"With Wimbledon there is certainly a better opportunity to have a deep run" - Andy Murray working hard to find renewed success at the Grand Slam
Andy Murray opened up about his endeavor to find consistency during training and become a contender at Wimbledon 2023.
Murray recently competed at the Qatar Open where he saved 8 match points en route to the final, which he eventually lost to Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4. The Brit received a wildcard to participate in the ongoing Dubai Tennis Championships. However, he decided to withdraw from the tournament as a precautionary measure after spending a grueling 11 hours and 51 minutes on the court in Doha.
In an exclusive interview with The Times UK, the former World No. 1 explained his decision and revealed his goals for the future.
“The matches I had last week were physically pretty demanding. It was five matches in six days — the last time I did that was in Stuttgart but because of the surface [grass] the matches were physically really not that challenging," Murray said.
The Brit explained that his short-term goal was to improve his World No. 52 ranking to reach the top 32 to secure seeding at future grand-slam tournaments. With his two previous Wimbledon titles, the Grand Slam represents Murray's best chance to make a deep run. He added that most players on tour were more confident on hard courts, which increased his chances of success at Wimbledon.
“My feeling on Wimbledon is that less players play well on grass,” he said. “More of the guys are comfortable on the hard courts and that probably increases my chances. I’m not saying I would expect to win the French Open [on clay] if I played, but with Wimbledon there is certainly a better opportunity to have a deep run."
The 35-year-old divulged that he has been training hard for the past four months and is not solely focused on Wimbledon. He emphasized that his aim was to focus on each day and get the most out of his training. He believes that by accumulating enough of these good training days, his game will be in a great place by the time we get to Wimbledon.
“But I also really like the way that I’ve trained in practice these last four months and I’ve not been doing that with Wimbledon in mind. I’m trying to just focus on each day and trying to get the most out of it. If I do that and accumulate enough of those days, then I believe that come Wimbledon my game will be in a really, really good place," he said.
Andy Murray on how he is more mindful of his body since his hip injury
Andy Murray revealed that there has been a required change in how he treats his body since 2019, when his hip injury resurfaced. He said that his decision to withdraw from the tournament in Dubai was motivated by the need to be more mindful of his body.
“I do have to be a bit mindful of my body now, which I wouldn’t have been in my mid-twenties," Murray said. "Obviously, last week was extreme.”
The 35-year-old acknowledged some minor injuries, but mentioned that his body has coped well with the demanding tournaments he has played so far this year. He expressed confidence that his body would be able to handle playing seven five-set matches if necessary, as long as they are not excessively long.
"My belief is that my body would be fine to play seven five-set matches if needs be. Granted, if they are six-hour ones, probably not, but regular five-set matches, I’d be able to cope with that,” he added.
Andy Murray will return to the court at the Indian Wells Masters, scheduled to begin in the first week of March.