Andy Murray admits feeling 'downbeat' at disappointing season-end, says he 'needs to change' ahead of 2023
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Updated 08/11/2022 at 11:09 GMT
Andy Murray cut a frustrated figure in the tail-end of the 2022 season and is clear that he needs to work harder off the court if he wants to return to the upper echelons of the game, having been left "extremely disappointed" by his recurrent cramping issues. Murray also lauded the emerging Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu, as he reflected on Britain's belated depth on the world scene.
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Andy Murray says he has felt "downbeat" with the conclusion to his 2022 season after a run of early losses and recurrent physical issues, and admits he needs to improve ahead of 2023.
Murray has climbed nearly 100 places in the rankings this year to get inside the top 50, but that is all relative for a three-time major champion who has previously been world No. 1.
And that progress has been dulled even more by the end to Murray's 2022, in which he exited the US Open at the third round and won just three matches across tournaments in Gijon, Basel and Paris.
“I was pretty downbeat with the last few months," Murray told the Evening Standard.
"The last seven or eight tournaments, I had issues with cramping and I’ve never had that consistently. So, I’m extremely disappointed.
“I can deal with losing a tennis match as it’s a difficult sport and you sometimes don’t perform as well as you’d like but there’s no excuse for being let down physically.
“My reflection on the last four or five months is that I’ve not been doing enough work to perform at the level I need to.
"I need to change that if I want to get back to the top of the game.
“I’m positive about next season and the work I have to do. I’ve already started some of that and I need to empty the tank in the next six to eight weeks in the gym and on the practice court.
“I was 130-140 in the world at the start of the season and I’m now inside the top 50. For most players, that’s a really positive year. For me, I don’t view it that way but I did make progress.
“There’s no guarantee I would have won those matches without the cramping but I feel there would have been potentially deeper runs.
“I played quite a lot of tournaments from Wimbledon through to the end of the season. From an endurance perspective, I didn’t cope that well but there’s not been the injuries and niggles, which hasn’t been the case the last few years.”
Away from his his own issues, Murray has a broad enough perspective to be happy for Britain's belated depth on the world stage, with Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Jack Draper on the men's side, and Emma Raducanu the highest-ranked British woman.
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Murray has long bemoaned the absence of Brits at the top level, so he is particularly excited about the emergence of Draper - who will compete in the Next Gen Finals this week - and 2021 US Open champion Raducanu.
“Jack has got huge potential and only done six or seven months on tour," Murray said.
"I’ve been lucky to practise with him and spend time with him. The future’s really bright for him but also with Emma Raducanu.
"And there’s a couple of junior prospects on the women’s side that the coaches are pretty excited about.”
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