Andy Murray reveals his battle with the monkey on his back

ANDY MURRAY has admitted that, even at the age of 22, his Grand Slam failures are becoming a major burden on his career.

The British No 1 and world No 3 was at first adamant that he was pleased with his Wimbledon showing after going down narrowly to Andy Roddick in Friday's semi-final.

But Murray confessed that his lack of a major title was becoming a monkey on his back.

He said: "When I win a Grand Slam, it will be a huge weight off my shoulders and if it had been here, that would have been great.

"But I go into each Grand Slam and - regardless of whether it is here or the US Open - I put the same pressure on myself to play well.

"If I win one it would probably make a difference to how I perform in the next one, whether that be Wimbledon or wherever.

"Wimbledon isn't the only tournament in the world, there are a lot of big ones and I will try to perform as well as I can in those."

And Murray is consoling himself with the theory that he has been unlucky to meet inspired - if lower-ranked opponents - at all three of the 2009 Grand Slam tournaments.

Fernando Verdasco upset him in Australia, Fernando Gonzalez crushed him in Paris and Roddick edged him out at Wimbledon.

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And Murray said: "This year has been a very good one for me but I have probably had some of my toughest losses because I haven't felt I have played poorly in any of the Slams.

"I think I've played well actually but just came up against three guys who played great, great tennis.

"Sometimes you have to learn to lose in sport and I have had to do that the hard way this year because a lot of my losses have come in the big tournaments against guys who have played great.

"So that's the one thing I will take from here . . . realising I'm not going to get down.

"I would have been really, really disappointed if I felt I hadn't done myself justice on the court but I thought I gave it a good shot."

And although Murray is clearly desperate to shed the tag of the best player not to have won a Major, he insists that it is only a matter of time.

He said: "That's the one thing I have always been quite good at . . . being patient. But if it doesn't happen, I don't get down.

Chance

"Hopefully I am going to play seven or eight more Wimbledons and I had a good chance of making the final here and I didn't do it. But I have a lot more Slams and Wimbledons to play and, hopefully, I will have a better chance next year."

Murray's next attempt to end his Grand Slam jinx comes in New York at the end of August.

He is already plotting his preparation, explaining: "I will definitely take some time off and spend a couple of weeks here and then go over to Miami for a couple of weeks.

"I have a new house to sort out so I will be busy doing that, then I'll go over to the States and train in the hot weather.

"A lot depends on the weather here. If it gets bad and is raining a lot then I'll head for the States earlier."

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Many pundits believe that the US Open represents his best chance - not least because he will not have to deal with the hype and expectation that always surrounds his challenge for the Wimbledon title.

But Murray refutes the idea that he was fazed by the intense spotlight on him over this last fortnight.

He insisted: "The week before the tournament begins is always tough because it's busy and there are lots of things to do. But once the tennis started, it has been fine.

"My results this week have had nothing to do with the pressure or the hype or anything.

"I thought getting to the semi-finals is good and it's not as if I played a poor match against Roddick."

But the American raised his game against Murray - an occurrence the world's third-best player is going to have to get accustomed to.

He admitted: "Yeah, regardless of what sport you are in, the guys that aren't ranked as high will come for you - whether that's in football, tennis or whatever.

Perform

"It's very difficult to do what Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer have been able to do - to stay at the top for so long and perform so well in the Grand Slams.

"That's very special because guys do come out to try and play great and there is less pressure on them to play well. The consistency those two have shown has been incredible.

"So that is something I need to make sure going into the Slams - I need to bring my A game every time."

But despite what appears to be his blazing intensity, Murray claims he keeps a sense of perspective - even after such an agonising defeat as on Friday.

He explained: "I am disappointed but I have said quite a few times that, for me, tennis is very important and I work really hard to play my best and be in the best shape possible. But it's a tennis match. It's not the end of the world.

"I will use this defeat as motivation to improve my tennis but I enjoy my family and that stuff is more important to me than tennis.

"I'm disappointed I lost in the semi-finals but there are other things I can do with my time."

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