US Open: Victory is big apple of Andy Murray’s eye

HE IS in one of the most vibrant cities in the world, one that he has loved since he first went there as a teenager, but Andy Murray has no time for New York. Not for the next 10 
days, at any rate. The Scot is 
safely through to the third round of the US Open and all he can think about is his next practice session and his next team talk with coach Ivan Lendl.

“All I am interested in is winning the tournament,” he said having walloped Ivan Dodig 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 on Wednesday. “This is the last major event of the year so we have to make sure we leave everything out there on the court, not get distracted by things or anything like that.

“We know that when you are playing in the slams and the big tournaments you need to always remain focused but also that you’re not switched on all the time. It can be a long couple of weeks, there can be rain delays. All sorts.

“You can have matches where you are struggling physically, others that are going your way. You have to be prepared for anything, but away from the courts you have to make sure you are as relaxed as possible so you are 100 per cent ready.”

While the likes of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have been treated with kid gloves and given a reasonably comfortable ride through the demanding schedule, the Scot has usually been an afterthought.

The order of play is controlled by the television companies and the first round is staggered over three days, with the second round matches slotted in where and when the television executives fancy them. The players count for little in all of this.

In past years, Murray has only begun his campaign on Wednesday and has had to cram his grand slam into 12 days while the others have had an extra two days to play with.

However, this year, he has his ticket to the third round already and now has two days off before he must play again.

“I don’t think it is ever happened,” he said. “Here I have never played my matches Monday, Wednesday. The first year I played I definitely didn’t and the last few years it has not been like that. It’s nice to be in that position because I have had some tough schedules here.”

With rain forecast in the coming days, that extra bit of breathing space could make a world of difference. When the weather caused havoc with the scheduling last year, forcing a fourth consecutive Monday final, Murray was at the forefront of the player revolt. Together with
Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick, he made the views of the players plain to the organisers.

Returning this year, he does not think that he is getting preferential treatment but he is enjoying a little good fortune at Flushing Meadows and it appears that the US Open is making an effort – however small – to listen to the players’ requests.

“The players were disappointed when it was raining last year,” he said. “We were hanging around all day, when we were going on the court, it was still wet – that was really all we were asking for – that we were kept informed.

“When it rained the other day, we were very well informed about when we were going to go on, what they were expecting with the weather – that’s really the players want. It can be hard when you have to wait around for six hours not knowing when you’re going to go on. If you’re not given a ‘not before’ time, you have to be ready to go on at 20 minutes’ notice for five or six hours. That’s not easy. So I hope this year’s going to be better.”

In the meantime, Murray is focused solely on the matches ahead of him. After a scrappy opening match, he was a different player against Dodig and a much happier man as a result.

“It was better than the first round,” he said. “I moved better than I did in the first match and served better than I did, so I was able to dictate more of the points because of that. I was much happier with the way I played.”

Murray faces 30th seed Feliciano Lopez next after the Spaniard was made to battle for four hours and 15 minutes in the heat yesterday on his way to a 6-4 6-1 6-7 (5/7) 3-6 7-5 victory over countryman Pablo Andujar.