Andy Murray is not getting too carried away with regards to his chances at the upcoming US Open, despite scoring an impressive 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Novak Djokovic to lift the trophy in Montreal.
The Scot, who is back at world No2 for the first time in two years, ended an eight-match losing streak to Djokovic by handing the Serb only his fourth defeat of the year.
Murray is targeting a second US Open title in New York with the tournament starting August 31 and a first major since he beat Djokovic in the Wimbledon final in 2013; the last time he had defeated the Serb prior to Montreal.
Andy Murray bt Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 6-3 to win #RogersCup in Montreal H/H record Overall: Djokovic 19, Murray 9 in GS: 6-2 in finals: 6-6
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) August 17, 2015
The 28-year-old started his preparations for the final grand slam of the season with a surprise opening round loss to Teymuraz Gabashvili at the Citi Open in Washington DC two weeks ago but has rebounded in sensational fashion by taking the Masters 1000 title in Canada.
When asked if he felt preparations for the US Open were on track, Murray said: “It’s hard to say. I lost in the first round of a tournament last week in a match many probably weren’t expecting me to lose.
“Things can get better very quickly and they can get worse very quickly in sport, so it’s important to analyse what went well this week and things I can still improve on.”
Murray became the second player to qualify to the ATP World Tour Finals, where the season’s top-eight face off at the O2 Arena in London in November, joining Djokovic as the only two to have guaranteed their spots there so far.
“It’s good,” Murray said. “Obviously to do it with a long time to spare is nice. It’s very different to last year, when I ended up playing six tournaments in six weeks (to qualify). I was pretty fried by the time I got there. So hopefully I’ll be able to prepare a little better this year. I always enjoy playing there.”
On rising to No2 in the world, he added: “It’s good to get back close to the top. I’ll keep working hard and try to get that one spot higher.”
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Amelie Mauresmo, Murray’s coach, gave birth to a baby boy on Sunday and the Scot will have Jonas Bjorkman accompanying him to all the tournaments until the end of the season in the Frenchwoman’s absence.
Asked about their future together, Murray said: “When Amelie is ready to sit down and chat, then we’ll see what it is she wants do, if she wants to continue doing the job, if she wants to stay at home. It’s really up to her.”
Murray and Djokovic will have to make a quick turnaround as they are both competing in Cincinnati this week, where they’ve received a bye in the first round.
Djokovic is looking to capture his first title at the Masters 1000 event in Mason, Ohio, and will start against either Gilles Muller or lucky loser Benoit Paire, who replaced Kei Nishikori in the draw after the No4 seed withdrew with a left hip injury.
The Serb has a potential quarter-final date with Stan Wawrinka. Murray takes on Mardy Fish in round two, after the soon-to-be-retired American crushed Viktor Troicki 6-2, 6-2 on Monday.
Murray has been drawn to potentially face US Open champion Marin Cilic in the quarters and Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer in the last four.
