Andy Murray is feeling encouraged after defeating Jack Draper at the Battle of the Brits.
In a match that could be dubbed as a generational clash, the resilient three-time Grand Slam champion, 34, produced an excellent fightback to defeat the 20-year-old 6-2, 1-6, 12-10. It was a vital win for his Scotland team as he drew them level with England at 1-1 in front of his home crowd in Aberdeen.
The former world number one has been hard at work trying to find the level of consistency and form he once had. After reaching the final of the Sydney Open this year, it has been a frustrating year for Murray who failed to claim any silverware this season.
Ahead of the Australian Open next month, where has reached the final on five occasions but never won, he continues to bolster his preparations as he aims for another solid run down under.
"Will to win, fighting for every point, chasing every ball down, came up with some part-luck, part-skill shots at the end, a few of them came off," Murray said when asked how he had managed to come out on the right side of the result against Draper.
"Unbelievable ending, I've not played many tie-breaks like that before. I wish [I could go on for ever in tennis], unfortunately that's not going to happen. I have put in a lot of hard work, it's the hardest I've worked in a long time these last couple of months. I need to keep going because it's not perfect yet, but the signs are good."
The team event, which sees the two nations, England and Scotland, go head-to-head over two days of action. The 34-year-old had to work for the victory as he recovered from 6-3 down in the deciding set tie-break to triumph over Draper.
Murray's fighting spirit is one of the hallmarks of his game as he sealed a stunning forehand winner on his third match point to seal the triumph, and he will hope he can use that to his advantage at the Australian Open. But earlier this week the double Olympic champion admitted that one more big injury would end his career.
He lost the best part of three years to a hip injury that eventually required resurfacing surgery to correct. It stopped him in his tracks at the very peak of his career, and as mentioned previously he is still searching for his best form.
While he has done remarkably well to achieve what he has with what is essentially a metal hip, Murray says he doesn’t believe he'd come back from another injury setback.
“If my body is in good shape and I’m still able to compete consistently, I’ll keep playing,” the tennis star said. “But I can’t look so far in advance with the age I’m at and with the issues I’ve had. If I was to have a big injury, I probably wouldn’t try to come back from that.”
