MURRAYFIRED UPFORSOME JUSTDESERTS
ANDY MURRAY has claimed he is ready to beat the top players and win titles again before his desert grudge match with Alex Zverev.
The Scot produced one of his best displays since his hip surgery to beat Carlos Alcaraz at the BNP Paribas Open.
And the world No.121 has threatened to redeploy the underarm serve which saw him ace the young Spaniard as he pursues his first title since his emotional European Open triumph in October 2019.
Murray has not been past the third round of any event since as he has struggled with further injuries and Covid.
But his fightback against the teenage Alcaraz was vintage Murray.
And the former world No.1 declared he has the form and fitness to end his dry spell by winning in the California desert.
“Two years ago I couldn’t believe I had won a tournament again after everything had happened with the operations and stuff,” he said.
“It was just amazing. It’s probably been going a little bit slower than I would have liked but I’m slowly starting to get there again, and get to a level where it wouldn’t be a surprise if I won a tournament.
“I genuinely believe that I can win tournaments, again. There’s nothing that has happened recently, barring probably the Denis Shapovalov match that I played at Wimbledon where I got smoked, to make me think otherwise. But my preparation for the grass season was a disaster.
“It’s not easy playing with a metal hip and it is not easy with everything that goes into getting ready for these events.
“But to do that against Alcaraz makes it worth it and gives me confidence and encouragement to keep going.
“I don’t see any reason why I can’t still compete against the top players and beat them in big events.”
Murray ranked the Alcaraz win alongside beating Stan Wawrinka to claim the title in Antwerp and his victory over Zverev in August 2020 – his last defeat of a top-10 player.
Now the new Olympic champion Zverev is facing an ATP investigation into allegations of assault made by his former girlfriend Olga Sharypova in 2019.
Murray first called for an ATP domestic abuse policy last year and welcomed the probe.
Zverev vehemently denies the accusations and said the enquiry is a chance to clear his name as Sharypova has never pressed criminal charges.
Meanwhile, British No.1 Dan Evans crashed out of the Indian Wells Masters after a painful defeat to Diego Schwartzman.
The Argentine trailed by a set-and-a-half at one point but Evans failed to win a game in the final set, going down 5-7, 6-4, 6-0.
Schwartzman will now face Casper Ruud of Norway or Lloyd Harris of South Africa in the last 16.