Andy Murray none the wiser after sweat test turns up nothing

US Open

Tennis365
August 28, 2022

Andy Murray’s cramp issues remain a mystery after tests came back clear ahead of the US Open.

The 35-year-old has generally coped well with hot and humid conditions during his career but has struggled over the past few weeks, cramping in three different matches, including his loss to Cameron Norrie in Cincinnati last week.

Murray underwent sweat testing to try to get to the bottom of the problem but that did not flag up any issues.

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“It was all good,” he said. “Sweat test was good. Blood test was good. No illnesses.”

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While that is positive news, it still leaves Murray unsure as to the cause of the problem.

“I think it would be nice if you were one thing, you were deficient in something, maybe it is because of that,” he said.

“But at least I know now it is more down to either conditioning or hydration or food-related. That is something I can obviously control a little bit as well.

“But I feel like I am in decent shape so that it is why it is concerning. I don’t really know why it has happened. Last few days in practice I have actually felt a bit better in the conditions and everything so hopefully I will be all right on Monday.”

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That leaves Murray in much the same position as he was in Cincinnati; wondering what is going wrong.

“I don’t know. I mean, I think pretty much every tennis player in their career has cramped usually in these sorts of conditions that we have had and sort of Newport, Washington, and here,” Murray had said.

“But the consistency of it for me is a big concern. You know, it’s not something that I have really experienced. I have experienced cramping but not consistently like over a number of tournaments.

“Yeah, big concern for me, because, you know, it’s not easy to play, you know, when it gets bad like it was at the end. Yeah, I feel like it had an impact on the end of the match.

“I’m not saying whether I would for sure win the match or not, but it certainly affected the way that I played a little bit right at the end, you know, from the middle of that set. You know, the same against Stan, I was fortunate to get through that one. I was lucky. You know, was a break down obviously in that set.

“You know, it was a problem, yeah, like I said in Washington against Ymer. I was really struggling for a good set and a half and certainly impacted the way I was able to play in that match.

“Newport, I was really lucky because it happened in the very last game and I was ahead. You know, I managed to hold serve in that last game, but if I didn’t, you know, who knows?

“It’s, yeah, a big concern for me, that, and something that I need to address and find a solution for. No one knows exactly why cramps happen. You know, there is many reasons, whether it’s hydration, whether it’s the food that you have taken in, whether it’s fatigue and lack of conditioning, stress.”

Murray takes on Argentinian 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo first up on Louis Armstrong Stadium on Monday.

Andy Murray