"I have goals to achieve" - Andy Murray sets sights on winning multiple titles in 'last stage' of career after strong start to 2023
Andy Murray has declared his goal of winning more than just one more title at this late stage of his career, as he fought his way into the 2023 Qatar Open semifinals with another gritty win. The three-time Grand Slam champion feels he is going in the right direction to achieve his goals for the remainder of his career.
So far at the Qatar Open, Murray has put on a clinic on how to grind out tough wins, with hard-fought three-set victories against Lorenzo Sonego (7-6 in the third set) and Alexander Zverev (7-5 in the third set) before Thursday's 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win against Alexandre Muller in the quarterfinals.
On Friday (February 24), the Briton tennis great will compete in his first tour-level semi-final since June as he searches for his first singles title since 2019. Despite everything Murray has been through over the last five-plus years, the 35-year-old playing with a metal hip will not be content with just one more title on the tour.
"I want to win multiple," Andy Murray said in his post-match press conference after the quarterfinals win. "I mean, obviously I'd love to win one, but I have goals to achieve more than that."
Murray's Qatar Open heroics have come soon after his memorable Australian Open campaign, where he won two consecutive five-setters from improbable situations. If Murray is able to maintain his ongoing run of form and confidence, he believes he will have many more chances of winning titles with multiple deep runs.
"I feel like these last few weeks are a step in the right direction, and if I continue to play and compete like I am just now, I'll have, you know, not just one opportunity to win a title, but I'll have more chances to do that in this last stage of my career," he added.
Speaking of the immediate task at hand, Murray is aware that the challenge will get bigger in the remainder of the Qatar Open, but he believes that a first title in almost four years is certainly not out of reach. The two-time Wimbledon winner faces 2023 Australian Open quarterfinalist Jiri Lehecka in the semifinals and if he wins that, he will face either Daniil Medvedev or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final.
"Yeah, I'm putting myself in a position now, you know, to do that going into the last couple of matches, and granted, the players who are still in the tournament, it's not going to be easy," the Briton great admitted.
"With each of these wins, I'll build more and more confidence" - Andy Murray
Andy Murray believes that his confidence will only rise with every successive victory he has going forward. Having said that, he also expressed a desire to win matches a lot more comfortably and easily in the earlier stages of tournaments and not have to grind his way through each of his wins. The 35-year-old feels he will get even better as the season progresses.
"With each of these wins, I'll build more and more confidence and, you know, hopefully continue to start the matches a bit quicker, a bit better because of that," said Andy Murray.
"I'm sure some easier or quicker wins will come, as I'm sure there will be the occasional loss that's quick, too."
Murray has spent more than 20 hours on the court in six matches so far this season, including over five hours across his last two matches in Doha against Zverev and Muller, respectively. Starting the week at No. 70 in the ATP rankings, Murray is already up to No. 61 in the live ATP rankings after reaching the last-four stage.