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Murray: It’s good to be back in the UK


 

Originally published on: 06/11/12 00:00

Murray opened his Barclays ATP World Tour Finals account on Monday, beating Tomas Berdych 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, and the 25-year-old said afterwards that having the crowd behind him is particularly significant at this time of year.

“The noise and the atmosphere at the beginning of the match was great,” said Murray. “Well, for me anyway, it's important the last week of the year when everyone's a little bit tired, to have that, you know, atmosphere, big crowd to give you that extra little push that you need to play good tennis. So, yeah, it was good to be back playing in the UK."

Murray also said it’s hard to assess whether he feels different on court since his maiden Grand Slam victory but he did admit that he’s learnt a lot this year from both his wins and losses. 

“I mean, it's hard to say because I've lost a few very tough matches since, very close matches since then,” Murray responded when asked if being a major champion now helps him in tight matches. “But I hope when I'm playing the best players in the world, you know, I'll believe in my shots a bit more and make sure to be aggressive when I can. I thought I did a good job of that [against Berdych]. I tried to move forward and take his time away a little bit, which sometimes when I played him in the past, I'd let him dictate a lot of the points.

“They're the things that rather it necessarily being just confidence, also just learning. Having won a few of the big events this year, and having lost a tough one in Australia against Novak [Djokovic], and at Wimbledon against Roger [Federer], I've learnt a lot this year how I need to play those big points in big games. I think it's that rather than confidence.”

Next up for Murray is the top seed Djokovic, who saw off Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets in his first group match. The Serb and Brit will renew their rivalry in the afternoon session on Wednesday.

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.