Andy Murray’s target of dethroning Novak Djokovic from the top of the ATP rankings are not at the top of his priorities according to the world No.2.
The two-time grand slam champion might be the second best player in the world, however, his points tally is almost half of that of Djokovic’s (8,175 compared to 15,550). The route to the top of the rankings is still a tall order for the 28-year-old. During Murray’s career, many predicted that he would become the first British player to reach No.1 in the modern ranking system, however, it was his brother Jamie who achieved this milestone in the doubles earlier this year. The idea of two brothers claiming the world No.1 status is one that appeals to Murray, however, he has pledged to keep his focus on how he plays on the court and not how his points total is looking.
“It would be incredible to reach the top of my sport. It’s something that you dream of when you’re younger,” the world No.2 recently said.
“My brother has just topped the rankings in the doubles, so as brothers it would be incredible to say that we were both able to reach number one during our careers, but it’s not something that I’m going to solely focus on”.
This season has been testing for Murray both on and off the court. Since reaching the final of the Australian Open, he took time off the tour for the birth of his first child. On his return, he encountered a series of roller coaster results on the tour as he dealt with the new concept of being a tennis player as well as a dad. During the American Masters swing in Miami and Indian Wells, the Brit suffered back-to-back losses in the third round. Meanwhile, at the Monte Carlo Masters, his most recent tournament, Murray reached the semifinal before losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal.
Murray’s next test will be at the Madrid Masters, where he will hoping to defend his title. Last year at the Caja Magica he crushed a below-par Rafael Nadal in the final to win the biggest clay court title of his career. Reflecting on his triumph in 2015, the world No.2 spoke proudly about his achievement.
“Rafa is the greatest clay court player who’s ever lived so to be able to capture my first Masters title against one of the greatest on that surface was a very proud moment”. Murray said.
This year’s clay court season is a sharp contrast to last year. Nadal is once again the player to beat after he won back-to-back titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Elsewhere, Roger Federer is still on the comeback from injury and Djokovic is facing some unanswered questions following his recent shock loss to Jiri Vesely.
Regardless of the recent occurrences on the tour, Murray knows that the Serbian world No.1 will yet again be the player to beat in Madrid. Since 2015, Murray has lost to Djokovic in seven out of their eight encounters on the tour. Despite the odds mounting against him, the current Madrid Open champion knows that his nemesis is far from invincible.
“Everyone and anyone can be beaten, but at the moment Novak’s consistency is making him just that little bit harder to beat,” an analytical Murray said.
“He likes to play from the back of the court, he has incredibly consistent ground strokes, so he likes to draw the points out. I think more and more guys are trying to make the points against him shorter, they’ll move into the net a bit earlier and put him under pressure, however, he has the ability to make shots from everywhere so it doesn’t always work.”
At the age of 28, Murray has no intentions of looking into retirement plans. Saying with confidence that ‘his best years are still to come’, Murray is hungry for further success in what has already been a standout career. So far he has won two grand slam titles, one Olympic Gold medal and 32 ATP titles. Boasting this mentality, it is almost certain the Murray will expand his collection. The only question is when?
