'I wouldn't be surprised if I played poorly' says Murray

Published on Monday 2 November 2009 22:00

INACTIVITY does not suit Andy Murray. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have both overtaken him in the world rankings – the Scot is down from No2 to No4 – and while his main rivals have been polishing their trophies and winning matches, Murray has been waiting for a niggling wrist injury to heal.

For six weeks, Murray has done as he has been told by the doctors and the physiotherapists and has practised and trained with his regular team of helpers. Now, however, he is impatient to make up for lost time and get back to the courts that suit his game the best.

This week he is in Spain for the Valencia Open played at the City of Arts and Sciences complex, a futuristic venue to the south east of the city.

Murray's record on the indoor hard courts are second to none – last year he was the unofficial world No1 during the autumn swing of indoor events – while his ability to find his top form after a spell away from the courts has often been noted.

Even so, the Scot is trying not to let his ambitions run away with him. Today he will take on Daniel Gimeno-Traver, the world No77 from Valencia, and Murray is trying to play down his chances.

"My wrist is fine," he said. "But I don't have that many expectations for the next couple of weeks. I've played two matches since the US Open so I just try and I guess ease my way in. Normally it takes a bit of time to get back into playing your best but I feel good.

"I knew Gimeno-Traver a bit from the juniors, he is a good player, solid. He's a couple of years older than me, come through a bit later, but it'll be a tough match. I think he's been playing well the last month, a lot of Challengers, so I'll have to see how it goes – I wouldn't be surprised if I played poorly, but I'll try my best."

Murray may not be surprised if he is not at his best but seasoned observers of his career would be. So far Murray has amassed 13 titles, of which eight have been won after he has returned from a break of some kind, be it for injury, training or merely a bit of a holiday.

By contrast, Gimeno-Traver has never played an indoor match on the main tour before. He has only played one match (and lost it) on a surface other than clay since Wimbledon and has only ever played – and lost – three matches at this level on a hard court.

Even if Murray is trying to play down his chances, he would be hard pushed to admit that he is anything other than the overwhelming favourite today.

As the top seed, Murray is expected to get to the final and the draw has been kind to him. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils and Nikolay Davydenko are all safely tucked away in the bottom half of the draw while the main obstacles in his path to the semi finals and beyond – David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco and Tommy Robredo – are not at their best indoors.

Verdasco has the best record of the three with 32 wins to 30 losses over the course of his career so Murray's record of 66 wins to 16 losses and seven indoor titles makes everyone else look lightweight by comparison.

To add a little edge to his challenge, Murray has teamed up with Alex Corretja this week. After the Scot was forced to withdraw from the Tokyo and Shanghai events last month, he was locked away with Miles Maclagan, his coach, for weeks of practise. Now Maclagan has been given a bit of a break and Corretja has been asked to pick up the reins.

"It was always the plan for Alex to come here," Murray explained, "When I didn't go over to Asia, we talked about maybe Miles coming, but it was always the plan that it was going to be Alex coming here. I spent a good five weeks practising with Miles and seeing him every day so it's nice to have a little break from that. And it's good to see Alex again."

With the Open this week, the Paris Masters next week and the ATP Tour World Finals to come later in the month, Murray is in for a busy few weeks. And if history is anything to go by, it could be a very profitable time for the Scot despite his predictions to the contrary.