Andy Murray believes he can have a ‘deeper run’ at a Grand Slam

Andy Murray is confident that he can do even better than his performance at the Australian Open, following his best performance in Melbourne since 2017.

Murray beat No.14 Matteo Berrettini and Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis, both in five sets, with the latter his longest ever match totalling five hours and 45 minutes.

The three-time Grand Slam champion fell up short in the third round against Roberto Bautista-Agut, in a competitive four set contest. Coincidentally it was the Spaniard that Murray lost to, at the Australian Open, four years prior when it seemed that he was nearing the end of his career.

For the British No,4 that seems further away than ever now, after a positive week down under.

"It makes no sense at all"

Not the first time @andy_murray has defied logic ?

? @eurosport pic.twitter.com/jukKBwqwXN

— LTA (@the_LTA) January 20, 2023

“I felt good about the way that I was playing,” said Murray. “It’s more enjoyable for me when I’m playing like that, when I’m coming into a major event and really believing that I can do some damage. But I can have a deeper run than the third round of a slam, there’s no question about that. Obviously draws can open up for you. I need to also help myself with that.”

The former No.1 continued, “I would like to go out playing tennis like this, where I’m competing with the best players in the world in the biggest events and doing myself justice.”

It is not just Murray backing himself for bigger things in 2023, with 23-time Grand Slam doubles champion Bob Bryan also tipping the Brit for more success this season.

Bryan had the same hip operation as Murray in 2018, and was actually the person to convince him to undergo the career-saving operation.

“Four or five years ago, like he wrote on his Instagram, he was told he would never play pro tennis again,” Bryan said, “Now he’s playing the most physical matches of the week and backing it up with incredible recovery.”

“He works hard and he does the research and no-one’s smarter than him. I think you’re going to see some good years out of him coming up.”

The doubles expert was particularly confident about Murray’s chances at one Grand Slam in particular, where he has lifted the title twice before.

“I think he’s going to have a great Wimbledon. He knows how to play on grass and I think that’s the place where he really wants to do some damage.”

However, Murray has admitted if he is to have these deeper runs at majors he does need to do himself some favours by not bumping into seeded players so early and boosting his own ranking. He will look to do that in February when he plays in two ATP 500 tournaments, Rotterdam and Dubai.

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