Off-court drama has given Andy Murray perspective, now to find the focus to fly past David Ferrer

A few minutes after his third-round victory over Joao Sousa, the intrusive cameras dotted around the corridors of Melbourne Park captured the precise moment Andy Murray was told of his father in law’s dramatic collapse.

So hurriedly did an official debrief Murray, he didn’t even have time to remove the heavy tennis bag draped across his shoulders. Moments later, a fan rushed in and attempted to interrupt the conversation. The image stood as a perfect representation of Andy Murray’s position at this Australian Open. He’s all kitted up and ready to play, but there are distractions and interruptions at every turn.

From the second Murray arrived in Melbourne, this has been the case. Murray’s first days at the tournament were marked by him being forced to assure the British journalists that he would only leave Melbourne under the circumstances of his wife giving birth. His thoughts on the situation he finds himself in were surprisingly convincing: he spoke about the idea of his impending fatherhood circulating around his mind, but he found that they evaporated when he stepped on court. This was clearly a topic he had considered in detail and he assuredly seemed at peace with his situation.

But throughout the past two weeks, these thoughts have been forced out of Murray with increasing frequency and the line between his life off-court and his job on-court has blurred significantly. From on-court interviews to radio, everyone wants to discuss Murray’s situation. The 28-year-old has been gracious and open to every question about his life, but it remains to be seen just how long he can keep his mind clear.

Though the Scot has been able to manage the thoughts of a new arrival in the family so far, it’s clear that he understandably hasn’t fared quite as well after Nigel Sears, his father-in-law, collapsed in the stands on centre court on Saturday. Against Bernard Tomic on Monday, Murray was clearly disturbed. He chewed up his player box and spat them out throughout the match and he spent entire changeovers communicating with them instead of focusing. As his level of play rose and fluctuated, he failed to serve out the first set and eventually his game ground to a halt. By the end, he only survived in three sets thanks to Tomic’s generous errors at the death.

“To be honest, like today, when I woke up I felt quite drained, quite tired,” he said afterwards. “As the day sort of went on and I decided to play, I started to focus a little bit better. But definitely on the court tonight I was more emotional than normal. I was talking to myself after every single point almost from the first point through till the last, which was obviously not ideal. That uses up a lot of energy.”

Murray’s revelations highlighted the severity of the situation in no uncertain terms. Evidently, there was clear doubt about his continued participation in the tournament and he only made the decision to play on the day of his match. But the danger has passed, Sears is now safely on his way back to England, and Murray must now compartmentalize this information and move on.

But how can he do that? Essentially, the events of this week forced Murray to flick off the competitive tunnel vision mode that all top players assume during Slams. The act of hitting a yellow tennis ball over a net is entirely insignificant, yet these two weeks require the top players to treat it like it’s the most important on the planet and singlemindedly look straight ahead. If Murray really is prepared to focus fully on the task at hand despite the countless distractions, he must find his tunnel vision and block all else out.

But these things are not easy even at the best of times when blessed with with perfect preparation. There’s a reason why even the least superstitious top players often fall into deliberate routines during slams. It’s because the act of retaining the perfect frame of mind and focus across a long fortnight during the pressure of a major tournament is difficult under the most ideal circumstances.

All the while, awaiting Murray in the next round is the one mortal player on the planet, David Ferrer, who requires every ounce of focus and concentration. Murray cannot afford to be inconsistent, and the long rallies that will come implore him to be focused, and he will surely lose if he isn’t. If he is not himself, he will fall.

Still, after his victory over Tomic, Murray talked about the perspective this episode has given him. In relation to tennis, perspective is a difficult word. As noted, gaining the perspective that tennis doesn’t actually matter could continue to destroy Murray’s concentration and obstruct his efforts to compete. Or else, it could be that this perspective arms Murray with the most violent weapon he could possibly possess - the freedom from the crippling pressure of a grand slam and the invitation to open his shoulders and fly. Until further notice, nothing can be discounted.