Murray wants Masters 1000 on grass

Originally published on 13/06/15

The decision to increase the gap between Roland Garros and Wimbledon to three weeks has seen the Aegon Championships and the Gerry Weber Open at Halle upgraded to ATP 500 events.

But while Murray, a champion at The Queen’s Club in 2009, 2011 and 2013, believes it will give the players a chance to better adapt to the playing conditions ahead of the Championships, he says it is still not long enough and the grass court season should feature a Masters 1000 event.

“It definitely helps because you actually get a chance to practise and do some movement work and give your body time to get used to playing on a completely different surface,” said Murray. “It puts totally different stresses through different parts of the body. “The [extra] week definitely helps, but I still think it should be longer. There should be more grass court tennis, I think there should be a Masters 1000 on grass but it’s a good start.

“It is definitely is healthy for the tour and for all of the players because you do see guys slipping, falling over. People say, oh the grass is too lush and it’s a bit slippery at the beginning but also for three months in the build-up you’re moving in a completely different way so to expect guys to just be able to change their movement in a matter of days is very hard, so at least now there’s a little bit more time for players to adjust.”

Murray will face a qualifier in his first round match at Queen’s, with a potential quarter-final clash against defending champion Grigor Dimitrov. James Ward will meet Milos Raonic, while No.2 seed and French Open champion Stan Wawrinka faces a tough opening match against Nick Kyrgios.

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