Pat Cash is confident Andy Murray will rise again ahead of MWTC

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Pat Cash believes once Andy Murray gets into a good frame of mind, then he will be difficult to stop.

    Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash is not worried about Andy Murray and believes the world No6 will soon reclaim his status as a member of the ‘Big Four’.

    – INTERVIEW: Arab No 1 Malek Jaziri sets big goals for 2015

    After winning the Olympics and US Open in 2012 and following those up with a second grand slam title at Wimbledon in 2013, Murray suffered a back injury that required surgery and the Scot struggled upon his return in 2014.

    He briefly slipped out of the top-10 in the rankings for the first time in six years after falling in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open but he clawed his way back to No6 in the world thanks to three titles in Shenzhen, Vienna and Valencia.

    But Murray wrapped up his season with a crushing 6-0, 6-1 defeat at the hands of Roger Federer at the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November, and many feel the Scot has distanced himself from the dominant trio of Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

    But Cash, who is in Abu Dhabi acting as an ambassador for the Mubadala World Tennis Championship kicking off on Thursday, says Murray’s dip is a natural process and that he will rebound well in 2015.

    “I think after such a massive couple of years that he’s had, it’s natural to have a bit of a drop. We haven’t seen that from a guy like Federer, and Djokovic has been very consistent as well. But other than that, guys like Nadal have got injured, come back for a couple of months, they’ve had ups and downs. That’s normal,” said Cash.

    “What’s not normal is for players that keep going all the time. I don’t know how Federer does it. We compare everything now to Federer and Djokovic who can just keep going. But back in my day, players would have ups and downs and that’s what happens. It’s almost impossible to keep it going.

    “So for Murray to have a massive couple of years, winning Wimbledon and the US Open and the Olympics, and making the final of Wimbledon. It’s almost impossible to keep that going.”

    Cash also cited Murray’s back surgery as a major factor behind his regression last year and pointed out that not everyone can return from injury with a bang, the way Nadal has done in the past.

    “Having an injury and then having surgery. That last year was probably a year that Murray needed. He worked hard at the end of the year, and he’s such a good athlete, a good player, and I think once he gets into the year he’ll be very competitive,” says the Aussie legend.

    “He just needs to get matches against these guys this week. He wants to try and win tomorrow (Thursday), it’s a tricky match against Feliciano Lopez, who can beat anybody. He can hit winners and serve you off the court. And then to possibly get Nadal and Djokovic, that’s great practice. That’s what he needs, some good matches against top players. He’ll be fine I think.”

    There are some questions surrounding Nadal, who is also coming off a turbulent six months where he dealt with a back problem, a wrist injury and had surgery to remove his appendix.

    “I never want to write Nadal off. He’s unbelievable when he comes back, he comes back hard, it’s quite incredible. Most people can’t do that. I’ve never seen anybody who will do that as well as he does. Most people, like Andy, they take some months to get going. Nadal comes back like ‘boom’,” said Cash.

    Recommended