Title Defence On Murray's Mind In Madrid

It was exactly one year ago that Andy Murray took the European clay-court season by storm. The Scot notched his first title on the dirt in Munich and would dominate the Mutua Madrid Open field, capturing the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown over home favourite Rafael Nadal.

Back in the Spanish capital, Murray is eyeing a successful title defence but the World No. 2 was quick to point out he’s taking nothing for granted.

“Any time you can win a big event it’s important, but I’m not really thinking about that just now,” said Murray to the assembled media in his pre-tournament press conference. “It’s quite different conditions here obviously playing at altitude. There are no easy matches. I’m here to try and hopefully play at a high level. If I do that, I give myself a chance to win. But obviously I like the conditions here. They are good for me. Hopefully I can play well.”

Murray was ruthless at the Caja Magica, not dropping a set against three fellow Top 10 opponents – Milos Raonic in the quarter-finals, Kei Nishikori in the semis and two-time defending champion Rafael Nadal in the final. Having lacked comfort on the clay in previous years, the 28 year old points to his success in Madrid as a significant moment in his development on the surface.

“I think expectations for me have changed obviously because of last year. Winning is important. I won on the clay last year which was good, but it was more the way I played. I played very well. Even in Monte-Carlo the match against Raonic and also for large parts the match against Rafa in Monte-Carlo was very good.

“That gives me belief, but also I then expect to play better than I maybe did in the past. I don’t see any reason why I can’t maintain that level and give myself a chance in the next few events.”

Murray will open against either qualifier Radek Stepanek or Vasek Pospisil. A potential third-round encounter against Gilles Simon looms, as does eighth seed Tomas Berdych or ninth seed David Ferrer in the quarters.

A rematch against Nadal could happen in the semis, with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic a potential final opponent. Murray assessed his recent practice sessions with both players.

“It went really well,” Murray said of his trip to Nadal’s hometown of Manacor last week. “I practised with Raonic for a couple days and practiced with Rafa for a couple days. The first day just was with my coach there… The best practice you can get was to go there and get to practice with two guys that are in the Top 10 and probably the best clay-court player of all-time. That was the best practice and preparation I could get, so that was why I decided to go there. It worked out well.”

“The reason to practice with him was not to scare him,” Murray added, referring to his hit with Djokovic on Saturday. “I think everyone prepares for tournaments to try to give themselves the best chance to play well when the tournament starts. Getting to practice with the best player in the world is great preparation for me. I’ve had some good practices against the best players. That’s very important. I don’t get that when I’m back home, so I need to make the most of it when I’m at these events.”

The Mutua Madrid Open got underway on Sunday.