By Erik Gudris | Monday, February 24, 2014

 

Acapulco is ready for Andy Murray to make his debut at the ATP 500 event. But will the new hard courts there help Murray win his first title of the season?

Photo Credit: AP

When one visits the Abierto Mexicano Telcel event website, a new interview with Andy Murray is featured. Though written in Spanish, the headline in English translates into "Andy Murray, a peaceful and sensitive man."

Such a headline might cause some readers to raise their eyebrows. After all, Murray's often testy on-court demeanor hardly seems peaceful. Yet this brief interview with Murray focuses more on the Scot's life away from tennis, including his desires for a world with less conflict between nations. Murray also reveals what he hopes to do once his career ends.

"When I finish this, I would like to start a family, I love spending time alone at home, spending time with my girlfriend, we have two dogs, when I return from a trip all I want is to be at home with my girlfriend, family or friends, upon termination of tennis I want to do that," Murray said when asked about what he looks forward to after tennis.

Murray also admitted he felt relief after winning his first Grand Slam title at the 2012 US Open.

"I went through a lot of stress for many years," Murray said about his life prior to winning his maiden major title.

Before he can settle down though, Murray is focused on getting the most out of his tennis prowess. That includes competing at this week's Acapulco tournament.

Not only is Murray making his debut at the event, but so are the brand new blue hard courts. Once known as the final stop on the "Golden Swing" of clay court events throughout Latin and South America, Acapulco is now trying to forge a new identity as a premier combined ATP and WTA event leading up to Indian Wells starting next week.

With Murray now ranked No. 7 in the world, his lowest ranking since 2008, the reigning Wimbledon champion will be looking to reestablish himself after having taken several months off due to back surgery late last year. His recent straight sets loss to Marin Cilic in the Rotterdam quarterfinals appear to indicate Murray's road to becoming 100% match fit was still very much a work in progress.

First up for Murray is Spain's Pablo Andujar, who almost defeated Rafael Nadal during their tense three-setter last week in Rio. David Ferrer is the top seed while John Isner, Grigor Dimitrov and Marseille winner Ernests Gulbis are also in the field.

If Murray can navigate a tricky draw while keeping a sense of serenity around him, he just might be the one wearing the traditional sombrero that all of the event's past champions have proudly worn after winning the title.