Andy Murray ‘won’t be the same’ again as Andy Roddick speaks out on Indian Wells exit
Andy Murray says he's in the 'bad books' after losing ring
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Andy Roddick has given his verdict on fellow former world No 1 Andy Murray’s performance in Indian Wells. The Brit gave Alexander Zverev a tough test in a grudge match between Olympic champions, before going onto lose in two tight sets. It was the first time the German managed to get the better of Murray as he secured a 6-4 7-6(4) victory in their third-round clash.
Murray was critical of his performance despite many seeing it as one of his best since undergoing a hip resurfacing surgery at the beginning of 2019.
The three-time Grand Slam champion was playing in Indian Wells for the first time since March 2017, and scored two impressive wins en route to the third round.
After defeating world No 51 Adrian Mannarino in straight sets to begin his campaign in the Californian desert, he recorded an impressive comeback win over 30th seed Carlos Alcaraz.
He then faced third seed Zverev in a highly-anticipated third-round clash on Tuesday.
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The current world No 121 had never lost to the recent Olympic gold medallist, and got off to a strong start as he broke at the first opportunity.
However, the German managed to race back and win five games in a row before taking the opener 6-4.
Murray once again led by a break early in the second set before Zverev mounted another comeback, but the Brit raised his level and was able to fend off the 24-year-old, breaking at a crucial time while Zverev served for the match to keep his chances alive.
The Brit ultimately fell 7-4 in the second set tiebreak after losing an entertaining back-and-forth exchange by the net on match point, and despite staying with the world No 4 throughout the match, Murray said he didn’t think he “played well”.
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Despite playing down his level of tennis, Murray did admit that one positive he took from the match was the condition of his body, saying it was “physically the best” he’d felt for a while.
One of Murray’s former rivals, retired American Andy Roddick, has weighed in and admitted that the Brit would never be “the same” again physically.
Although he couldn’t see the 46-time title winner return to his old self, Roddick was impressed that Murray had managed to silence any talk of his physical condition and let his tennis do the talking once again.
“The good news about this is that we’re actually talking about Murray’s form as far as tennis,” the 2003 US Open champion said, speaking on Tennis Channel.
“We’re not talking about ‘is he ever going to play again, will he ever be the same’.”
“Ok he won’t be the same but the fact that he’s moving in and out of corners pretty well, the fact that he’s more concerned with how he played and he’s kind of judging that disappointment as opposed to the disappointment of his body not being able to actually perform at all physically. I think that’s a net positive.”
Murray’s opponent also sung his praises after the match, saying: “It was a fantastic match. Andy played extremely well, maybe as well as he’s played since the [hip] surgery.”
While the Brit has earned praise for his fight against Zverev, he will now tumble out of the world’s top 170 as a result of the third-round exit, as he is set to lost his 250 ranking points claimed when he won the European Open in Antwerp back in 2019.
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