Murray shifts attention to Davis Cup
Originally published on: 16/09/11 12:33
Andy Murray will go from mixing it with the best in the world in New York to playing against an unranked student in Great Britain’s Davis Cup clash against Hungary later today.
The Scot will face Sebo Kiss, a 27-year-old who ranked at a career-high No.531 five years ago but now fits tennis around his studies, at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow.
“I can play without pressure or expectation,” said Kiss, who will hope to do better than Luxemburg’s Laurent Bram in Britain’s last Davis Cup tie after Murray triumphed in three sets without so much as losing a game.
Far from targeting another triple bagel this time, Murray admitted to feeling a little jaded after reaching his fourth Grand Slam semi-final of the year in New York and stressed that any victory would do.
“I’m a bit tired and I only hit for the first time on the court on Wednesday so I wont expect to win with that scoreline but I’ll just try to win the match,” said the Scot.
As for the inevitable questions about whether he can ever win one of the four big prizes in tennis, the world No.4 was adamant that he would not dwell on his latest Grand Slam campaign.
“I don’t look back, I look forward and try to improve,” said Murray. “You can spend a lot of time looking back and wondering at things you could have done. You learn from mistakes and then move on. This week is the first week of that process and I’ll try to get better.
“I don’t listen to what anyone else says at the moment because it’s just not worth it. It’s my goal to win a Grand Slam. That’s what I want to do, so it’s not a question that I’ve stopped asking myself.”
Meanwhile, down under, host nation Australia and Switzerland are already well underway with their Davis Cup clash on grass in Sydney. A fan of lawns after his quarter-final run at Wimbledon, Bernard Tomic continued his good form on the surface with a 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-3 triumph over Stanislas Wawrinka.
“In the first set I was [nervous],” admitted the 18-year-old. “Having Roger [Federer] watch you is difficult. It’s a bit difficult when you look up to your idol. But it’s a good thing I got the team off to a good start.”
Federer later levelled up proceedings with a 5-7 7-6(5) 6-2 6-3 victory over Lleyton Hewitt, striking 22 winners for victory in two hours and 50 minutes.
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