Murray wary of overdoing things in team events and at Olympics
Andy Murray’s singles season will end in Antwerp tonight unless he can overcome world No 45 Pablo Cuevas. This is his final tournament of a year in which he has proven himself capable of competing once again with the world’s best players.
The next questions surround Great Britain’s forthcoming team competitions – and, indeed, next year’s Tokyo Olympics, where Murray could potentially resume the on-off doubles partnership with his brother, Jamie.
It was 40 miles away, in Ghent, that the Murrays joined forces to help secure Great Britain’s first Davis Cup in 79 years. In three attempts at the Olympics, however, they have managed just one victory, in Beijing 11 years ago. As Andy admitted this week, there is an argument for not trying a fourth time.
“It’s a difficult one because last time when I played the Olympics, I just wanted to play everything – singles, doubles, mixed,” Murray said. “I don’t think it’s a done deal that we will play together. I mean, he’s been doing well with Neal [Skupski, the 29-year-old Liverpudlian who has partnered Jamie on a strong run of 20 wins from their last 28 matches].
“Because the Olympics comes around every four years, both of us are desperate to do really well, but we don’t play with each other in preparation for it so we just turn up and hope it clicks. That’s not really the right way to prepare.”
Similar logic applies to the inaugural Davis Cup finals week in Madrid, which starts on Nov 18. If Andy Murray is playing singles, British captain Leon Smith may have to use Skupski and Jamie Murray as his doubles pairing.
Meanwhile, The Daily Telegraph understands that 46-year-old Andrea Gaudenzi – a former junior world No1 who reached the fourth round of the French Open in 1994 – has been chosen by the Association of Tennis Professionals’ board as its new chairman.