Exclusive: Shortening points could help Andy Murray in Grand Slams says John McEnroe after Australian Open exit

ByEurosport

Updated 22/01/2023 at 07:43 GMT

John McEnroe has offered a suggestion for how Andy Murray could make it deeper into Grand Slams at the age of 35. Murray overcame Matteo Berrettini and Thanasi Kokkinakis in gruelling five-set epics to reach the third round of this year’s Australian Open before he was knocked out by Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 1-6 7-6(7) 3-6 4-6. McEnroe believes Murray should look to Rafael Nadal’s approach.

McEnroe feels Murray would still be in Australian Open if Kokkinakis match was shorter

John McEnroe believes Andy Murray needs to try and work on finishing points more quickly if he is to make deeper runs in Grand Slams.

Murray had to work hard to produce five-set comeback wins over Matteo Berrettini and Thanasi Kokkinakis to reach the third round of the Australian Open for the first time since 2017, but he went out to Roberto Bautista Agut in four sets on Saturday.

The former world No. 1 spent 10 hours and 34 minutes on court against Berrettini and Kokkinakis. His five hours and 45 minutes contest against Kokkinakis in the second round was the third latest finish to a tennis match ever recorded at 4.05am and the longest match of Murray's career.

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McEnroe believes tiredness was a factor in the former British No. 1’s three hours and 32 minutes loss to Bautista Agut, and that perhaps a change of tactics could help the 35-year-old make deeper runs at Grand Slams in the final years of his playing career.

“Andy is a bit of a counter puncher,” McEnroe told Eurosport.

“This has been talked about for numerous years, the need to be more aggressive.

“He's one of the great returners that [have] ever played. To me, he needs to take advantage of that and be more willing to move forward and finish points more quickly.

“I think [Rafael] Nadal has been doing a great job of that recently in the last four or five years where he picks the right moments to shorten points.

“Andy is no fool, he's tactically very smart. I'm sure that going over this, it's not his natural inclination.

“He may feel like he doesn't have that explosion, that first step that he used to have. So maybe he's a little hesitant about moving forward. That's a dilemma.”

‘With more luck Murray could have gone further at Australian Open’ - McEnroe

McEnroe also adds that Murray must still believe that he is physically and mentally ready to continue playing competitively in Grand Slams.

He said: “He’s 35 years old, the body has been through a lot of wars and so it's tough to teach an old dog new tricks. There's this fine line that he's got to find in his head and his body in order to move forward.

“Having said that, it doesn't automatically mean he's going to go deep into tournaments. Ultimately, it’s [about] the body holding up and mentally wanting the battle, wanting to continue to do what we saw him do here.

“This is encouraging but even this tournament takes its toll on him.”