Murray pays price for quick comeback

 

Originally published on: 10/02/11 10:43

Immediately after his loss to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final, Andy Murray had given the impression he would not hurry his return to the ATP Tour.

But after suffering a heavy defeat in his first match back to the tour – just 10 days after Melbourne – at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, the Scot admitted he had rushed his comeback.

Murray lead 4-2 in the first set against Marcos Baghdatis, only to surrender 10 of the next 11 games as the Cypriot eased through to round two.

“I struggled to adapt,” admitted Murray. “It was very fast out there and Marcos was hitting the ball well, very flat. I didn’t really adjust to the conditions so maybe it’s something I need to think about… how to prepare better or if it was too soon.”

Murray, who has now featured in three Grand Slam finals after his latest run to the Australian Open final (albeit with a nine-sets-to-love losing record), lamented poor serving for his defeat.

“I got off to a very good start and then started making mistakes. I wasn’t timing the ball well after that and didn’t serve great. That’s the reason it went the way it did,” he explained.

Murray is due to play doubles with brother Jamie against French duo Julien Benneteau and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday, and the 23-year-old hopes playing the game in team format will help to improve his reflexes.

“I didn’t feel particularly sharp on the court and that’s something the doubles should help with, short, sharp points,” he said.

“The courts are very quick here and the first step is very important and that wasn’t very good against Baghdatis. I was hitting the ball quite late.”

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