MOTIVATION is rarely a problem when the world’s top eight players come together for the ATP World Tour Finals but Andy Murray has three very good reasons why he should be giving his all at London’s O2 over the coming week.
Not only would a first title here be a major achievement to add to his already impressive CV, a good performance would put him in the perfect shape, mentally and physically, for the Davis Cup final.
And while winning that trophy in Belgium in a fortnight remains his driving force, Murray also has the small matter of one of the worst beatings of his professional career – a mauling by Roger Federer 12 months ago – to get out of his system.
“Last time was a terrible way for me to finish the year and I don’t want that to be the case again this year,” said Murray, who faces Spain’s David Ferrer in his opening round-robin match tomorrow.
“Also, if I was thinking ahead about the Davis Cup, to show up and get pumped three times while getting ready for Ghent would be terrible preparation.
“So I want to go out there and perform well, winning some big matches against the best players in the world and that would give me confidence for the Davis Cup as well.
“The Davis Cup is in my mind because I am using it as a positive. Playing matches against the world’s best players is better than practising against anybody.
“Getting these matches and hopefully winning some would be the best preparation. I’m not saying the Davis Cup is not in my mind this week. It is fuelling me for this week and the training week before it gets going.”
The Scot needs two group wins to end the year with the world No 2 ranking for the first time and he might not even need that as only a seventh ATP World Tour Finals title for Federer can deny him.
Murray, who will also play former world No 1 Rafa Nadal and French Open champion Stan Wawrinka in his round-robin group, goes into the event after his most consistent year.
Although he did not add to his tally of two Grand Slams, he reached his ninth Grand Slam final at the Australian Open in January, made the semis at the French Open and Wimbledon, won his first two clay-court titles and two Masters 1000 titles, and is one match away from giving Britain its first Davis Cup triumph since 1936.
Reaching the final in Melbourne was particularly impressive coming so soon after his 6-0, 6-1 hammering by Federer in London and though the Swiss also beat him in the semi-finals at Wimbledon, the defeat here, Murray said, only had a positive effect.
“I don't feel I have to prove anything to anyone,” he said. “It was obviously a tough way for me to finish the year last year but I gained something positive from it.
“I feel like I went away and worked extremely hard on my game and came back and had the most consistent year of my life. I don't feel that that match affected me in a negative way at all.”
Balancing the need to get his body used to clay – the surface to be used in Ghent – with enough time on hard courts for London has been tricky, he admits.
Ever honest – sometimes too honest for his own good – Murray had admitted that he could miss London if his back reacted badly to the surface changes.
But after four days of practising on clay at Queen’s Club – and some gyrotonics, a pilates-like workout to help his back – Murray says he is feeling 100 per cent fit.
“It was good,” he said. “Better than what I expected, to be honest. I felt pretty good the whole week. My back was a bit stiff during my match with [Richard] Gasquet in Paris but it’s been better most days with none of the issues I had a couple of years ago.”
Those issues led him to undergo surgery in September 2013 and after battling hard to even make the field at the O2 12 months ago, he is now firmly re-established in the top four.
With a good group – away from world No 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic and Federer – he believes he can go close to winning the title here for the first time, although it may take him a while to hit full stride.
“My ambition is to win the tournament but I have to be realistic about how well I will start it,” he said. “It’s impossible to prepare for both events, or it is for me anyway. Some guys they can rock up on a clay court and immediately feel great.
“I think the conditions in Paris [where he reached the final last weekend] are fairly similar to here so it will be interesting to see how I get on. But I do think I am playing well enough to go far.”
It can only help that this week is also a family affair with Jamie Murray having qualified for the first time, partnering Australian John Peers in the doubles.
Murray and Peers will go their separate ways after this but seeing his older brother on the big stage is a special feeling.
“Jamie has obviously had an amazing year,” Murray said. “I am very proud of him and what he has achieved on the court. He really deserves to be here – he has reached two Grand Slam finals.
“Someone said to me it is the first time two brothers have been in the singles and doubles at this event.
“I don't know if that is the case but I would imagine it is quite a rare thing. It is really nice and I am very proud we have managed to do that.”
Jamie begins his campaign today when he and Peers play Italy’s Fabio Fognini and Simone Bollelli in their opening group match.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article