There was a lot to like about the way Andy Murray played at the US Open on his return to grand slam tennis after 14 months away, but as he left New York yesterday, the perfectionist in him was niggling away, telling him he could have done better.
Just over eight months after hip surgery, and having missed Wimbledon because he was not ready for five-set tennis, Murray showed plenty of signs that he is making big strides back to where he wants to be.
Murray cut a frustrated figure after his four-set defeat by Fernando Verdasco of Spain in the second round, annoyed at letting slip a first set that he had led 4-2 and then disappointed he had not managed to take it to a decider.
Compared to when he returned to the Tour at Queen’s Club in June, his movement was vastly improved and it was a step up from his first-round match.
But Murray has always been his harshest critic and though he could see the positives, he was also focused on the things he felt he did badly.
“Some of the tennis I played today was some of the best I've played since I had the surgery, or since I came back,” he said.
“But there were also periods in the match, especially in the first set, where I really didn't play particularly well. I hit a lot of mistakes when I was up in that set. I feel like I should have won the first set and didn't.
“Then at the end when my back was against the wall, I came up with some good tennis to make it close and interesting at the end and almost got myself back into it. There were too many ups and downs for my liking.”
Patrick Mouratoglou, the coach of Serena Williams, pointed out during his “The Coach” segment on Eurosport, that Murray’s second-serve speed is 10 miles per hour lower than it was in 2016, the year Murray surged to No.1.
“I was trying to play more offensively, and I made more mistakes than I usually would,” Murray said.
“It's difficult sometimes to get the balance when you haven't played as many matches, haven't practised as much as you would like. It's something that is going to take a bit of time getting used to again.”
Murray is now likely to play in Britain’s Davis Cup World Cup play-off against Uzbekistan, before heading to Shenzhen and Beijing as he looks to improve his ranking, currently at 302.
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