Andy Murray He admitted that he needed to learn to be smarter and use more science in his preparations since he had a hip surgery in 2019 after it was confirmed that he wouldn’t be competing in the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The 35-year-old took a tough run to the finals of the Qatar Open last week and finished second by playing tennis for 12 hours. Danil Medvedev in Doha.
The PA news agency understands that the withdrawal from the tournament, which began on Monday, was a precautionary measure and not directly related to issues with the partner it resurfaced three years ago.
“The matches I played last week were very physically demanding,” Murray told The Times in an interview.
“It was five matches in six days – I last did this in Stuttgart (in June), but due to the surface (grass), the matches were not that physically demanding.
“At that time I had a problem with my abs and after the semi-finals in Doha on Friday evening I was feeling a little bit of my abs.
“Due to the experience I had last year, it was a load-related thing because of the amount of tennis I played in a short period of time, so I was a little worried about that.
“I wasn’t going to be in my mid-twenties, now I need to pay some attention to my body. Due to the problems I have, it is not as simple as it used to be.
“There’s a little more science in my training and how hard I need to push my body. Frankly, last week was extreme.”
Murray said he hopes he will be in optimal condition until Wimbledon arrives, paying more attention to what he is putting into his body.
He no longer overloads his body with intense training sessions, instead focusing more on the finer details and analyzing his workouts through data tracking.
His aim is to rise from number 52 to the top 32 in the world, thus ensuring seeding in future grand slams.
“I believe that has made me much better off,” Murray said. “When I’m on the field, I know exactly how much time I’m going to spend on it and what workouts and exercises I’m doing will get me into certain heart rate zones.
“Instead of blasting yourself twice, once on the court and once in the gym, sometimes I just have to do it on the court if I’m getting the right encouragement from the tennis session.
“My feeling at Wimbledon is that less players play well on the grass. Most of the men are comfortable on hard courts and that probably improves my chances.
“I’m not saying I would have expected to win the French Open (on dirt) if I had played, but with Wimbledon there is definitely a better opportunity for a deep run.
“Yeah, there’s some chuckles and my body doesn’t feel great, but it coped really well with the first few tournaments of the year, which were really tough.
“I believe my body can play seven games of five sets if needed. Sure, if they’re six-hour games, probably not, but regular five-set games, I can handle it.”