Andy Murray Tempted Fate

Written by: Staff on 28th January 2013

Andy Murray Tempted Fate

epa03554967 Andy Murray of Great Britain gestures during his semi final match against Roger Federer of Switzerland at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 25 January 2013. EPA/Mark Kolbe Pool |

Andy Murray tempted fate by maintaining beforehand that it wouldn’t be a proper Grand Slam final against Novak Djokovic unless there was a modicum of pain involved. Little did the Scot know his body would agonizingly betray him in his hour of need.

Murray refused to lament his misfortune on the badly blistered left foot that compromised his mobility and contributed to him losing the Australian Open final for a second time. Instead he simply shrugged it off as being part and parcel of the brutality of top flight tennis in 2013 and insisted he is now stronger and better equipped to add more Grand Slam titles to the one he collected at last year’s US Open.

Murray revealed the blister was not a remnant of his five sets win over Roger Federer in the semi-final; instead it was a result of the relentless rallying with Djokovic who employs similar defensive styles and relies on counter-attacking.

Instead, he said: “It’s part and parcel of playing these big events against the best players in the world. It just shows how physical the game is just now.

“It happens often, especially when you’re doing that much running. You expect those sort of things when you’re playing the points like we were and the positions you’re getting yourself into on the court.”

Yet Murray was in no mood to surrender and maintained he was prepared to go through the pain barrier in attempt to keep pace. Shrugging off the issues with his foot he said: “It’s not something that stops you from playing or stops you from running for balls. It’s just a bit sore when you’re running around. But it’s not like pulling a calf muscle or something. It just hurts when you run.

“There are certain things that hurt when you run or hit the ball, especially blisters. However it’s not something that going to stop you from playing. It’s what happens when you play the rallies we did tonight, along with the match with Roger. It’s just part of it.”

Disappointment was obvious for a player who has just lost out in Grand Slam final but Murray was nowhere near so disconsolate as when he was beaten by Djokovic in the 2011 Australian Open final or a year earlier by Federer.

“There’s going to be some obvious reasons for me feeling a little bit better,” revealed the Scot. The last few months have been the best tennis of my life I made Wimbledon final, won the Olympics, won the US Open. I was close here as well.

Murray was attempting to establish a piece of tennis history by becoming the first ever player in the Open era to win a second Grand Slam in the first major tournament following his initial win. He acknowledged it was a tough call and said: “I know no one’s ever won a Slam, the immediate one after winning their first one. It’s not the easiest thing to do and I got extremely close. I also felt much more comfortable on the court today than even I did at the US Open.

“I have to try and look at the positives of the last few months, and I think I’m going the right direction This was the first time I’d beaten Roger [Federer] in a Grand Slam tournament over five sets. I think I dealt with the situations and the ebbs and flows in that match well.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Andy Murray, Australian Open, British tennis news, Novak Djokovic, sport news