Sunday 9 September 2012

Murray Ready for Major Final in USUSOp



Andy Murray insists he will use his Olympic victory for inspiration when he meets defending champion Novak Djokovic in Monday's US Open final.

It will be the Scot's fifth time in a grand slam final and, like the other four, he will go in as the underdog.

But Murray is feeling confident after he beat Djokovic in the last-four at the Olympics before going onto secure gold.

The Scottish ace believes it has helped his game and he is up for the challenge ahead.

He said: "(To win a grand slam) It's the last thing that I really want to achieve in my career, so that's why it's obviously very important for me.

"Winning the Olympics did, for me, take a bit of the pressure off. I did feel a lot better after that. I maybe had less doubts about myself and my place in the game just now.

"But winning a major is the last thing that I really want to do. It means a lot to me. You saw at Wimbledon how much that meant to me. It's obviously not easy to lose another slam final, so I hope this one is a different story."

Murray and Djokovic have met in a grand slam final before, at the Australian Open last year, where the Scot was handed one of the most painful beatings of his career, while his three other finals have all ended in defeat by Roger Federer, including at Wimbledon.

The Scot knows it will be hard to beat Djokovic, who has not lost in a hard-court match at a grand slam since the US Open final in 2010.

Murray pushed him all-the-way in a classic five-set semi-final in Australia this year and draws inspiration from that - as well as his Olympics success.

He added: "I handled a big match against him well in Australia this year. It was a great match. I think both of us played very well. It came down to a couple of points.

"I know how much the Olympics meant to all of the players, and winning against him in the Olympic semi-final was a big win for me. I know how tough it is to beat the top, top players in big matches.

"I have had some tough losses against him but also had some big highs against him as well.

"Obviously it will be an unbelievably tough match. He moves very well on the hard courts. He's a top, top player, one of the best players that's played. The year he had last year is incredible."




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