"There is a lot of positive signs there" - Andy Murray remains optimistic ahead of Wimbledon 2023 despite Queen's Club Championships exit
Andy Murray remains optimistic ahead of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships despite his first-round exit from the Queen's Club Championships.
On Tuesday, June 20, Murray took on seventh seed Alex de Minaur in the opening round. The Brit entered the ATP 500 event after winning back-to-back titles in the Surbiton and Nottingham Challengers. However, he was unable to continue his winning streak on grass as De Minaur put on a clinical performance, winning 6-3, 6-1 to extend his perfect win record (4-0) against the former World No. 1.
Following the match, Murray brushed off the claims of his intense tournament schedule over the past three weeks potentially playing a hand in the loss.
“I felt OK going into the match. Just didn’t play very well,” Andy Murray said in his post-match press conference.
The three-time Grand Slam champion mentioned that while it would be easy to overreact to the defeat, his performance in the Surbiton and Nottingham Challengers allowed him to focus more on the positives from his grasscourt season in the lead-up to Wimbledon.
“Obviously after today, you know, it’s easy to overreact. Well, no, I lost to a good player and it was obviously very comfortable but at the same time, over the last couple of weeks, yes, it’s obviously not the same level of opponents, but I won the tournament last week without dropping a set. I only lost one set in Surbiton," Andy Murray said.
"Was holding serve very comfortably, was moving well, hitting the ball good. There is a lot of positive signs there," he added.
“I was aware of that before all of the matches that I played" - Andy Murray on his chances of being seeded at Wimbledon 2023
Andy Murray's defeat in the first round of the Queen's Club Championships has hurt his chances of being seeded at the Wimbledon Championships 2023. Currently at No. 38 in the live rankings, Murray acknowledged that he needed a quarterfinal finish at the ATP 500 event to ensure a top-32 seeding at SW19.
“I knew I was pretty much either going to have to make a final here if I didn't do well in Surbiton and Nottingham, or if I won both of those events, it was looking like at least a quarter-final to do it. I was aware of that before all of the matches that I played the past few weeks," Andy Murray said.
The Brit also disclosed his intention to recharge and continue to work hard on his game ahead of the grasscourt Major.
“Just recharge a little bit, and then go to work on my game,” Murray said. “Keep serving well, keep working on my movement."
Andy Murray has enjoyed prior success at the Wimbledon Championships, having won his home Slam twice, in 2013 and 2016.