Eighth-ranked Andy Murray said that he’s been training hard the past few weeks in a bid to perform well during the claycourt season. Murray has yet to win a title since hoisting the Wimbledon trophy a year ago.
“The most important thing is that I show it on the court and at the major events,” Murray said. “That’s what I train for. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Murray’s ranking has dropped to world number eight, understandably because he took a break from tennis in September last year and just made a comeback earlier this year.
“I practised a bit on the clay courts at Wimbledon, with quite a few of the doubles guys,” said Murray. “Ross [Hutchins] and Colin [Fleming]; practised with my brother (Jamie Murray), Jamie Delgado and John Peers a little bit. I did some drilling there and worked on sliding and the movement.
“Then I headed over to Valencia. I practised with [Pablo] Andujar, [Roberto] Bautista-Agut and [David] Ferrer a little bit. [Evgeny] Donskoy too. Some good guys to practise with there in perfect conditions. I went to Paris for a couple days and practised at Roland Garros with [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga.”
Murray is a three-time quarterfinalist at Madrid Masters. He’s awaiting the winner of the first round match between Nicolas Almagro and a qualifier. He’s projected to meet Roger Federer in the quarterfinals should he survive the earlier rounds.
