Agence France-Presse
London, July 28: Andy Murray has revealed the secret behind the personalised notes that fuelled his 2016 Wimbledon triumph and will inspire his bid for more Olympic glory.
Murray was often seen reading a sheet of paper in breaks between games as he marched to a historic second Wimbledon title in July. The Scot offered a rare insight into the motivational scribbling after his success at the All England Club.
The 29-year-old, who has worked with a sports psychologist in the past, writes down important aspects of his gameplan to focus on during each match and sprinkles in inspirational reminders of his qualities.
As Murray prepares to defend the Olympics singles gold medal he won so memorably in London four years ago, the World No. 2 will again turn to his notes for guidance in Rio.
“They’re personal notes. Some of them stay the same the whole time. They’re basic things I remind myself to do during the matches,” Murray said. “When I play my best tennis I feel like I’m doing these things. They would be like, ‘Make sure you’re moving your feet when you’re nervous’. People have a tendency when they’re nervous to not move, not use their legs.
“Sometimes when you’re in the heat of a second set tie-break in a Slam final, it’s easy to forget exactly what you’re trying to do. Sometimes I just look at the tactics that I’ve written down for the match,” he added.
Murray’s notes are typical of the perfectionist nature of the British star, who will travel to Brazil refreshed after a long break in the aftermath of his draining fortnight at Wimbledon which he won with an imperious display against Milos Raonic in the final.
Determined to recover mentally and physically in time for the Olympics, Murray opted out of Great Britain’s Davis Cup quarterfinal win over Serbia and also pulled out of the Toronto Masters 1000 event. That will leave the three-time Grand Slam champion with no match action under his belt since Wimbledon.
But that doesn’t bother Murray. He has sights set on taking home another medal from Rio.
“You obviously want to try to win a medal. Yeah, I’m looking forward to it,” Murray said. “I love being involved in the Olympics, hopefully I can have a good run there.”