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In a recent press conference, former World No. 1 Andy Murray admitted that Australia is a place where he has "always liked to play" tennis. Despite hinting that he hasn't had a great record in the country lately, the Brit stated that he feels "comfortable" in Australia as the courts and conditions "suit" him.
Andy Murray defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili at the Sydney Tennis Classic on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament. The three-time Grand Slam winner fought ferociously on the court for three hours and 14 minutes to seal a 6-7(4), 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory.
In the post-match press conference, Murray highlighted that he no longer comes to Australia feeling he has to "compete" and that he won a match "after more than 1,000 days" (referring to his win over Viktor Durasovic at the 2022 Sydney Tennis Classic ). He highlighted that he hopes to play there for "a few more years."
“My feeling is no longer that of having been coming here every year to compete, in fact, I hadn't won a match in Australia for more than 1,000 days. I am aware of the situation I have been through, but this is a place where I have always liked to play," said Murray.
"Being that the conditions and the courts suit me, I feel very comfortable in Australia, so I hope to play a few more years."
Murray has a 48-13 win-loss record at the Australian Open, his second-best at a Grand Slam after the Wimbledon Championships where he currently enjoys a win percentage of 84%. Although the Brit has never won the Australian Open title, he has finished as the runner-up on five occasions.
Andy Murray will lock horns against David Goffin in the quarters of the 2022 Sydney Tennis Classic
Andy Murray will face David Goffin in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Sydney Tennis Classic on Thursday. At the press conference, Murray remarked that just like him Goffin too is coming back from "some injuries" and hinted that the Belgian would pose a tough challenge for him. Murray leads the head-to-head 6-0, but they haven't played against each other since 2018.
"David is also coming back from some injuries, I think he had surgery on his elbow, so I imagine he'll be looking forward to going very far this week as well," Murray said.
Murray also appeared to be concerned about the schedule of his match on Thursday. He has to play in the day session and feels it won't give him enough time to recuperate.
“Unfortunately, the game will not be at night, they have put us in daytime. I need to sleep and recover as I am scheduled to play around 3:30 or 4:30 in the afternoon. I need to rest a bit before I hit the track," mentioned the 34-year-old.
Andy Murray is eyeing his 47th ATP title at the 2022 Sydney Tennis Classic.
