• ATP Tour

Murray happy to be back in his comfort zone

June 7, 2011

Andy Murray hopes home advantage will help him as he begins his grass court campaign at the AEGON Championships.

The British No. 1 was a doubt for the tournament at Queen's Club after suffering an ankle injury in Paris, but he came through a strenuous training session on Monday.

Murray, who as second seed receives a bye through to the second round, will play either Belgium's Xavier Malisse or German Matthias Bachinger on Wednesday.

And the Scot, who will play in the doubles alongside brother Jamie on Tuesday, is happy to be back in London.

"I know I'm going to be in the one place for five or six weeks now, which is so nice for a tennis player," Murray said. "It's also one of the nice parts that I get to go home, sleep in your own bed and go to the restaurants that you always go to. You can create that sort of comfort zone, which is important to playing well."

Playing on home soil comes with added expectation, but Murray insists he is not fazed by the pressure of bidding to end Britain's 75-year wait for a male grand slam champion.

"You just need to live your normal life," Murray said. "I think if you try and avoid reading newspapers, turning the TV on, that's not normal.

"Just because there is a big tournament coming up, I watch all the same TV that I always watch, and if there is a paper around I am not going to avoid it. I'll pick it up. I always do crosswords in the newspapers. I don't lock myself away in my house."

The Scot has been dealing with the effects of a sore ankle, and admits he may go back on painkillers for the two upcoming tournaments after stopping them following French Open semi-final defeat to Rafael Nadal.

"It's a bit sore when I'm not taking any pills," he said. "When you are taking a lot of pills you do feel great after matches. I finished the match with Rafa and I was great and then you are off them and you feel a bit sore again."

Murray admits he will be cautious in the opening stages at Queen's, but doesn't foresee the change of surface causing the injury any major complications.

"It takes time (to adapt to grass). I just need to be careful because the grass, even though it's the best here, is very slippy at the beginning of the tournament," he noted. "I just want to feel comfortable underfoot and then go for it. I don't want any uncertainty.

"The only negative about doing well at the French Open is less time to prepare for grass - but I'd rather be in this position.

"This is one of the nicest tournaments to play. I really enjoy it. I played well here in the past and it's the perfect preparation for Wimbledon."

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