[ad_1]
Andy Murray has at all times insisted that he is not going to play aggressive tennis until he thinks he can win titles. That was his ultimatum when deciding to return again from “retirement” and it’s nonetheless his driving drive now.
Murray has by no means finished issues by half and the three-time grand slam champion will probably be wanting so as to add a fourth main to his trophy cupboard in February. In any other case he wouldn’t have accepted the wildcard slot for the 2021 Australian Open.
But there may be now justifiable concern that Murray is not going to be absolutely ready to tackle the very best of the ATP when he rocks up at Melbourne Park – due to his decision to withdraw from Delray Beach in early January.
Murray was named as a wildcard choose for the pre-Australian Open warm-up event on Boxing Day. His first match was scheduled for 7 January beneath the weak however heat Floridian solar. The plan, it appears, was to make use of the peninsula’s winter as a base to organize himself for Melbourne – one thing Murray did yearly when he lived in Miami through the peak years of his profession.
Florida presents a haven for elite tennis gamers searching for to keep up their health over the winter months and put together for the Australian Open, but reported considerations over the unfold of coronavirus in america has been sufficient to maintain the Scot away.
He joins Dan Evans and Kei Nishikori in staying away from the rescheduled Delray Seaside occasion, and focus now strikes on to Australia.
However how sure can Murray be that he may have what it takes to compete with the perfect on this opening grand slam of the season? In any case, the likes of Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem and Rafael Nadal all competed within the ATP Finals only a month in the past.
Nadal and Djokovic are set to play as soon as extra in Melbourne, whereas the brand new guard of Thiem, Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas all have their eyes on the crown.
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="84" width="84" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
Even Murray on the peak of his powers wouldn’t be assured a closing spot with this line-up – the one reduction being that Roger Federer is not going to be competing on the Australian Open in 2021.
Melbourne has been a very brutal enviornment for Murray down the years. He has reached 5 singles finals within the season-opening slam, solely to lose all of them. In 2019 he crashed out within the first spherical to Roberto Bautista Agut and there have been doubts we might ever see him once more within the Rod Laver Enviornment.
Having labored tremendously onerous throughout common off-seasons to organize himself for the rigours of the Aussie warmth, Murray was by no means capable of get his arms on the title. What hope, then, of him doing so this time, on the age of 33, with no pre-tournament matches in his legs?
In fact, assuming the Covid-19 scenario makes travelling to Australia secure for the two-time Wimbledon champion, we’re virtually sure to see Murray out on courtroom within the days earlier than the event begins.
The one different tournaments that at the moment are out there for Murray forward of the Australian Open are the 2 Melbourne-based tennis tournaments which were crowbarred into the schedule. Each ATP 250 occasions happen within the week earlier than the Australian Open and Murray would possible want a wildcard to earn a spot in both competitors.
It’s onerous to see how – even when Murray does play a kind of pre-slam tournaments – he’ll get by an additional gruelling two weeks he is aware of solely too nicely, with the grit, dedication and downright brilliance that marks his fashion of play.
The physicality with which Murray performs has at all times brought on points along with his physique. But even when his accidents keep away this spring, uncooked sport time will probably be an issue for a person who hasn’t performed aggressive tennis since dropping to a 36-year-old Fernando Verdasco in Cologne again in October.
Sure, he did play within the Battle of the Brits earlier than Christmas and beat each Evans and Cameron Norrie. But whereas these matches may have helped his kind and health, they’re nonetheless nicely under the aggressive par required to take right into a Grand Slam event.
Observe i sport on Facebook for extra tennis information, interviews and options, or take heed to the Love Tennis Podcast introduced by i‘s personal James Grey on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts
Extra on tennis
[ad_2]
Source link
