Murray makes no excuses for defeat

Published on Monday 26 January 2009 22:35

AT LEAST this year Andy Murray reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, but it did not make his defeat at the hands of Fernando Verdasco yesterday any less shocking or any less disappointing.

Twelve months ago, Murray was bundled out in the first round by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and his departure was greeted with gasps of amazement. But back then he was not one of the favourites to win the tournament. Back then, he was not the bane of Roger Federer's life. Back then he was not the world No4.

This time, Murray was facing a man to whom he had conceded just one set in five meetings and who lay 11 ranking spots behind the Scot. Worse still, Murray won the first set with relative ease and seemed to be sitting pretty as he held a two sets to one lead. And then he lost 2-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Afterwards, he made no excuses. The virus that had troubled him at the end of last week – he spent most of Friday in bed nursing a slightly sore throat – had left him with a bit of a cough but no more, and the pressure of being one of the main contenders for the title had not bothered him. He lost, Murray thought, simply because Verdasco played better.

"I have been on a very good run recently and each time I lose it is 'What has happened?'," Murray said. "Sometimes at this level, it comes down to a few points. We played over 250 points and it came down to one or two. He served huge on the big points and I couldn't do anything about it. Sometimes you have to suck it up and admit he was too good.

"I understand how sport works. You cannot always play your best and sometimes guys play too well. There are upsets every week in sport. I am disappointed to lose but I am definitely not shocked. I know how well he can play. If I had played terribly and felt I did not do myself justice, I would have been shocked."

For all that Verdasco had an appalling record against Murray, he has changed dramatically in the past three months. He spent the winter break training with Gil Reyes, Andre Agassi's fitness trainer but, more importantly, he found a new confidence and self-belief that had been lacking until he played – and won – the Davis Cup final in Argentina.

When Rafael Nadal pulled out of that final, Verdasco suddenly found himself thrust into the thick of battle and was called up for doubles duty. Then, when David Ferrer was dropped from the singles after the opening day, Verdasco was asked to take on Jose Acasuso in what turned out to be the decisive rubber.

With his captain, Emilio Sanchez, talking him through every game and every point, Verdasco won in five sets, became the hero of the moment and Spain were the Davis Cup champions.

So when Verdasco dropped the third set to Murray yesterday, he thought back to what Sanchez had told him and put the advice to good use. Using his new physical strength, courtesy of the Reyes training regime, he began to serve with precision and power. In the fourth set, his first serve accuracy was a staggering 93 per cent and Murray could not get a racket string to it.

"I think that that Davis Cup final made me much stronger mentally," Verdasco said. "And this pre-season, I was working really hard. So today, I was really believing in myself that I can win the match, that I'm going to five sets. That's so important: to believe in yourself."

Verdasco's habit of grunting loudly on every shot clearly annoyed Murray, while the Spaniard's time wasting between points and wish to challenge every close call with Hawk-Eye was beginning to get on his wick, but Murray is too experienced a player now to allow such petty irritations to trouble him.

Every shot was watched by Brad Gilbert, Murray's former coach, who was sitting at the courtside in his new role as a pundit for American television.

Although the Scot claimed that this was not a distraction, there were spells when he reverted to the sort of passive gameplan he used, and that so frustrated him, when he was guided by Gilbert.

But then there were other spells when he was his new, aggressive and muscular best – and neither approach was enough to stop Verdasco from winning. The Spaniard was playing the match of his life and nothing was going to stop him from reaching the quarter-finals.

"He just served too good for me," Murray said. "The return's the best part of my game, and he didn't give me too many chances. I'm not here to try to make excuses for why I lost. Last year, I lost in the first round and this time I have gone a bit further. Physically, I am better off than I was then. Hopefully, I can get better and learn from what he did better than me."

At least Murray was able to put the loss into perspective. It is his first defeat of the year in the first Grand Slam of the year – there will be more chances to win major titles and more opportunities to beat the top players. Not even Federer and Nadal can win every match they play, after all.

"It's been a good start to the year," Murray said. "I hope I can continue it. For me to lose is not a disaster because I'm still playing well."

• Murray justifies Federer doubts

• All aboard the Andy Murray rollercoaster for a nailbiting '09