“It's not been easy these last few years to stay fit and healthy, but I'm convinced that my tennis can be better than where it is right now” - Andy Murray after his Cincinnati 2022 win against Stan Wawrinka
Andy Murray feels as good as he has in a long time, though he is also convinced that he can play better tennis. The Scotsman registered a hard-fought Round of 64 win against Stan Wawrinka at the 2022 Cincinnati Open on Monday.
Murray dug deep to come through his two-hour, 34-minute first-round match, rallying from a break down in the third set to register a 7-6(3), 5-7, 7-5 victory and improve his head-to-head record against Wawrinka to 13-9.
It was the former World No. 1’s 37th match of the season, the most he’s played in a year since 2016. Speaking at his post-match press conference, the former World No. 1 gave an honest assessment of his game currently.
“Terms of how I pulled up after matches and stuff has been the best I have felt in a really long time. So that's good. I would like my tennis to be better at times, because I'm still convinced that it can be better than where it is right now,” Murray said.
Andy's on it 👍
Two-time #CincyTennis champion @andy_murray is up and running with a 7-6(3) 5-7 7-5 victory over Stan Wawrinka. https://t.co/L9qdRvUXxs
He stated that while he’s experienced a few good moments this season, he’s generally struggled to stay fit and healthy over the last few years.
“Yeah, there has been some good moments this year, but, yeah, it's not been easy these last few years to stay fit and healthy and, you know, play enough tennis to get matches to learn from and to build confidence and to get my body sort of physically like robust enough to compete week in, week out,” he said.
“That's a positive thing that I got to play lots of matches or more matches this year. And, yeah, hopefully, I can continue that through the end of the season,” he added.
Andy Murray takes on Cameron Norrie in 2022 Cincinnati Open second round
Following his defeat of Stan Wawrinka, Andy Murry set up a second-round clash with Cameron Norrie at the 2022 Cincinnati Open. Ninth seed Norrie beat Dane Holger Rune 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4 in his opening-round match.
Murray and Norrie have played each other only once to date, with the former emerging as the victor. They clashed on the hardcourts of Beijing in 2019, with Murray winning 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 6-1.
Wearing his heart on his sleeve ❤️
@andy_murray @CincyTennis
https://t.co/2p0VQsRF4X
Speaking after his defeat of Wawrinka, Murray said that he’s expecting an entirely different challenge from Norrie since the Brit is a left-hander
“He is very different to how Stan plays, being a lefty. Flat on the backhand, heavy topspin on the forehand. We have spent a little bit of time on the court together, so there won’t be many surprises out there for me,” Andy Murray said.