Andy Murray reveals he couldn’t bring himself to watch the Australian Open

Andy Murray revealed he couldn’t bring himself to watch the Australian Open and ditched other players on social media after being forced to miss the event.

The former world number one was unable to make it to Australia following an untimely episode of coronavirus and, as other big names in the sport battled in Melbourne, he was competing in a lower level Challenger tournament in Italy.

Murray said: “I didn’t watch any of them because I wanted to be there myself. It was a struggle to be honest. I stopped following every tennis player I follow on social media and the like because I didn’t really want to see him.

The tournament ended in a familiar way on Sunday with Novak Djokovic winning a ninth title thanks to a straight-set victory over Daniil Medvedev in the men’s singles final.

He dealt another blow to the old guard of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer against the younger generation.

Murray said: “I expected the final to be closer to be honest, but I also know how good Novak is and when he is in his game and obviously very motivated.

“I saw before the final that Medvedev had said something along the lines of Novak having immense pressure on him, which is true, but these guys were at the top of the game, they had to face a immense pressure their entire career and they know how to deal with it and perform at their best when it counts.

“The younger ones, for me, haven’t shown that they are particularly close. Obviously, what happened at the US Open, (Dominic) Thiem did what he had to do to win the event, but if Novak hadn’t put a ball in the judge’s throat line it would be the same result, I think.

Murray took advantage of his time in Italy to reach the final before losing to Illya Marchenko. He will play his first ATP Tour event of the season this week at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier and he remains optimistic about his hopes as he continues to recover from his long-term injury issues.

“It was good to get all five matches,” said the 33-year-old. “To be honest, I found the conditions difficult to play there. In terms of tennis level, it was sometimes OK.

“I think in the quarterfinals or something, I felt a little bit tired, then I played a really good game in the semi-finals and I felt great, then I felt great on the days of the final, then when the match started I just felt really heavy and didn’t handle it well at all.

“But I guess it’s understandable enough, I hadn’t played a lot of games in the last five months and was going out for two weeks where I was hardly allowed to do anything because of the virus. . And physically, in terms of pain, I felt good. My hips and things were good.

“I play in training with a lot of top players and I know how I’m doing against them. If I were to smoke myself while practicing, I wouldn’t go on living. But I know the level at which I play.

“As long as I can stay in shape for a while and get good practices and games, I don’t see why I shouldn’t be able to compete with the best players.

“Obviously, playing your Rafas, Novaks, Rogers, Medvedevs, Thiem is difficult. It would have been the case when I was ranked at the top of the match.

“I always feel like I can compete for big events. I wish I could have shown this in Australia. I was ready to do this. No question.”

Negotiating coronavirus-related travel restrictions is another headache that all tennis players should be familiar with.

Murray could spread the virus for a few weeks to come and has revealed he tested positive when he arrived in Italy, while his trip to France was delayed pending a test.

He needs a negative test, meanwhile, to be able to make it to his next tournament in Rotterdam next week.

“It’s difficult and delicate, but that’s the situation we’re in right now and all the players are there,” he said. “If the tour continues we all have to accept it and hopefully in the later stages of this year maybe once the vaccine is rolled out it will make traveling a bit easier.