Andy Murray feels that it is only a matter of time before he breaks through again and makes a deep run at a tournament after falling to #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the Erste Bank Open on Wednesday.
The 18-year-old Alcaraz exacted revenge over the former World No. 1, 6-3, 6-4, after falling to him earlier this month in Indian Wells. But the Scot felt he showed more than enough in the two-hour, six-minute duel to suggest that he was well on the right path.
“I’m not going to keep losing in the second and third round of tournaments. I will get better and I will improve and I will break through in one week, or two weeks, or a few months,” Murray said. “It will happen. I obviously would like it to be happening quicker than what it is.
“But he did play extremely well and he’s a top young player and if you’re hitting single-digit unforced errors playing that way and with the power that he has it’s going to be tough… If I continue on that path and build up a little bit more consistency, be that little bit more clinical and a bit more ruthless I will start winning more and have some deep runs, but it’s tough.
“Draws have been hard, I’ve played in some tough tournaments. The draw was stacked here [in Vienna]. There were no easy matches here. It will happen sooner rather than later I think.”
The 46-time tour-level titlist opened his Vienna campaign with a victory over Nitto ATP Finals hopeful Hubert Hurkacz. It was sweet revenge after he had fallen twice already this year to the Pole.
It was his first Top 10 win since he beat Alexander Zverev in August last year at the Western & Southern Open. Other victories over the likes of Frances Tiafoe in a three-hour, 45-minute thriller in Antwerp last week have only added to Murray’s belief.
“I won two days ago against a guy who’s Top 10 in the world, made the semis at Wimbledon this year, won an ATP Masters 1000 this year,” Murray said of Hurkacz. “Alcaraz had a great run at the US Open and I had a good win against him.
“I had some good matches against some top players who’ve had great runs at these events, so I’m not really sure why I should think that I couldn’t do that again. I sort of look at those matches and think if Hurkacz can make semis at Wimbledon why is that not possible?”
Murray, a two-time champion in Vienna, has compiled a 13-11 record this season, including a quarter-final run in Metz. He also pushed third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas to five sets in the opening round of the US Open.