A straight sets loss in the final of the Cincinnati Masters has done little to dampen Andy Murray’s spirit after a dominating run throughout the summer on the ATP Tour.
Prior to yesterday’s Cincinnati final, the world No.2 was undefeated in 22 matches, clinching titles at Queen’s, Wimbledon and the Olympic Games. Murray’s unbeaten streak was ended by former US Open champion Marin Cilic, who produced an impressive 24 winners to grab his maiden title.
Losing out on a Masters title just over a week before the US Open might be a blow for some players, but not for the increasingly confident Murray. With Roger Federer out injured, Rafael Nadal recovering from a wrist problem and Novak Djokovic experiencing his own crises, the Wimbledon champion is very much the in-form player heading into the final grand slam of the year.
“I think I’m playing my best tennis just now. It’s not even close to anything else I had done before.” Murray said.
“Seven finals in a row, winning Wimbledon again, and the Olympics. It’s been really good.”
This week Murray will not play in any tournaments as he hopes to rest after what has been a hectic past couple of weeks. This season the Brit has already won 50 matches on the tour, an achievement that has only been beaten by Djokovic’s tally of 51. There has been concerns about a potential shoulder injury hampering the Brit, but to Murray’s relief he has been reassured by his medical team that it is only fatigue.
“After the first match I played, I was having problems with my shoulder.” He said.
“I did speak about it with my team, but my physio was pretty confident that it was just fatigue, and that I didn’t have any sort of structural damage in my shoulder.
“When it was said that I wasn’t going to make it worse by playing, I thought: ‘Let’s go for it this week. Let’s try and get through as many matches as we can.”
At the upcoming US Open, Murray will be seeded second behind Djokovic. The Brit is still over 5000 points behind the Serbian in the world rankings, however, within past two months he has been able to close the gap by 1500 points. A triumph at Flushing Meadows would reward the 29-year-old with his fourth major title and his first US Open crown since 2013.
Andy Murray’s summer performance
May
Madrid Open – runner-up (lost to Djokovic)
Rome Masters – Champion (defeated Djokovic)
French Open – runner-up (lost to Djokovic)
June
The Aegon Championships (Queen’s) – Champion (defeated Milos Raonic)
June/July
Wimbledon – Champion (defeated Raonic)
August
The Rio Olympic Games – Gold medal (defeated Juan Martin del Potro in the final).
Cincinnati Masters – runner-up (lost to Cilic).
