Murray vows to make strong finish to ’23

Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray said on Wednesday he is “still going in the right direction” and is determined to make a strong finish to an “up and down” year.
The 36-year-old former world number one was speaking at the Zhuhai Championships in China, days after playing his part in Britain’s Davis Cup victory over Switzerland.
He revealed after defeating Leandro Riedi at Manchester Arena on Friday that he had missed his grandmother’s funeral to play.
Reflecting on his year so far, Murray, now ranked 41 in the world, said: “Look, I would like the year to have gone better, for sure.
“There have been some good moments, but also some tough losses as well,” said Murray, who had career-saving surgery in 2019 and now plays with a metal hip.
His five-set defeat in the second round at Wimbledon to fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, having been ahead when the match was forced into the next day because of a tournament curfew, still rankles.
Murray suffered an abdominal injury at the Canadian Open last month and went out in the second round at the US Open, where he is a former champion, in straight sets to Grigor Dimitrov.
Murray, who felt he started 2023 especially well and reached the final in Qatar, said: “It’s been up and down. I got up to my highest ranking a few weeks ago since I had the hip operation so that’s positive and shows that although it’s not as fast a trajectory as I would have liked, I’m still going in the right direction.
“I’ve got an opportunity with these last five or six tournaments at the end of the year to have a strong finish, so that’s what I’m hoping for here.” Murray, whose last ATP title came in 2019, faces Chinese wildcard Mo Yecong in his opener in Zhuhai.
“I really enjoyed my last visit to Zhuhai. It’s a beautiful city and a great city with great fans. I’m looking forward to seeing you all in September,” Murray said.
“It’s great to be playing tennis in China again and I am really lookingforward to coming back to play at the Hengqin International Tennis Centre,” Murray added.

Federer offers Laver Cup advice, touts ‘Superstar’ doubles combos
Swiss legend was a three-time winner with Team Europe. Each match may come down to individual or doubles-tandem brilliance, but Roger Federer believes team integration remains the key for Laver Cup success.
The Swiss great helped Team Europe to victory against Team World in 2017, 2018 and 2019 before bringing his career to a close in emotional scenes at the 2022 edition of the annual team event. What advice does the former World No. 1 have for the seven Laver Cup debutants set to compete inside Vancouver’s Rogers Arena this weekend?
“I think it’s (all about) thriving in the team environment, being well prepared and embracing a big crowd,” said the Swiss great in Vancouver ahead of this weekend’s action. “It always depends on when you play, obviously, whether it’s opening day or the second day, but listen to the ones who have already been at Laver Cups before, and they can give you some sound advice.
“I’m sure they’ll be fine. They’re all excellent players here, we’re talking about world-class players.”
The Swiss believes that part of the beauty of the Laver Cup is the opportunity it gives fans to witness top ATP Tour singles stars join forces on the doubles court.
“I always get very excited about Laver Cup doubles teams because they’re usually always teams that we haven’t seen in the past,” said Federer. “(This year for Team Europe) I’d like to maybe see (Hubert) Hurkacz and (Andrey) Rublev play together. On the World side, I think there’s tonnes of doubles teams there. Ben Shelton, I see him playing quite a few, also Frances (Tiafoe), I can see him playing some. Maybe also Taylor Fritz, I’d like to see how he plays doubles.
“I just like superstar combinations; I think that’s always very exciting.”
As the first anniversary of his retirement approaches, Federer’s said: “Tennis is a great live sport, so I’m really happy to be back here in Vancouver and seeing some live tennis again.”