The former world number one Andy Murray wins his first match at the tennis tournament in Stuttgart after an increase in performance and is in the round of 16. Then he reveals what still drives him after all the physical quarrels of the past few years.
Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – Andy Murray commented on every single rally. The British tennis pro scolded himself most of the time. After initial problems, he made it into the round of 16 of the ATP lawn tournament in Stuttgart quite confidently. With 6: 4, 6: 3, the former world number one won his first round match against the Australian Christopher O’Connell, who has been injured in the meantime. The successful Weissenhof premiere of the veteran showed what still drives him: the love of the game.
“Some things worked well, some things not so well,” said Murray, who was 3-0 down in the first set. He moved well, analyzed the 35-year-old. He could still improve the serve. In addition, he still has to get used to the courts at the Boss Open. Murray is in Stuttgart for the first time – and next to the top seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas one of the big stars.
The Scot, who was about to retire due to serious hip problems, has lost contact with the world’s best. Murray, who shaped men’s tennis for many years with the Spaniard Rafael Nadal, the Swiss Roger Federer and the Serbian Novak Djokovic, is currently in 68th place in the ranking. While Nadal stormed to his 14th French Open triumph in Paris last week, Murray fought his way into the semifinals of the less glamorous Challenger tournament in Surbiton, England.
So grass instead of sand. Murray started preparing for the Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon, which begins on June 27th, a week earlier than most of his competitors – and is now continuing it in Stuttgart. The two-time Wimbledon champion wants to be ready for the next edition of the classic at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, submitting everything to the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament.
Murray was asked after his win against O’Connell why he is still going on after all the physical quarrels of recent years. “Number one: I love the game,” said the three-time Grand Slam champion and two-time Olympic champion. “And number two, I think I can still play at the highest level.” Recently he was no longer able to show that consistently. Now he just hopes for as long an injury-free period as possible.
And Murray hopes for something else: that he can play another Grand Slam tournament with Nadal, Federer and Djokovic. “I really hope so,” he said. He would like to see him play again, he said about the Swiss Federer, who will probably not return to the tour until autumn after another knee operation. That’s also what might be driving Murray on his mission in Stuttgart.
