Andy Murray Gets Slammed In Press For Skipping Davis Cup Tie

Written by: Staff on 6th February 2013

Andy Murray Gets Slammed In Press For Skipping Davis Cup Tie

epa03558541 Andy Murray of Great Britain pumps fist in the men's final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during day fourteen of the 2013 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 27, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. EPA/Robert Prezioso Pool NO LICENSING FOR CONSUMER PRINTS. Editorial use only |

Andy Murray’s popularity in Britain, at an all-time high following his Olympic gold medal and US Open title wins, has taken another knock with his decision to miss the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Russia.

Britain’s hopes against such an experienced Davis Cup nation in a tie to be staged at the new venue of Coventry’s Ricoh Arena would appear to be minimal without Murray; the highest ranked singles players at captain Leon Smith’s disposal Jamie Baker, Josh Goodall and James Ward are all ranked outside the world’s top 200.

But Murray is insistent he believes he can win his second major title at the French Open and when the tie takes place on an indoor hard court between Friday, April 5 and Sunday, April 7, he will already be deep into his clay court preparation.

Murray has assured captain Smith he will be available for Britain’s next Davis Cup tie in September but said: “I believe I have a chance of winning the French Open. However to do that I need to prepare and use every single day as best as I can.”

Although Murray is adamant clay is his least favored surface he is a former semi-finalist at Roland Garros. “The clay-court season is extremely important for me,” said Murray, who was speaking at London’s Queen’s Club as part of his long term contracted obligation to the Aegon Championships that come immediately after the French Open in June.

“It’s a surface that takes me a long time to get used to, it’s not a surface that comes naturally to me. Grass and hard courts I feel comfortable on fairly quickly, the clay takes me a long time.

“I need to practice and train on that for a lot of hours. It’s a surface where I had problems with my back last year and I had to take a pretty solid amount of time off during that season.”

Murray maintained he is doing well in recovering from the disappointment of losing the Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic and said: “”Obviously there were a few things I could have done a little bit better in the final, also the semi-final as well.

“I maybe could have made it easier on myself and not had a long five-setter – I had the chance to serve for the match in the fourth set, didn’t play a particularly good tie-breaker after that, so they’re the sorts of things you think about and look at. But I played well overall, it was a good tournament.”

Murray has cut back on his schedule for 2013, opting not to contest the lucrative Dubai Duty Free Championships and head straight to the United States for another period of concerted training at his Miami base.

“I’ve realized over the years that I play my best when I have time to prepare for each tournament as best as possible,” he said.

“That’s why I’m not going to pay anything between Australia and the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments.”

Topics: Andy Murray, British tennis news, Davis Cup, Murray, Mussa