Andy Murray Plays It Cool After Juan Mónaco Inflicts an Early Exit
Andy Murray said he need not be worried by his second-round defeat to Argentinian Juan Monaco in Rome, his earliest exit in eight months
It was a match Andy Murray should have won, particularly after dominating the opening set, and yet it was almost as if this 1–6, 6–3, 7–5 defeat to Argentina's Juan Mónaco in the second round of the Rome Masters was a disappointment he had seen coming. "Mentally I'm a little bit tired," Murray said. "I'm not used to winning as much as I have done at the start of the year, and I played very well in Monte Carlo. I still nearly found a way to come through the match."
This was Murray's earliest defeat since last year's Beijing Olympics. He had reached the semi-finals or better in six of the previous seven Masters series events – second only to the slams in their importance – on his way to winning the titles in Cincinnati, Madrid and Miami, and he also made the semi-finals of the end-of-season Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. It has been a rich run of success that, coupled with his reaching the US Open final, has enabled Murray to join Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the world's four best players.
On this occasion, there were times when he looked leaden-footed and short of breath. "There were a lot of long rallies and it was hot," Murray said.
"We played nearly three hours, but I don't think it was a huge issue. I'm disappointed, but sometimes when you're on a great run a guy just plays a little bit better than you on the day, and unfortunately it happened here. But I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I'll go home and practice and hopefully be playing better in the Madrid Masters."
He had reached his first ever clay-court semi-final in Monte Carlo, winning numerous plaudits, not least from Nadal, though Murray knew Mónaco, a former top-20 player who missed a large chunk of last season with pneumonia, was a potential stumbling block.
"It was not like I was playing awesome in Monte Carlo," Murray said. "I understand my clay-court game needs to get much better. If this match had been on a hard court I might have found a way to win, but he's a bit more experienced than me and played a bit more solid. I just need to learn, go back and practice, and not over-think the match too much. I know what happened, and I'll work on those things."
Murray spoke of the conditions changing during the course of the two-hour, 40-minute match, but that was an unconvincing argument. As the heat increased, and the courts became faster, it should have suited him more. The simple fact was that he let Mónaco off the hook and paid the price.
This was Murray's earliest defeat since last year's Beijing Olympics. He had reached the semi-finals or better in six of the previous seven Masters series events – second only to the slams in their importance – on his way to winning the titles in Cincinnati, Madrid and Miami, and he also made the semi-finals of the end-of-season Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. It has been a rich run of success that, coupled with his reaching the US Open final, has enabled Murray to join Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the world's four best players.
On this occasion, there were times when he looked leaden-footed and short of breath. "There were a lot of long rallies and it was hot," Murray said.
"We played nearly three hours, but I don't think it was a huge issue. I'm disappointed, but sometimes when you're on a great run a guy just plays a little bit better than you on the day, and unfortunately it happened here. But I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I'll go home and practice and hopefully be playing better in the Madrid Masters."
He had reached his first ever clay-court semi-final in Monte Carlo, winning numerous plaudits, not least from Nadal, though Murray knew Mónaco, a former top-20 player who missed a large chunk of last season with pneumonia, was a potential stumbling block.
"It was not like I was playing awesome in Monte Carlo," Murray said. "I understand my clay-court game needs to get much better. If this match had been on a hard court I might have found a way to win, but he's a bit more experienced than me and played a bit more solid. I just need to learn, go back and practice, and not over-think the match too much. I know what happened, and I'll work on those things."
Murray spoke of the conditions changing during the course of the two-hour, 40-minute match, but that was an unconvincing argument. As the heat increased, and the courts became faster, it should have suited him more. The simple fact was that he let Mónaco off the hook and paid the price.
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