Murray puts US Open inquest on hold until Davis Cup duty is done

Published on Wednesday 16 September 2009 22:35

TROUBLESOME wrist permitting, Andy Murray gets back into action tomorrow for the first time since the US Open when he plays for Great Britain against Poland in the Davis Cup. The 22-year-old from Dunblane has had some time off since losing to Marin Cilic in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows, but that has not as yet included any analysis of what went wrong and how it should be rectified.

There may be little pressure on Murray this weekend at Liverpool's Echo Arena, where he is a banker to win his two singles matches in the best-of-five tie, but there is little doubt that in general it is increasing all the time. Juan Martin del Potro's victory over Roger Federer in the final in New York means that the Scot is now the only member of the world's top six without a grand slam to his name, and the number of players just below that elite level who fancy their chances against him is steadily increasing.

Although in public he can come across as a brooding presence unwilling to listen even to well-intentioned criticism, Murray is confident he can come up with a more accurate and demanding assessment of his own strengths and weaknesses than can any of his detractors. He would simply rather do so privately, when he believes the time is right. "I didn't really watch a whole lot of it on the TV after I finished," he said yesterday when asked about the US Open. "I tried to just do other things, kind of take my mind off it a little bit. I'll sit down and discuss not just the US Open but the summer, the hardcourt stretch that I had, as I do after each part of the season. I'll sit down and try and assess what happened, how I felt it went, how I could improve, with my coach and the guys that I work with.

"I'll just try and get through the match, hopefully win my singles matches, then I'll take a bit of a break after I've finished here. Then I'll go back to London and discuss with the guys what I'm going to do for the rest of the year."

Another way of looking at the grand slam statistics, one favoured by Murray, is to recognise that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are some way ahead of all of their rivals. The way he analysed the situation yesterday, he expects that to continue for some time, and does not believe that the odd win by someone like Del Potro is necessarily anything other than a blip.

"There's no question that Rafa and Roger are two of the best ever. Roger's people say that he's the best of all time, so that's not really up for debate. Rafa, providing he stays healthy, I would expect to get to double figures on slams, and that's better than any two other rivals have managed together.

"Behind them the standard is very high. You've got guys who have been at the top of the game for so long, like (Andy] Roddick, and he's only managed to win one slam right at the start of his career. And I think he's a great player.

"It's really tough to win the slams now, so I think Del Potro's effort was pretty good. I watched the end of it. I probably watched about a set and a half of the match, most of it at the end.

"It was a great effort to come back from the position that he was in. Some of the rallies were great. At the end of the fourth set and in the fifth set there were a lot of mistakes but it was a very good effort from a set and break points down.

"Obviously you like to think you could have won any of the tournaments, but it's important you find out what went wrong and that you learn from it and get better. Other players winning slams doesn't necessarily inspire me. I think that I'm pretty driven and have my own goals, and don't let that stuff change the way that I feel."

Great Britain captain John Lloyd will name his team today, and one option is to nominate Murray to play doubles as well as singles. Murray appears ready to do so if asked, despite the continuing problems with his wrist. "If I need to play three matches I will. If not I'm confident in the guys.

"It's just sore. I'll keep the details to myself, but I've had it for a few weeks. I need to spend a bit of time off the court to try and let it get better. I don't think it's going to be a major problem – nothing that would require surgery – but I definitely need to take some time off. I plan on playing just now. If something happens tomorrow and it hurts a lot, maybe I can't play. But I'm fine just now. I practised well the last few days and I'm looking forward to the match."