Murray: I hope I can go one better

 

Originally published on: 02/08/12 00:00

The 25-year-old Brit coasted past Spain’s Nicolas Almagro for a place in the semi-finals and faces Novak Djokovic knowing that he has two chances to bid for a medal for Great Britian.

“That was the goal coming into the tournament,” said Murray. “It’s nice to get that opportunity. If I win one of the next two matches I’ll give myself a shot at the medal but obviously playing the first one is the most important thing just now.

“It’s going to be a tough match against Novak and I need to be ready for it. But, yeh, it’s very exciting. “

Murray had previously admitted that it took a while for him to realise how much the Olympics meant to him, having bowed out in the first round of the singles in Beijing in 2008, but says he is relishing playing for his country at London 2012. 

“There’s a lot of people who think that maybe tennis isn’t necessarily an Olympic sport but I know how much I care about it and how much I want to do well here,” said the world No.4. “I want to try and win a medal and be part of the team and try and help Britain’s medal count if I can.

“I’ve really enjoyed it so far. I hope I can go one better on Friday and get a medal.”

Thoroughly embracing the home Games, the Scot has been keeping an eye on several sports during and after his day at the All England Club.

“I’ve watched a lot of the swimming, because when I’ve got home in the evenings a lot of the finals and the semi-finals of the swimming have been on,” said Murray. “I saw the British gold medals yesterday, which was obviously great, but also seeing Michael Phelps pass the record for the most medals in the Olympic Games history was pretty amazing. It was very hard not to support him and he did a great job so I enjoyed seeing that as well.”

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