NO MATTER how much travel is meant to broaden the mind and regardless of what class of ticket a chap is travelling on, there is no place like home.
As Andy Murray notched up his best result at Wimbledon so far, reaching the quarter-finals by beating Richard Gasquet in five rip-roaring sets, he put his success down to the creature comforts of playing at home. He had his friends and family around
him; he could commute in a matter of minutes from his penthouse apartment overlooking the Thames to the luxury of the top seeds' locker room in SW19 and all was well.
Yet here Murray is, on the eve of the US Open, 3,500 miles away from home and at the tail end of a jet-setting month that has taken him from the mid-west of America to Beijing via London, Helsinki and a six-hour delay on the tarmac, back to London again and on to the Big Apple. He has racked up thousands of frequent flyer miles – an upgrade on the return trip should be no problem – but by rights, he should be exhausted. Not a bit of it. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Murray is in his element in New York. This is where he feels most at home, this is where he feels he belongs.
"I don't know exactly why it is but I always feel comfortable here," Murray said. "I love New York as a city. When I missed Wimbledon last year (with a wrist injury], I realised how much it meant to me. I always want to play great at Wimbledon and do well there but just for my personality, I think the US Open and New York suits me better."
Certainly the US hard courts suit Murray to a tee. It was in America that he won his first tournament title (San Jose in 2006), it was here that he beat Roger Federer for the first time (in Cincinnati in 2006) and it was here that he won his first Masters Series title – in Cincinnati just three weeks ago. And it is here, in Flushing Meadows, that Murray thinks he has his best chance of winning his first grand slam title.
"I just think for me, this is my best surface. I've said it all along: I think I play my best tennis here, I feel most comfortable on the courts, my results have shown that – I've always played well in America. So, yeah, I think this is my best chance for winning a slam."
With the exception of last year, when he was just beginning his comeback from injury, Murray's results in New York have been impressive. Beginning with winning the junior title in 2004, he came through the qualifying tournament and won a round in the main draw the following year, reached the fourth round in 2006 and, despite playing at a fraction of his best last year, still reached the third round.
This year he starts his campaign against Sergio Roitman, the world No.102 from Argentina who usually plies his trade on the slow, clay courts. Murray's draw is not easy – none is – but it does chart a possible route to the semi-finals and a potential appointment with Rafael Nadal, the new world No.1 – and that would be his best result at a grand slam tournament so far.
That Murray will start as the world No.6 and the No.6 seed is a bonus but more important to the Scot is the fact that he comes to the tournament as the champion of Cincinnati that makes all the difference to Murray and, he believes, his rivals.
"It's given me more confidence. If you look at the players who have won Masters Series titles over the last two years, you then understand how tough it is to win them. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have pretty much cleaned up in them and that's why they are the best players in the world. You look at Tim (Henman] and Greg (Rusedski], who were around for 13, 14 years and both of them only won one Masters Series, that's how difficult it is to win one. All the players think it's big.
"If the players think you are a contender to win it then that makes a big difference. If the players don't respect your game and think you have a chance of winning the tournament then it's tough because they are going to go into the match thinking they are going to win against you. If they go in with a little bit of doubt that makes a big difference."
The biggest difference for Murray this year is that he has proved to himself and his peers that he has what it takes to win the titles that matter. And the fact New York feels like a home away from home makes all the difference in the world.
The full article contains 840 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
