Besieged Murray ponders new approach
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, June 8, 2012
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Andy Murray shakes hands with David Ferrer after the quarterfinal of French Open on June 6, 2012. |
Andy Murray hasn't ruled out skipping his traditional Wimbledon warm-up duties if it helps him capture a first grand slam title.
World No. 4 Murray saw his latest hopes of becoming Britain's first grand slam men's singles champion since Fred Perry in 1936 crushed by David Ferrer in the French Open quarterfinals on Wednesday.
After the 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-2 loss to the 30-year-old Ferrer in a match where he committed 59 unforced errors, the Brit was quickly onto the attack.
"I feel like I went for my shots. If I hadn't done, I would have got criticized for that. If I do go for my shots, then I get criticized for making mistakes," he said.
Defeat ended the 25-year-old's run of five consecutive semifinal appearances at the majors, leaving him to fend off questions over his ability to win Wimbledon, the next grand slam stop.
For the last four years, Murray has played the Queen's Club tournament, often seen as a mandatory feeding station for Wimbledon in the short four-week grasscourt season.
But that may change this summer for Murray, who is still battling a niggling back injury.
"I'll do what's best for my preparation for Wimbledon, back or not," he said. "I need to get some good physical work done. That's going to be important. It's not a disaster if I can't play a tournament beforehand."
Murray pointed to the options taken by world No. 1 Novak Djokovic who won last year's Wimbledon without playing a warm-up and this year's Australian Open despite skipping the hardcourt schedule beforehand. It has paid dividends for the Serb who can become just the third man in history to hold all four grand slam titles at the same time if he wins the title.
"Novak didn't play before Australia this year; I don't believe he played before Wimbledon last year. Many times Roger (Federer) has not played an event before.
"It happens all the time. You just need to make sure you're comfortable on the courts and the surface you're playing on before you start the tournament."
Murray has got used to explaining away the defeats to a travelling British pack which often exceeds the number of players from the country taking part. That makes Murray the go-to-man when it's time for answers.
