Andy Murray used to do the nine-hour road slog from Cincinnati to New York for the US Open, a largely mind-numbing drive lifted from the pages of Jack Kerouac but without the chemical assistance.

The Scot’s motoring days would seem to be numbered, however, at least across the US. The defending champion now arrives in a private jet. It is not the luxury he pays for but the convenience and the optimum conditions to rest before the final slam tournament of the year, one which will put serious demands on his body and spirit if he gets through the fortnight and seven potential five-setters to reach the final again.

"Sometimes I'm still up for driving," he said before heading for the local airport after his two-set loss to Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open.

“I drove a few years ago, but it can take a while. When you’re trying to prepare for a grand slam it’s probably better to try to get there as quickly as possible, and not be cramped in a car for nine hours.”

Routine is at the core of his preparation, and, despite failing to reach the weekend in Cincinnati and in Montreal, he is satisfied with his return to tennis after a three-week break to recover from the rigours of winning Wimbledon. Some things he has control of, such as accommodation. "I will stay in the same hotel this year. I've changed in Australia, for example, numerous times, but I've stayed in the same hotel the last couple of years there.

'Same hotel'
"Wimbledon I'm at home, then the US Open I'll stay in the same hotel. It's pretty quiet. You need to try to conserve as much energy as you can during the slams, so the more you can get away from everything, the less noise, the better."

The anticipation this time, however, the combined rush of raising his level and accepting the challenge of a similar elevation in the quality of his rivals’ tennis, surely will be different than on his previous 10 visits.

“Yeah, obviously I will be excited. It’s going to be a new experience for me. At this stage of my career, it doesn’t happen too often where you’re doing something for the first time, so I’ll look forward to that and hopefully deal with it okay. I’m glad I’ve played 10 matches, including the doubles, the past couple of weeks. That’s decent. It could have been better, but it definitely could have been worse as well. Going in there with a decent amount of matches is good.”

Life is rarely smooth for Murray, who lives on the edge of his emotions on court, but he has had a calm enough fortnight since coming back to the game, and away from the battle he gives no hint of anxiety, physical or mental. That has not always been the case.

“I’m fairly happy with this week,” he said, reflecting on good wins over Mikhail Youzhny and Julien Benneteau before his minor dip against Berdych.

“I played very well, very solid the first two matches. The intensity was good. Against Tomas I served well and I felt I was pretty sharp on the returns. I just didn’t return his second serve as well as I would have liked, and I have been doing that in the first couple of matches.”

With the sort of inverse serendipity that seems to be a creeping phenomenon on the Tour this year, Novak Djokovic went out of the tournament shortly before Murray did (and Roger Federer would join them hours later after a rousing three-setter against Nadal that inspired sleeping memories of their rivalry).

Hate losing
They all hate losing, but in warm-up tournaments they can live with the experience. Murray, if anything, took heart from Djokovic's loss to John Isner. "From what I've seen, Novak struggled quite a lot on the second-serve return in big points too," he noted.

And what did he make of Nadal’s rather extraordinary run of results since returning to tennis after a seven-month lay-off through injury – especially on the hard courts one would expect to put the greatest strain on his suspect knees?

“You’ve got to remember the year before he’d won the Australian Open and the US Open and numerous Masters series. I think people were more concerned about how his knees were going to respond to the hard courts, and how much he was actually going to play on them. When Rafa’s fit, or Roger’s fit, the surface doesn’t really matter. They’re going to be there or thereabouts in all the major events.

“I was surprised, though, by how many finals he’s made. I’m not surprised how well he’s playing, but to make so many finals in the tournaments he’s played since he’s come back is very impressive.

A challenge for the four of them is to husband their resources in the weeks leading up to the ultimate test of their skill, stamina and conviction. So, how much do they hold back in places such as Mason, Ohio?

“You want to be a little bit careful in terms of a niggle. But when you play in matches, I wouldn’t say anybody holds anything back. For me, playing in these tournaments is just getting used to playing points again on this surface. The movement is different, it’s a pretty harsh surface, tough on the body. The way you can change directions, you put a lot of force through your joints. It takes a bit of time to get used to that. I feel much better this week than I did last week.”

As he left for the airport, he looked it too.
Guardian Service