'I'm not complete player' admits Andy Murray

Published on Sunday 17 January 2010 23:20

ANDY Murray admitted he is not yet a complete player as prepared for his opening match at the Australian Open last night.

The 22-year-old has been feted for his counter-punching style of play from the back of the court, which helped him rise to a career-best ranking of number two in the world late last year. But as he attempts to make his major breakthrough success Murray believes he must add new aspects to his game. He spent a large part of the off-season at his training base in Miami working on his game at the net and the fruits of that labour were in evidence at the Hopman Cup in Perth a fortnight ago when he showed a greater desire to come forward.

And while he admits he is still more comfortable slugging matches out from the baseline the Scot is eager to mix up his game as he looks to claim an elusive grand slam title.

"I like being a counter-puncher. I've always played that way since I was growing up," he said. "It's a little different to the way the other guys at the top play. It's given me a lot of success, but there's still things I need to work on and practise to add to my game, like at the net.

"It's not so much my net game and the volleys when I'm there. It's more about deciding the times to come to the net and making sure you pick the right shots and coming in off the correct balls. Guys are so quick now, and pass and return so well you can't just expect to charge forward and get away with it."

Murray opened his Australian Open campaign against South African Kevin Anderson, who is ranked 147 in the world, overnight. He was third on court at the Rod Laver Arena, and was expected on court at 0330 GMT.

There is a 74-year drought for British men at major events but, after being asked the obligatory question on the subject, the fifth seed said it did not even enter his thoughts before a grand slam.

"I get asked about it a lot, but it is so irrelevant to the way I play or approach my matches," he said. "When I'm on the court it's the last thing I'm thinking about. I'm not thinking how many years it's been since a Brit won a grand slam. If I think about it all the time, I'm putting more pressure on myself. That's not going to help."