Murray: I was looking forward to getting back on court

 

Originally published on: 14/06/13 00:00

The British No.1 has looked in impressive form since stepping foot on the grass at The Queen’s Club this week, his first competitive outing since withdrawing from Rome with a back injury one month ago.

After seeing off Nicolas Mahut in a rain-interrupted encounter, Murray dropped just four games as he rolled past Australian Marinko Matosevic 6-2 6-2 to reach the quarter-final.

“I thought the first match was [a] pretty high standard of grass court tennis,” said the US Open champion. “[Mahut] volleyed extremely well. He made a lot of good pickups, and I just managed to come up with some good passing shots at the right time in the tiebreak.

“But this afternoon it was hard to judge. It was so windy out there. You know, you couldn't strike the ball that clean or really go for the lines. You just had to play high_ѥpercentage tennis.”

Murray, who woke up with no real stiffness in his back after a stop and start first day in West London, said it’s easy to take your career for granted when you’re feeling fit and healthy.

“You know, I played pretty much every Slam for about seven years, you know, and I missed it,” the 26-year-old said. “It was difficult watching and not being there. You realise how much you love competing, and you love being around the tournaments when everything is good and you're healthy and you're playing every week.

“You know, you don't often think about it that much, and when you're away from it and you miss one of the biggest tournaments, one of the tournaments you prepare extremely hard for and put the hard work in for, then it's tough. I was really looking forward to getting back on the court again, and hopefully I can have a good week.”

Next up for the two-time champion at the Aegon Championships is German Benjamin Becker, who outlasted Alexandr Dolgopolov in an entertaining affair.

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