WITH the birth of his first child just a few weeks – and more than 10,000 miles – away, Andy Murray may be checking his phone a little more often than usual but he headed to Melbourne yesterday with a growing feeling of confidence that this could be his year at the Australian Open.
Four times a finalist – losing three of them to Novak Djokovic and one to Roger Federer – Murray is feeling fit and crucially he is match-tight, having gone almost straight from his Davis Cup final heroics to begin his pre-season training.
It is a feeling that Djokovic knows well, having followed up his 2010 Davis Cup victory for Serbia by winning in Australia just a few weeks later, and there is a real sense Murray could be on the same track.
For the fourth time, the Scot chose to begin his year in the ultra- relaxed surroundings of Perth for the Hopman Cup, a mixed team exhibition event that offers perfect match practice without the stress of a ranking event.
It is a formula that has served him well – after each of his three previous visits he went on to reach the final in Melbourne, including last year – and he looked strong on court as he won two of his three singles matches.
His only loss came to Australian Nick Kyrgios but Murray is confident that by the time he gets going at Melbourne Park, he will be ready to go.
“I am fairly pleased with how I played in Perth,” Murray said. “My serve was good, especially my second serve, so that’s a good start to build from. I gave up [only] five or six break points in my matches and some of them could have been avoided. There are a few things I can work on, get a bit sharper and hit the ball a little cleaner, but I think that will come.”
There can be little doubt that the second half of 2015 required an enormous effort from Murray as he steered Great Britain to their first Davis Cup title since 1936.
But he knows the birth of his first child – he told an on-court interviewer in Perth he does not know the sex – means he will have a break as he will not be competing in February.
The inevitable sleepless nights are bound to be something of a shock to the system but mentally and physically, Murray seems ready for one big push in Melbourne.
“All the tests I’ve had say that physically I am actually fine,” he said. “Mentally it’s easy to use that as an excuse. I don’t really know what mentally tired means, but I don’t feel stressed out just now.
“You can work on those things. If you tell yourself you’re tired, the end of last year was really long, the Davis Cup took a lot out of you, then you’re going to feel that way.
“If you think it was a great way to finish the year, lot of momentum, it was very positive, then no need to use it in a negative way. All of the physical tests I’ve done have been good, I’m just missing a bit of sharpness just now.”
Murray has the option of playing an extra match at the Kooyong exhibition this week but if all goes well, he will hone his game at Melbourne Park.
Jamie Murray enjoyed a good start to his new doubles partnership with Bruno Soares as they reached the semi-finals in Doha. The pair move on to Sydney this week, where Colin Fleming is also in the draw with Jonathan Erlich of Israel.
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