The Andy Murray who won Wimbledon last summer appears to have disappeared. In his place is the former Andy Murray who is lacking confidence in his game.
Murray was bounced in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Wednesday, losing in three sets to Milos Raonic. Murray broke early in the third set but subsequently lost his next four games and lost 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
He is 14-5 this season in matches played but has dropped from No. 2 in the world to No. 6. After winning Wimbledon last year, he had to miss the end of the season because of back surgery and has struggled to regain more of his mental form than his physical conditioning.
"I mean, to get broken two consecutive times in that situation isn't good enough," Murray said of his loss, as reported by tennis.com. "I didn't make enough balls, missed easy shots-but like really easy shots.
"There were some where he was standing in the net, you know, and I just had to hit it to the other side."
His explanation? Lost confidence.
"Because, you know, there is no other reason for missing shots like that," he said, as tennis.com reported. "Basic tennis shots that I would hope to make 99 times out of 100."
Murray was shaky the entire tournament, according to the Daily Mail, which questioned whether the absence of his coach Ivan Lendl had an impact on his game.
Before his loss to Raonic, Murray said, "I don't think having Ivan here would have helped me play better.
"I made the final here before and I have played well at tournaments when Ivan hasn't been around. Most people would agree that the best work you do is in the build-up to tournaments and in the training."
But Lendl's biggest influence on Murray's career has been to improve his mental toughness, which brought him to the Wimbledon championship last season.
If Lendl can't reinvigorate Murray, his presence as one of tennis' elite players may be short-lived.
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