"Regardless of the result, we wanted to at least be dictating more points, trying to use my forehand, be closer to the baseline."
Friday 3 August 2018 08:27, UK
Andy Murray says his “offensive” mindset proved crucial in enabling him to defeat British No 1 Kyle Edmund and reach the Citi Open third round.
The three-time Grand Slam defeated Edmund, world No 18, 7-6 (7-4) 1-6 6-4 to secure only his third victory of 2018 on his comeback from hip surgery.
Murray was also forced to go the distance in his opener in Washington against Mackenzie McDonald on Monday but the former world No 1, who is now down at 832 in the rankings, was buoyed by the manner of his victory in the battle of the Brits.
In the first match I basically spent the whole match defending, I was playing quite far behind the baseline. And that's not really how I want to be playing moving forward.
"It was much better, just in terms of the way I actually played the match," Murray told the ATP Tour website.
"In the first match I basically spent the whole match defending, I was playing quite far behind the baseline. And that's not really how I want to be playing moving forward.
"I spoke at good length with my coach about that. Regardless of the result, we wanted to at least be dictating more points, trying to use my forehand, be closer to the baseline.
"I think I did that, especially in some of the important moments in the third set - I was being more offensive. I was a lot happier with the way I approached the match today."
Murray, who returned to competitive action at Queen's in June before opting to pull out of Wimbledon on the eve of the tournament over fitness concerns, will now meet Romania's Marius Copil in the early hours of Friday morning, live on Sky Sports Action.
The 31-year-old Briton defeated the world No 93 in their only previous encounter on clay in Madrid last year.
You can watch Andy Murray's latest match of his comeback against Marius Copil, live on Sky Sports Action from 9.30pm.
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