Confident Murray sees multiple titles in his future

Earlier this week Andy Murray stated that he felt more confidence in his body – and abililty to grind out physical matches – than he has at any stage of his career.

After reaching the semi-finals at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, the 35-year-old Scot says that he believes he has multiple titles ahead of him.

Read also

After another miracle Andy Murray says he feels better about his body than he ever has in his career

Tennis Majors

“I want to win multiple,” Murray said when asked how much desire he has to win another title before his career his over. “I mean, obviously I’d love to win one, but I have goals to achieve more than that.”

The 46-time ATP titlist and three-time Grand Slam champion is enthused by the tennis he has played so far in 2022. After a hardcore off-season training block, and another after the Australian Open, Murray feels that he is headed for a stellar season.

“Not just one opportunity to win a title”

“I’m putting myself in a position now to [win a title] going into the last couple of matches, and granted, the players who are still in the tournament, it’s not going to be easy,” he said.

“I feel like these last few weeks are a step in the right direction, and if I continue to play and compete like I am just now, I’ll have, you know, not just one opportunity to win a title, but I’ll have more chances to do that in this last stage of my career.”

Read also

Disappointed but satisfied; Andy Murray finally on the right track again

Tennis Majors

Confidence comes from passing tests

It has been a truly remarkable season thus far for Murray. All five of his victories have contained elements of drama. He started his season with a five-set victory, saving a match point in his win over Matteo Berrettini at the Australian Open, and followed it up with a five-hour and 45-minute epic victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis, rallying from two sets to love down for the 11th time in his career.

This week in Doha he saved three match points to defeat Lorenzo Sonego in the first round then battled over three hours to defeat Alexander Zverev. Today he went three sets with French qualifier Alexandre Muller.

All those gritty battles are giving Murray something sacred: a renewed belief in his physicality, which then gives him the confidence to play the type of tennis he excels at, mixing defense, counterpunching and tactical acumen, rather than trying to be too aggressive.

“The fact that I was able to play for nearly five hours against Berrettini and then physically was able to manage another really long match afterwards has given me a lot more belief in my body, maybe more than I have had at any stage in my career, to be honest,” he said earlier in the week.

Lehecka has a huge game

Murray will face rising Czech Jire Lehecka on Friday, and he expects another battle.

“He’s obviously started this year very well,” he said. “I practiced with him once during the grass court season last year, and it was clear that, you know, he has a huge game. He serves big. He’s a very clean ball striker.”

If he is successful, Murray will bid for his first title since 2019, when he won Antwerp, also on indoor hard.

Read also

“We can see positive things in every win and every loss” – blossoming Lehecka learning on the fly

Tennis Majors