"If I don't feel any of the butterflies, it's generally a bad sign" - Andy Murray embraces pre-match nerves at Indian Wells 2023

Andy Murray disclosed that he welcomes feelings of nervousness and pressure before his matches as he believes they provide him with a competitive edge.

Murray started his Indian Wells Masters campaign with a three-hour and 12-minute-long comeback victory over Tomas Martin Etcheverry. In the second round, he faced Radu Albot and registered his first straight sets victory since October 2022.

In his post-match press conference, Murray admitted to feeling nervous prior to the match, partly due to a last-minute change in opponents. The Brit was originally supposed to face Pablo Carreno Busta. However, the Spaniard was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a muscle injury.

When asked if it was an unusual occurrence for him to feel nervous prior to the match, the three-time Grand Slam champion disclosed that he prefers feeling nervous and pressured when playing matches. However, during the match against Albot, he felt out of sync with the situation despite being in control of the match and playing well.

"I mean, I generally much prefer feeling nervous when I play matches and feeling, yeah, feeling pressure. It just sort of felt a bit out of sync with the situation. You know, like I was in, I guess, pretty decent control of the match," he said.

"Like I said, I was serving well," he added. "I was hitting the ball pretty well. But there was just, I don't know, yeah, there was just more tension than probably there should have been out there on the court."

Murray divulged that he prefers feeling nervous and under pressure when playing matches, as long as they are under control. However, he felt that the nerves were not in check against Albot.

"But usually I prefer to feel nerves, providing they are sort of, you know, in check. And maybe today they weren't for whatever reason. But nerves, I would way rather feel more tension than feel flat, which, you know, is really never a good sign for me if I wake up and I don't feel any of the butterflies or anything like that, it's generally a bad sign," he stated.

Andy Murray expresses his desire to win Indian Wells Masters before retirement

While the Indian Wells title has eluded Andy Murray in his career so far, he is eager to make amends before he walks away from the sport.

In a recent interview, Murray stated that he would like to win the BNP Paribas Open before he retires. He explained that Indian Wells, along with Monte Carlo Masters, are the only two Masters titles he hasn't won yet in his career.

"This one actually, Indian Wells. Here and Monte Carlos are the two that I haven't won. Although I probably haven't played that well here over the years, I always loved the tournament, I always enjoyed coming back," he said.

California Dreamin’ 🌴💭🏆

🇬🇧 @andy_murray would love to go all the way in Indian Wells!

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Andy Murray will take on Jack Draper in an all-British clash in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters