It is great to see Murray come back, says Kyrgios
Scot returns at Queen’s against good friend ‘He is awesome for the sport,’ adds Australian
Andy Murray returns to the match court today at Queen’s Club, 342 days after his most recent official appearance in last year’s Wimbledon quarter-final. It is hard to know what to expect, especially as Murray’s opponent – Nick Kyrgios – is the most unpredictable talent on the circuit.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, even Kyrgios himself sounded conflicted about this meeting with one of his closest friends in the lockerroom – a mentor and role model who has beaten him in all five of their previous encounters.
“I just smiled,” said Kyrgios yesterday, when asked for his thoughts when he first saw the draw. “I’m excited. Obviously one of my better mates on tour. It’s just good to see him back ultimately. I think it’s been pretty s---ty without him. I’m looking forward to going out there and playing. But to see him healthy is obviously the main thing. I think he’s awesome for the sport.”
So will it be all business when the match starts? Can Kyrgios slip into a ruthless mindset when dealing with “one of my better mates on tour”? That one drew a typically honest answer from a man whose approach to tennis has something of the flannel-clad amateur about it.
“Oh, I don’t know if it’s business only and ruthless,” said Kyrgios, who demonstrated his quality on this surface when he pushed Roger Federer to within a couple of points of defeat in Stuttgart on Saturday. “I don’t know if I ever have that mentality. I mean, obviously I’m going to go out there and want to win. Don’t get me wrong. But I’m not going to not have fun or not enjoy myself at the same time.”
Murray said on Saturday that he had “zero expectations” of himself during this grass-court season, and added that he would not be backing himself to beat Kyrgios. “I don’t think it would be right to think that way after such a long time out, but obviously I want to play well and feel good on the court.”
Unless Murray should pull a rabbit out of his baseball cap today, this feels like a toe-dipping exercise, designed primarily to test how strongly he can perform, and – perhaps more importantly – how his body will respond to the unique stresses of competitive matchplay.
Every tennis player says the same thing: you can train all you want, but until the adrenalin starts flowing in earnest, there is no way of approximating the full experience of playing on Centre Court in front of a 9,000-strong crowd.
“Obviously I’d love to win the tournament,” Murray told the BBC, “but I’m not thinking about that. It’s about seeing where my game is at, hopefully moving well and not restricted. I think it’s still possible to compete [for a grand-slam title] but, after you’ve been out as long as I have, that’s not how it works.
“There’s never a time when you feel perfect,” Murray added. “It’s not a gamble in terms that I’m going to re-injure my hip. But if I missed the grass-court season and tried to play in five weeks’ time, the same doubts would be there. You re-evaluate. You find that out by being out there.”
The grass courts of Queen’s hold many happy memories for Murray, who has won a record five titles here. But he will have to watch his footing carefully. No one is allowed to practise on Centre Court before the Fever-tree Championships start, so when the tournament gets underway the surface is always rather lush and slippery.
Several players tumbled over yesterday, and as the British No2 Cameron Norrie put it after his loss to Stan Wawrinka: “I didn’t really feel comfortable on my feet. I felt like out of the corners I was going to slip, and I didn’t really want to tear up my hip or anything. So I kind of played it safe.”