Andy Murray has revealed that he will miss a family Christmas in Scotland for the first time as he intensifies his efforts to win a first Grand Slam tournament. The British number one will spend the majority of December in Miami as he prepares for the Australian Open in mid-January.
The Scot would not commit to training on Christmas Day itself but, unless his family make a late decision to fly out to join him, he will be looking to spend the day with friends and train in the heat to get him ready for the tasks ahead.
"I don't know [if I will train on the 25th], it depends if I fancy it or not," he said. "I don't think one day's training on Christmas Day makes that big a difference. If you're spending Christmas away from your family, I think that's a big enough sacrifice in itself."
Murray, who has made the final of the Valencia Open following his return from a wrist injury, is leaving nothing to chance as he plans his assault on the first Grand Slam of the new season. Following the Valencia Open he will travel to Paris to take part in the Masters 1000 event before crossing the Channel to play in the season-closing Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the end of November.
The intense schedule, which will see the World number four training through the December break is a change to Murray’s preparation in previous years. In the last two years, after a Christmas break at home in Scotland, Murray has begun the season in winning style at the Qatar Open in Doha, where he has picked up back-to-back titles.
However, last year’s win in Qatar came at a cost when the Scot picked up a virus that hampered his Australian Open bid. Murray was knocked out in the fourth round in Melbourne by Fernando Verdasco.
To prepare for the first Grand Slam of the next season, Murray will now train in Miami before flying direct to Australia. He will warm up in Perth, representing Britain in the Hopman Cup, where he will play three singles matches and partner young Brit Laura Robson in the mixed doubles.
Having suffered a frustrating 2009, where he reached the Wimbledon semi-finals but failed to get beyond the quarter-finals of the other grand Slam tournaments, Murray will be hoping to close the season by winning in Valencia and continuing his recover in Paris and London. The Scot will be hoping for a ranking boost in the remaining tournaments before starting 2010 with a first Grand Slam victory in Melbourne.
