‘I’ll get there’ – Andy Murray gaining confidence in comeback despite Dan Evans defeat

Andy Murray

Andy Murray declared he was satisfied with his week’s work, as his hopes of winning the Battle Of The Brits events came to an end as he lost a tight battle against Dan Evans.

Murray produced some sparkling form to win the first set 6-1, but he ran out of steam in the second set and surrendered an advantage in the championship tie break that decided the match, with Evans benefitted from a net cord on match point to win it 10-8.

In what was Murray’s first event since the Davis Cup finals in Madrid last November, the two-time Wimbledon champion declared he was encouraged by the way his body responded to a return to competitive action.

“Some of the tennis I played this week has been very encouraging, but there is clearly room for improvement,” said Murray in his post match Zoom press conference. 

“In this match, I started well and as has been the case in a lot of my matches this week, my levels dropped off. I have not sustained a high level for long enough, but my game is there. I just need more time to practice and prepare and I’ll get there.

“I just haven’t been able to do it for long enough in matches and that is something I used to be able to sustain when I was at the top of the game and competing regularly. I’m struggling to maintain my levels due to lack of matches and maybe shot selection. Not playing enough games makes it harder, but overall it’s good to play matches again. 

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“This was not the same as playing matches on tour. It’s very different with matches on the court and while I guess we will have to play with no fans for the next few events, it was good to get used to that.

“There was an atmosphere on the court, but it was different, for sure. It is just good to play matches, competitive matches. There are things in a slam or a tour event that I would do differently, but from a physical perspective I did pretty well. I didn’t feel brilliant after my match with Ward, but it didn’t affect my movement and that is encouraging.”

Andy Murray is now planning to set up his practice regime, as he looks forward to a return to the ATP Tour in Washington in August, as he sets his sights on the US Open at the end of that month.

“I won’t be going into the US Open preparing for that event like I did this one,” he added. “I have been practicing there or four days a week in the build-up to this, progressively building up my load over this next period.

“I didn’t want to go from doing nothing to a big spike in what I did and I think I moved well. It was a positive week.”

The Schroders Battle of the Brits event featuring Andy Murray all of Britain’s top players will be available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.

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