple of tournaments left between now and the end of the year where I can try to make more improvements," said the Scotsman, who's recovering from a back surgery undergone last year.
"But if not, I'm still very happy, especially with the last few weeks. A lot of the tennis I played since the French Open has been good. I feel much better about myself," the 27-year-old added.
The two-time Grand Slam champion, seeking a qualification to the season-ending Tour Finals, said it's not his main reason for playing a lot of tournaments after the US Open.
"I was more interested in trying to get myself back into the top-8 in the world because for the seedings and all of the Masters series and the major events at the beginning of 2015. It makes a big difference."
The ATP World Tour Finals will start Nov 9 in London with World No.1 Novak Djokovic and second-ranked Roger Federer already booking their places. Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka and US Open champion Marin Cilic have also secured their spots and four more berths are up for grabs.