Andy Murray will return to Dubai this year as he bids to climb up the rankings. It’s a place of fond memories for the Scot as he famously won there in 2017. It was a tournament that included a marathon tiebreak against Germany’s Philipp Kolschreiber. Murray will fancy his chances, especially after a heroic week in Melbourne.
He was due to play in Rotterdam, however, understandably he took an extra week off to recover from an Australian Open that saw him on court for over thirteen hours in three matches. It was vintage Murray as he did the impossible against both Matteo Berrentinni and Thanasi Kokinakkis. To even get a set against Roberto Bautista Agut was illogical based on the circumstances.
The effect of an almost monk-like existence was profound. The former World #1 spoke about how he took an off-season where he lived without social media and just focused on tennis in a meditation-like state. Clearly, it worked. The movement which he possessed in the heat of the battle was reminiscent of pre-metal hip Murray and the quality of his performances was the best since his grand slam-winning days.
The question now is whether he will be satisfied with reaching the third rounds at Grand Slams. In all truth, I doubt it, although it must be remembered that in terms of progress, it was a major step in the right direction. If he can avoid an injury of any kind (it’s really crucial at this stage) come Wimbledon he should be in excellent shape and whisper it, if you dare… even contender worthy.
It’s probably better for Murray himself that he doesn’t get entrenched in this way of thinking and focuses on the day-to-day stuff. There must be a part of him though that is extremely excited with what he was able to produce in Melbourne.
Looking ahead to Dubai, he said to the Express: “Coming back to Dubai brings with it a lot of good memories, not least 2017 and the final with Fernando… My form is improving and my game is getting better, so the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships provides another great opportunity for me to continue to climb back up the rankings.”
Despite the positives of Melbourne he still isn’t in a position to be considered a favorite for the title in Dubai. Eight of the world’s top twenty are there, including the likes of Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic, who he could easily meet in the first round. That’s the importance of these exercises though. He needs to get his ranking up so he can avoid the big names early on. The main positive is he had very few ranking points to protect. There is also the balance of not overworking himself as an injury now would be tragic and potentially career-ending. Either way, it’ll be a treat to see him playing while we still can, wild card or no wild card, contender or no contender.
Main Photo from Getty.
