Murray Looking Forward To A Comeback At Queen’s
Murray’s performance has been suspect during the last few months, especially during the clay season, where honestly, he performed quite poorly up until his semi-final showing at Roland Garros. However, not many people perform well on clay unless they are part of the infamous group of dirt rats and clay courters. But, with grass court season well under way, Murray seems to be on track to getting his game back.
With Queen’s beginning on Tuesday, Murray should be the favorite, and with Ivan Lendl back at his side, Murray seems to be the second favorite at Wimbledon as well, the favorite being Roger Federer. In fact, Murray is quite happy with the way he has improved after the French, saying that he feels a lot better on court which has lead to a boost in confidence.
“Obviously I am playing better now than I was before the French. In practice, I am hitting the ball a lot better than I was before the start of the tournament there but there are still a lot of things I felt could be better in Paris.”
“I was a lot closer to where I wanted to be but still far from where I wanted to be playing, so that is why I got back onto the practice courts so soon, to work on some things.”
Murry would also go on to acknowledge that the change of surface has helped a lot, especially since Murray has had much better results on grass than on clay, or any other surface in fact.
“This surface is a little bit more natural for me, which helps, but I have had to practice a lot this week,” Murray reflected.
Murray will face British number four Alijaz Bedene at Queen’s Club in his opening round on Tuesday, and if all goes well it should be a simple match for the 5 time Queen’s club champion. Murray seems all set to make a run for a record sixth title this week.
He only took two days off after Roland Garros, and is feeling some pressure already with Wimbledon around the corner and the expectations of a nation upon him. Many people feel that Murray could be the next British man to win three Wimbledon titles after Perry.
“It would be amazing, I never expected to win it once, never mind twice. It had been such a long time since any British man had won that.”
“I’ll give it my best shot for sure. I’ll prepare as best I can and if I play well then I definitely have a chance of winning.”
Murray is also accustomed to this yearly cycle of pressure he goes through as Wimbledon approaches. He has found a balance between tennis and his home life, an equilibrium that many of the older players seem to find as they begin to have their own families.
“A lot of pressure comes with it (Wimbledon) as well. There’s a lot of expectation during this period, so it can be a bit stressful – but I’m able to get away from that as well because I’m at home, I’m sleeping in my own bed and I have all my family around me.
“I’m older and more experienced in dealing with it. The pressure and stress that goes with it maybe doesn’t affect me quite as much when I was younger.”
Depending on how well Murray does at Queen’s, we may just see him defend his Wimbledon title.