Andy Murray Reveals Secret For His Success

Written by: Staff on 12th October 2012

Andy Murray Reveals Secret For His Success

epa03423015 Andy Murray of Britain serves the ball to Milos Raonic of Canada during their semi final match in the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships tournament in Tokyo, Japan, 06 October 2012. Raonic later won the match and advanced to then final. EPA/TOMOYUKI KAYA |

Andy Murray has revealed one secret behind finally winning an elusive Grand Slam title at the recent US Open. The 25 year-old Scot maintains his mind is a lot clearer after coach Ivan Lendl suggested a course of analytical sessions with a Fort Lauderdale-based psychologist.

Lendl worked with Alexis Castorri during his playing career and when he started coaching Murray in January he suggested the world no.3 should follow suit. And Murray is convinced Castorri’s input was hugely beneficial to his victory in New York .

Murray revealed: “I’ve been using it more for psychology rather than specifically just sports, to talk about loads of things, you know, that go on away from the tennis court. There’s obviously a lot of people that I work with. Knowing how to speak to people and manage situations a bit better is really good.”

In the past Murray has suffered long bouts of ‘depression’ that affected his form and commitment to tennis following defeats in Grand Slam finals. Also minor aberrations might have caused him to sulk for more than a set and a continuous tirade of verbal abuse, aimed in the direction of his support crew, polluted many a match. Such habits now seem a thing of the past and tennis’ most recent Grand Slam champion appears to be a man far more at peace with his inner self.

Tennis specifics, such as how to deal with the pressure of a break point, or even how to overcome a tough loss, are not really on the agenda. “If

I did need that, I could discuss it more and more,” he said. “It’s been more about stuff away from the court which is what I used it for, and it’s helped.”

“I feel like when my mind is sort of free of anything, that might be frustrating me away from the court, I can’t focus as well as I need to on my tennis. When my mind’s clear, I can go on the court and play, not worrying about anything else. So I can play much better and think a lot better on the court.

“When I was young, one of my best attributes was my tactical knowledge; knowing how to win matches and stuff. More recently sometimes, if I wasn’t thinking about the match, I was wasting one of my biggest assets.

“So now I’m been to use that more and the US Open was a good example. I didn’t play my best throughout the tournament, but I played smart tennis. Even when it was really tough, I found ways to win when I wasn’t playing well.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Alexis Castorri, Andy Murray, British tennis news, Ivan Lendl, Murray, Scottish tennis news, Sports, US Open 2012