Murray Says He Is Getting Used To Louder Crowds In The USA

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 19th August 2013

Murray Says He Is Getting Used To Louder Crowds In The USA

epa03826307 Andy Murray of Britain serves to Julien Benneteau of France during their third round match for the ATP Masters in Mason, Ohio, USA, 15 August 2013. EPA/MARK LYONS |

Andy Murray is getting adjusted to the overly loud North American decibel count as he prepares to make the first grand slam title defence of his career from next week at the US Open. Already at Cincinnati, where he lost a quarter-final to Tomas Berdych, the Scot was taking notice of the habitually elevated noise which seems to be generated on this side of the Atlantic.

“It’s a bit different, it’s not what we’re used to,” said the first Britton win the Wimbledon men’s title in more than three-quarters of a century last month. “It’s slightly different atmosphere at Wimbledon, that’s for sure.

American tournaments in general – and the Open in particular – are hugely distracting, with crowds constantly stuffing food and drink into their mouths and wandering around in the upper stadium while greasy food smells from concession stands permeate the already smelly air.

Murray looked on the bright side at the Cincinnati loss amid continual American chaos. “In some ways it’s good preparation for the US Open, because normally the Open is fairly loud – a lot of movement and music, and they have the big screen and stuff.

“You get used to that, playing here. But it’s obviously different. The grass court season is very quiet, and then coming here it’s noisy. There’s a lot of energy, and that’s something you need to try and feed off.”