Andy Murray basks in honeymoon period after raising clay game

'If you're happy away from the court... that will help everything'

Andy Murray in the Madrid Open final (GETTY IMAGES)

As he wrote on the television camera lens after his victory over Rafael Nadal in the Madrid Masters final on Sunday evening, marriage works for Andy Murray. Since marrying Kim Sears, he is unbeaten in nine matches – all of them on clay, which in the past had been his most challenging surface.

“I think people don’t always appreciate that there is another part of sports people’s lives that is very important, as well as performance,” Murray said as he reflected on his first Masters Series clay-court title. “If you’re happy away from the court and your private and personal life is good, that will help everything. It helps your mindset, it helps the way that you train, everything.”

Even Murray’s change of schedule this year, which has contributed significantly to his success over the last fortnight, was down to his wedding. The world No 3 missed the traditional opening of the European outdoor season in Monte Carlo last month and instead played his first clay-court tournament in Munich, where he won his first title on the surface just six days before his triumph in Madrid.

Andy Murray married Kim Sears earlier this year (Getty Images)

“I didn’t play in Monaco because I got married a couple of days before the tournament started,” Murray said. “I wanted to take a few days’ break after that. Then I decided to go to train in Barcelona around when the tournament was on there because I knew there was going to be a lot of players there to practise with.

“I think for me, on this surface, it’s extremely important to practise with very, very good players, because then I can see the things that I’m not doing well and the things that I need to improve. If you’re practising with much lower-ranked players, then you can get away with making some mistakes and not hitting the ball so well.

“I got a lot of good practice there. I practised with guys like [Pablo] Cuevas, [Pablo] Carreno Busta and Pere Riba. They’re all good clay-court players. I learned a lot over the days when I was practising there.”

The only drawback with Murray’s clay-court schedule – which saw him win nine matches in 11 days in Munich and Madrid – is that it left him wondering whether he has enough left in the tank for this week’s Rome Masters. The world No 3 arrived here yesterday but has not decided yet whether to play. He is due to play his first match tomorrow against Jérémy Chardy, who knocked Roger Federer out of the tournament last year.

Murray wants to ensure he is in the best possible shape at the French Open, which starts in 12 days’ time. However, he also knows that Rome provides the best preparation because the conditions here are similar to those at Roland Garros. Munich and Madrid are both at altitude, where the balls can fly faster through the air.

Wherever he next appears, Murray will be sure to take the aggressive approach which has been so successful for him this year. He did not beat a single top -10 player in the 14 months between his Wimbledon 2013 triumph and last year’s US Open, but got the better of three last week in Madrid alone. In beating Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori and Nadal on successive days, Murray did not drop a set.

“Last year I struggled a lot against the top players,” he said. “I wasn’t so confident playing against them. I still felt like I wasn’t quite where I needed to be with my game. This year and in the off-season I put in a lot of hard work on my game and made a few changes. I tried to get back to playing the way that I was playing when I was my most successful.”

Taking a more positive approach helped Murray reach his first Grand Slam final for 18 months in this year’s Australian Open and his first Masters Series final for two years in Miami. He lost to Novak Djokovic in both finals, but in the latter he played a much more attacking game.

“I felt like I played a very aggressive match [against Djokovic in Miami], as I did for the most part in Australia,” Murray said. “It’s something that if I want to keep winning against the better players and the top players, I’m going to need to do.”

Murray has always had one of the best returns in the game and it has been particularly effective in recent months. He has been stepping into the court to hit the ball early, especially on second serves. “It’s something that I’ve been working on and will continue to do throughout the year. I felt like it was something that I was doing a lot when I was playing well. I think a strength in my game is my return and being able to take the ball early. You don’t always have to hit it very hard when you take it early. But so long as you time the ball well you take time away from your opponent.”