Opinion – James Spencer (Twitter – @jspencer28)
How has nobody raised an eye-brow after the draw was made last week for the Madrid Open?
It said Andy Murray vs Dominic Thiem in the opening round.
Yet the last time we heard from Andy in February, it was that he would play at Indian Wells and Miami, and SKIP the clay-court season, to focus on his preparations for WIMBLEDON.
So, this news of Murray playing in Madrid is totally OUT OF THE BLUE!
And now I’m reporting on this, I bet other news agencies will all copy and flock to report on this in the next 24 hours, with the SAME ANGLE.
Simply because they hadn’t realised the larger picture of what this news means.
There’s no way Andy would simply play one single clay-court event just for the sake of it.
The hint must surely be now that he will PLAY the French Open at the end of this month.
Therefore, his schedule is now half a clay-court season.
Whether this was purely spontaneous or he had this planned up his sleeve for a while, who knows.
So, essentially, the Italian Open would be Murray’s second warm-up event before going onto Paris.
Although, there is the option of Geneva and Lyon, but pushing his body too hard through the mill in the past has not worked out well, so that wouldn’t be a recommended route.
It would also add extra unnecessary travelling.
So, is this a good decision from Murray?
I think so.
If he was bored sitting at home and felt that he feels physically fit and wants to play, then why not.
There is the potential that this decision backfires and he could get terribly injured on the clay surface, as he has alluded to this year in previous interviews.
However, only he knows his body, and he wouldn’t have come to this decision if it wasn’t the right one.
The former world number one has had a five-week break since losing at the Miami Open to Daniil Medvedev, which is ample rest.
The other thing is he has risen up a few places to world number 78, due to others around him dropping ranking points.
Now the Dunblane native can gobble up some crucial ranking points and creep closer to his goal of getting back into the world’s top 50.
This means that he can get easier draws in the weeks and months ahead, at tournaments that mean a lot to him, such as Queen’s and Wimbledon, on grass.
Another useful advantage is that match practice sharpens the mind and fitness being thrown into the cauldron of those situations that sheer training simply doesn’t give.
So, all in all, I think it is a very good decision.
And taking on Austria’s Thiem at the Caja Mágica, it doesn’t come much bigger than that.
And if he wins, albeit against a player still returning after a lengthy lay off, boy would it be a strong confidence booster to kick start his clay-court campaign.
