By RJ Mitchell
CHRISTIAN MURPHY says that he feels no pressure living up to the exalted status of being Great Britain’s No.1 padel player.
The 23-year-old, whose father is from the Spanish port of Cadiz, was born in Kingston-upon-Thames in South West London but is Spanish based and is studying Sports Science at the University of Murcia, where he combines his studies with playing padel professionally.
Murphy has been Great Britain’s top ranked player for almost three years and recently made the second round of the FIP 525,000 Euro Italy Major at the Foro Italico when partnered with another Brit, Sam Jones.
Acutely aware of the rapid expansion of the sport back home in Blighty, Murphy has revealed his pride at spearheading the nation’s challenge across the great cities of Europe as he battles it out with the cream of the continent while eyeing a place in the world’s top 100 rankings.
Murphy said: “It does not worry me being the UK No.1. If anything I feel good as I know how quickly padel is growing in the UK and it is nice to be at the top of the rankings for the country I was born in, but no, I do not feel under any pressure because of that.
“I was born in Kingston (upon Thames) in London but have lived most of my life in Spain and just now I am based in Murcia, where I am studying Sports Science at the University and play my padel in Alicante.
“But my mum and her family are from the Manchester area while my father is from Cadiz. I started playing padel when I was 15 years old and I’ve been playing pro for four years; and I’m now 23.
“I have been UK No.1 for around the last three years in the professional rankings and I am really enjoying that responsibility and looking to represent the UK the best way I can every time I go on court.
“My world ranking is 165 and for sure I would say that I would be happy if I can go as close as possible to 100 by the end of the year, and with the proper support and sponsorship that should be possible I hope.”
Murphy and Brit pal Jones overcame a determined Italian pairing in just over an hour and a half to secure what was the first ever win by a UK team on the FIP (International Padel Federation) tour.
However, Murphy and Jones found eighth seeds Matias Nicoletti and Francisco Nuno Gomas too hot to handle in their second round encounter in the Eternal City and succumbed in straight sets.
But Murphy says there were only positives to take away from the Foro Italico and is planning to go again at the Paris Major with Jones, adding: “It was really good to make the second round at the Italy Major but we will try to do better at Roland Garros – that is the big target.
“Sam (Jones) and I are talking about partnering again for Paris but we have not decided just yet. Going back to Rome, well for me the difference between us and them was experience, they played at the same level all the match and that made the difference.
“On the other hand we played really well at times but then our performance dipped and they stayed level and retained their quality.
“So our consistency was the big difference between us and them and I would say it won them the match. But what an experience it was.
“The atmosphere in Rome was buzzing and the Foro Italico is just a very nice place. Obviously there were not 7,000 people and a full crowd to watch our match but it was still nice and it was still pretty busy and very enjoyable to play in front of so many fans.
“There were people in the stands supporting all the players and of course the Foro Italico is just a very historic place with so much tradition behind it with the Italian Open tennis having been held there for so long.
“The organisation was just excellent and it was one of the highlights of my career to play there.”
While Murphy may be looking to back his all-Brit pairing with Jones in Paris he admits that his long-standing pairing with Mexican No.1 Pablo Acevedo offers the greater opportunity for more immediate ranking enhancement and improvement.
It is a conundrum Murphy was happy to elaborate on. “The perfect way is to try and train and play with the same player but that is not always possible. I have been playing with the same player, Pablo Acevedo from Mexico, for the last three years and we have a very solid partnership and a good understanding,” said the GB No.1.
He continued: “Now I have also been playing with Sam (Jones) who is making a big effort to improve his ranking in the professional game and I want to do everything I can to help him with that as he is also a British player and helping a fellow Brit develop in the international game is important to me.
“But that can make it tougher for me to get better results and gain more ranking points than if I played with my normal partner Pablo, so it is difficult to balance that and achieve what is best for everyone.
“For sure it is also not easy when you play with different partners who have different skills and different styles and you need to make the adjustment to these. But all of that is very interesting and part of the process of developing into the best padel player I can be.”
Stay tuned to The Padel Paper for Part Two of this fascinating interview
