Andy Murray turns towards Wimbledon and revenge over Rafael Nadal

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jun/07/andy-murray-wimbledon-revenge-rafael-nadal-french-open

Version 0 of 1.

No athlete wants to learn the art of losing. It is not a great mindset. But defeat and all its baggage are as unavoidable in tennis as is a good right cross in boxing – and Andy Murray took his latest hit with all the dignity shown by George Groves after falling at the feet of Carl Froch.

There is no doubt his semi-final execution at the hands of Rafael Nadal wrecked much of the good feeling Murray had accrued over his fortnight here but he was admirably combative when he called for a quick rematch, preferably at Wimbledon, where he begins his defence of the title in two weeks’ time.

How he holds together his bruised ego will go a long way to determining the course of his season, with or without a coach, the conundrum that has become one of the game’s most tiresome soap operas. (I understand he has at least rejected the notion of going it alone in the wake of Ivan Lendl’s departure.) Gaining revenge for Nadal’s 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 win on Friday with a victory over the Spaniard on grass would be the near-perfect medicine.

“I would like to play him on the grass, for sure,” he said. “That would mean going deep into the tournament. Someone told me I would be seeded in the top-four now, so that would mean getting to the semis or the final. I would like to play him soon.”

He said it with the sort of conviction born of deep hurt. Commentators and friends kept telling him there was no disgrace losing to Nadal on clay, especially in Paris, where he is the Bonaparte of tennis.

Jim Courier, working the ITV microphone, empathised, having lost by a similar margin to Stefan Edberg in the 1991 US Open final. “He should hold his head up high,” he said. Mark Petchey, Murray’s first coach on Tour, expressed similar sentiments.

It is true that Murray did not play that poorly; he just fell under a steamroller. But he was desperately disappointed with himself and he will have expended much psychic energy holding off the demons of self-doubt. Murray has to keep believing he can beat Nadal – not only at Wimbledon, but anywhere. He came agonisingly close in Rome, where he played the finest set of his season, before fading.

At least he can take comfort in the prospect of playing Nadal on grass next time after the killing joylessness of mere survival on clay, where the champion’s vicious top-spun forehand puts the ball in the most uncomfortable places.

“It’s completely different because it is impossible for the ball to bounce that high [on grass].” Murray said. “It is also easier to get free points on your serve and grass favours the person who hits the flatter ball. It is completely different.”

The wounds were still raw and he did not give the impression he knew how to best handle the experience: to forget it or analyse the hell out of it. “I would expect to speak to the guys over the next couple of days. Whether it is today or not, I am not sure. Sometimes, speaking immediately after matches can help, sometimes leaving it a couple of days can help as well.

“Sometimes you don’t need to talk about matches. Sometimes there is nothing really to say. Maybe I get on the court again tomorrow, maybe on the grass courts tomorrow, maybe I wait a few days. I am not sure.

“That’s how you have to play it a little bit. I don’t know how I’m going to feel when I wake up tomorrow, physically and mentally. I hope over the next two or three days I will able to look back on a positive tournament. It’s just disappointing right now.”

Sure. Not sure. In the space of a sentence. That spells lingering confusion. He needs a clear head to do his best at Queen’s, which starts on Monday, then Wimbledon, his spiritual home, the place he has come to cherish, where he often has sat alone, drinking in the history and the significance of the place, which gives him strength rather than daunts him.

As for his physical shape, he looks fine. The surgery of last September clearly was traumatic, a touch-and-go gamble that seems to have paid off, although two weeks on clay will have been tough.

“It’s the surface I had the most problem with on my back,” he said. “The grass is fairly straightforward when I’ve been having problems with my back. That’s a positive and I know my back is going to be fine for the next few weeks.

“I thought I did a fairly good job this week of recovering from the matches and dealing with the five-setters. I had not played any for quite a long time, well Wimbledon. It’s very different playing best of five to three-setters, so that is good.”