Andy Murray admits he is 'not really enjoying’ being on court at the moment
Andy Murray has admitted he hasn’t enjoyed being on court for the 'last five, six months’ after conceding a 5-2 lead in a second straight encounter against Alex de Minaur.
Murray played the Australian in Beijing last month, where he failed to convert three match points before being beaten.
It was a similar situation in the first round of the Paris Masters, where Murray has not won a single match since lifting the title back in 2016.
The British No.3 lost the first set to the 13th seed despite winning three set points, but bounced back well to claim the second spot.
Murray then put himself in a good position in the decider with a double break in De Minaur, but was unable to convert his single match point and lost five straight games to lose, 6(5)-7 6-4 5-7.
It will be the sixth meeting between the pair, with De Minaur winning each one and his British No 1 girlfriend Katie Boulder taking to social media to reveal they no longer want to play each other, saying: „Alex and Andy have had enough. All my life. No more, please thank you.”
I’ve had enough Alex and Andy all my life. No more please thank you 👍🏼
— Katie Boulter (@katiecboulter) October 30, 2023
Murray seems to be fed up not only with the matchup but with tennis in general at the moment, saying, “I don’t think I played well today, I’m still in a three-set match against a guy who’s ranked 13th. In this world. It’s frustrating. I’m not really enjoying it now, I’ll just say how I feel on the court and how I play.
The 36-year-old continued, “The last five, six months haven’t been that enjoyable, which doesn’t help things, so I have to try to find that enjoyment again because playing in a tournament like that is not really there. Lots of positives there.
„When I play a good point, I don’t really fall behind, and then in the important moments, I win and fight, and that’s always a big part of my game. Like I said, it happened today, I don’t remember it happening before, but it’s very rare. Those types of situations happen a lot this year, and it’s really not me. It’s not interesting.”
Murray has won three ATP Challenger titles this year, but his form has been less than desirable since winning the cross-court title in Nottingham, winning just eight of his last 17 matches.
The No.40 reflected on the second half of the season, saying, „It feels like I’m playing on the field and there’s nothing static or stable.
„The grass court season was really disappointing. Obviously winning the Challengers was good, but it wasn’t the level I wanted to compete at. It wasn’t good overall.”
Murray continued to talk about how he was finding 'frustration’ in both training and competition, but appeared keen to continue working on his game.
„I find the matches frustrating, the match not as interesting as it should be. And then there’s a lot of frustration with my game in practice,” Murray explained. „Sometimes you play well in practice and it doesn’t necessarily translate on the match court, but at least you feel like you’re getting somewhere.” .Whereas, in practice it’s not that big. A lot of frustration in training and that kind of carries over into competitions.
„When I’m competing on the court, I’m like, 'Let’s try to beat the guy in front of you.’ I spend a lot of time focusing on myself, how I feel, how my shots look, and it’s not a great place to be on the court.
The three-time major winner concluded, „If I want to keep going, I’m going to need a lot of work. It’s not going to be an off-season or anything, it’s not going to be a week or two of training to get me where I need to go, it’s going to be a lot of work and consistent work. I’m going to be A chance to return to a desired destination.”
Despite his early exit from the Paris Masters, Murray is scheduled to be in France for next week’s ATP 250 tournament in Metz, before preparations begin for Great Britain’s Davis Cup quarter-final tie with Novak Djokovic’s Serbia.
To become a world champion 🏆
Your Lexus GB Davis Cup Team for the Final 8#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/W2hPH7ovLb
— The LTA (@the_LTA) October 23, 2023
Inside the base:
Murray is currently as frustrating to himself as to those watching, with the former No.1 always looking competitive in matches against all manner of opponents. However, that killer instinct seems to be missing now, which will no doubt dampen confidence in Murray’s ability to win big tournaments. Murray seems to spend a long time on court in most matches, and his loss to De Minaur lasted more than three hours, so he doesn’t have much in the tank for the next round if he wins.
Read more – Don Evans 'very disappointed’ to pull out of Davis Cup as Great Britain face huge setback
Andy Murray in 2023
Despite Murray’s current woes, he has reached the ATP Finals, won three Challenger titles and reached his highest ranking (No.36) since hip surgery this year.
Here are some of Murray’s stats for the 2023 season:
Overall Win-Loss Record: 31-19 (62%)
Grand Slam Win-Loss Record: 4-3 (57%)
ATP Tour Win-Loss Record: 12-15 (44%)
ATP Challenger Win-Loss Record: 15-1 (94%)
Best Results: Won Doha Final (ATP 250), Won Aix en Provence (ATP Challenger), Surbiton (ATP Challenger) and Nottingham (ATP Challenger)
moment @Andy_Murray Sealed the title in Aix-en-Provence 🏆
🎥 @ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/ZnclzzSOxt
— The LTA (@the_LTA) May 7, 2023
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