Andy Murray needs mindset change after US Open exit - Greg Rusedski
Wednesday 9 September 2015 07:39, UK
Greg Rusedski has questioned whether Andy Murray missed having the calming presence of Amelie Mauresmo in his corner following his US Open defeat to Kevin Anderson.
The third seed looked frustrated and lost his temper on a few occasions during the 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-0) fourth-round loss to the South African on Monday night.
He let out a string of expletives during the break between the second and third sets and was then handed a code violation for smashing his racquet in the third set.
"He has to reframe his mindset out there," said former British No 1 Rusedski on Sky Sports. "He was a bit too passive to start and then he went nuts, breaking racquets, yelling and really berating his support team.
"He has to find the balance. A good example is Roger Federer. At 34 he is calm, cool and collected…you rarely see Federer lose his emotional control.
"Maybe he needs Mauresmo back because when she is there he is not as vocal and not as crazy on the court. He is a little bit calmer."
Mauresmo is not with Murray in New York after giving birth last month, leaving Jonas Bjorkman to lead the Brit's coaching team.
Sky Sports pundit Peter Fleming does not think Bjorkman is to blame for the defeat and agreed with Rusedski that Murray's mindset needs to change.
"Is Jonas really at fault? Andy is the CEO, he's the chairman of the board of this company and it's up to him to look at himself and say what isn't working," he said.
"All the talk about technique is a smokescreen really, at this level it's all about mindset and what you're thinking on the court and when you come into it.
"Andy was so stressed and has been for a while. He never quite got his wits about him."
The fourth-round loss is Murray's earliest exit at a major since 2010 and he must now regroup for the Davis Cup semi-final against Australia on September 18-20.
Reflecting on his US Open campaign, Rusedski said: "Against (Nick) Kyrgios he played excellent, then he gave (Adrian) Mannarino two sets and won in five before playing really well again against (Thomaz) Bellucci.
"We thought he was back on track but when push came to shove and the stress happened he didn't manage it is as well. Hopefully it's only a one-off."
Watch the US Open come to a conclusion on Sky Sports from 4pm all this week. Not a Sky subscriber? Then watch through online streaming service NOW TV.
By purchasing a Sky Sports Day Pass for £6.99 or Sky Sports Week Pass for £10.99, you can enjoy access to all seven Sky Sports channels and watch on a TV with a NOW TV Box or on a range of devices.
