Murray hopeful of ending his Australian Open ‘bad-luck’

Tennis superstar Sir Andy Murray has expressed his confidence in his present form, as he’s currently going through final preparations for the Australian Open, which begins next Monday.

Murray had been on a 28-match winning streak and was the firm favourite to win the event, before Novak Djokovic edged him in a pulsating three-hour Qatar Open final in Doha on Saturday.

Nevertheless, Murray is adamant he knows exactly what he needs to do to win his maiden Australian Open title.

“I think I just need to work on my offensive game,” he told The Times in an interview on Tuesday.

“Against Novak I was actually pretty good when I started moving forward, dictated quite a few points, but not as much as I would have liked.

“I was maybe a little bit too far behind the baseline at times.

“There’s not loads that I need to work on, I feel like I’m playing good tennis, moving well. A few specifics and I will be all right.”

Read Also: Djokovic beats Murray, retains Qatar Open title

Being a five-time losing finalist in Melbourne, the world No. 1 is hopeful of ending his Australian bad luck this year. Murray lost the Grand Slam in the following years, first to Federer in 2010 and four subsequent times to Djokovic:

2010 – Roger Federer beats Andy Murray 6-3 6-4 7-6 (13-11)
2011 – Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray 6-4 6-2 6-3
2013 – Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 6-2
2015 – Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-0
2016 – Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray 6-1 7-5 7-6 (7-3)

But contrary to speculations in some quarters that Murray must have a mental barrier to get over, he has dismissed all of such suggestions after expressing that he doesn’t feel like he’s ever failed in Melbourne.

“I don’t feel like I have mental hurdles now,” he added.

“I feel like I’m past that, to be honest. I just go there and give my best to win.

“So long as I give my best effort, I don’t judge myself or feel like I’ve failed here [in Melbourne] or anything like that.”

The Australian Open begins January 16, and Murray will be helped this time around by being the No. 1 seed for the first time ever at a major. Fans all around the world are thus expectant of a great tournament.

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