Andy Murray reveals his ‘nerves’ before winning first straight sets match of 2023
Andy Murray has revealed that he felt nervous before his second round match at Indian Wells, where he picked up his first straight sets win of the season.
Murray has won 11 out of his 14 matches in 2023, but his, 6-4 6-3, win over Moldovan Radu Albot was the first time that he had won in straight sets.
The last time Murray won a straight sets match was in October of last year in Gijon, when he beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 7-5 6-2.
Murray confessed to having a little joke with him about this, “I knew, because I had seen it online, that the last time I had won a match in straight sets was against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.”
“We were standing at the breakfast bar yesterday ordering an omelette and he said to me ‘Well done .. you love to win matches in three sets.’ And I went .. ‘Yes, just not when I am playing against you.’ And I think he swore in Spanish.”
I’d forgotten what that felt like. Bosh? https://t.co/XSXs22iTbt
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) March 12, 2023
The three-time Grand Slam champion was originally supposed to play the seeded Pablo Carreno-Busta, but the Spaniard had to withdraw with an injury meaning that lucky loser Albot took his place.
The Brit implied that this late change of opponent caused a few nerves ahead of the match, “I felt very nervous today. I’m not sure exactly why.”
He continued, “Obviously I’ve played a lot of tennis coming in, maybe I saw it was an opportunity for me. Maybe wasn’t as well prepared.”
“I’d gone over my strategy and everything with my team to play Carreno Busta and then found out late last night the change of opponent. We’d not played each other before, and maybe [I] thought it was a bit of an opportunity.”
Break point conversion has been a topic of discussion with Murray this tournament, with the former No.1 taking only 19% of his break points in his opening two matches.
It was a similar story against Albot, with Murray winning only two of his 11 break point opportunities.
“[I] Had lots of break points again, wasn’t quite able to get them. It was quite tricky conditions at the beginning, very windy. But I did well in the end to get through,” said Murray.
Murray will now turn his attention to the third round where he will face another Brit in Jack Draper.
Murray has only faced the player 14-years his junior once before, beating him at the exhibition ‘Battle of the Brits’ tournament at the end of last year.
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