Andy Murray was due to maintain a demanding schedule in the Far East today when he faced current US Open champion Marin Cilic in the China Open in Beijing. And the Scot who was triumphant in New York two years ago before becoming also the Wimbledon champion maintains the current swing through Asia is the most demanding in tennis.
Murray knows the recently completed US Open series is a tough time for tennis players with one Masters series immediately following another, the whole thing culminating in a Grand Slam event and more often than not demanding climactic conditions also exerting an influence. But the travelling and differing temperatures and weather in this current phase of the tennis year presents a bigger challenge to the players.
After winning his first title in 15 months on Sunday in the Shenzhen Open, Murray spent some of his $106,970 earned in prize money on hiring a private jet to fly him and his entourage to Beijing and the move paid off when he found himself back on court for a demanding first round against Jerzy Janowicz less than 48 hours later.
Murray arrived in Beijing the same night as his final victory over Tommy Robredo but that would not have been possible if he had relied upon scheduled airlines. “For us, a day makes a huge, huge difference,” he said. “Plus the temperatures and humidity in Shenzhen were brutal but when I walked out to play here it was cold and only something like 15 degrees (Celsius). It felt completely different and you need time to acclimatize to conditions.
“It was the first time I had taken a private jet in China. The first time I did that was last year going from Canada to Cincinnati. But, yeah, I love it and it pays dividends. Look at the example of [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga this year.
“He played the best week of his life maybe in Canada. The conditions are completely different in Cincinnati. Turned up in Cincinnati, lost in the first round. Roger [Federer] had the extra days and ended up winning the title. It can make all the difference.”
Murray continued: “A lot of it depends on the seedings, rankings and stuff. Whether you get a first round bye or whatever, but it’s not easy making those adjustments. Sometimes you just need to try to find a way to get through the first match like I did against Janowicz, because it wasn’t my greatest tennis.”
Content via Bob Larson News Service.
Topics: Andy Murray, Beijing, China Open, Marin Cilic, Tennis
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