Andy Murray’s Having Court Issues: Monte Carlo Has Bad Bounces, Madrid Has Turned Blue
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Follow a three set loss this afternoon to Tomas Berdych at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, Andy Murray took aim at the Monte Carlo playing surface. While the Scot didn’t attribute the unevenness of the soil to the loss, he wasn’t impress by the condition of the red clay at the famed Monte Carlo club.
“Everybody’s been talking a lot about the court this week,” Murray said. “Most clay courts there’s bad bounces on. It’s never perfect. If guys slide or dig up a bit of clay, there’s bits that are hard. There’s normally bad bounces. It just seemed this week there was more of them than normal. That’s no reason for me winning or losing the match. Everybody’s had to deal with the same thing. It’s made it harder to go out there and necessarily feel great and feel like your timing is perfect on the ball, you know, which is something that for me is important. That’s how I play. I’m a ball‑striker. That’s my game. I rely on returning a lot. It’s an important part of the game for me.”
The tournament lost Juan Monaco and Julien Benneteau to ankle injuries. And there’s been some rain this week adding to the court issues.
Murray also took a shot at the upcoming Madrid Masters which will feature controversial blue colored clay courts.
“It’s only a few weeks before the French Open, and the French Open is played on red clay,” Murray said. “So for the players, it would be better for it to be on the red clay. But at the same time, you know, I’ve watched sometimes in Madrid. It’s very difficult to see the ball. I understand the reasons for doing it. It makes the tournament unique and a bit different. Sometimes that’s good for the tour. But the timing of it is what makes it difficult for the players. I’ve never played on a blue clay court before. I have no idea how the surface will play. So that will be a new experience.”
Murray gave credit to Berdych who now leads 4-2 over Andy.
“He played extremely well today,” Murray said. “He dictated a lot of the points. He went for his shots. He served very well, I think, too. He served a lot of serves close to the lines.”
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