Murray devotes victory to grandmother, prepares for next tournaments
On Sunday night, Britain’s Number 1 tennis player Andy Murray scored his fifth Masters 1000 victory against World Number 2 Roger Federer. Fourth seed Murray defeated the Swiss player in two easy sets, 6-3, 6-2 at the Shanghai Masters, winning himself a flawless
start to his run for the next month’s showcase event, the ATP World Tour Finals in London. The match lasted 85 minutes, with Murray serving up some of his best tennis ever. The win nets 385,000 pounds for Murray, and gives him his sixth Masters cup. The match
remained as one-sided as the score suggests.
However, this success was only part of Murray’s happiness that day; the 23 year old player said to reporters, “My gran had actually broken her hip not long ago and she had surgery just before I came to Shanghai. "She was happy because she sent me a message
after the match that said, 'My hip feels a lot better now'.” He also added that her happiness validated the victory for him, stating, “I'm chuffed to have won the tournament for that reason”.
Murray also promised his fans that he would smile more from now on, after Chinese reporters were forced to coax him into smiling for the camera. The home crowd seems to have developed a great affinity for the player, but are unable to understand why he appears
so dejected after his matches. However, Murray set them at ease by explaining, “I’m shy. I don’t like the cameras. When there are no cameras I smile. I’ll try and smile a bit more in future.”
When asked for his feelings over his victory, Murray said, “In the final here, that was the best I've moved since the Australian Open. I moved really well this week and when I move well I feel really comfortable on the court. So I need to make sure I feel
that way as often as possible because it makes such a difference to my game.”
After the phenomenal week he’s had, Murray should have plenty of reasons to smile. He headed back to his home in London yesterday, and plans to take a couple days to recover from jetlag before getting back down to practice for his next matches. He says,
“I don't really like spending a week or 10 days off the court because I feel like I kind of lose my rhythm and just now, obviously, I just want to keep hitting the ball like this. So I'll take a couple of days off when I get home and then spend a lot of time
on the court, hit loads of balls, play some sets - I'll spend more time on the court in the next 10 days than I will in the gym.”
The tennis pro has a jam-packed week ahead for him; one of the best indoor players in the world, he will be leaving for Valencia to defend his title in two weeks. A week after that tournament, he has another Masters 1000 event to compete in at Paris, before
he comes back to London for the end of season event at the O2 Arena. He appears to have remained grounded and focused even after his victory, saying, “I just want to continue playing the way I am now but it's important to stay grounded because I've been very
inconsistent this year.”
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