Birthday Boy Murray Hoping For Turnaround In Rome

Andy Murray turns the big 3-0 on Monday, a cause for celebration throughout the tennis world. But to Murray, the nice, round birthday won't mean much.

Don't misinterpret: The Scot isn't down in the dumps about saying goodbye to his 20s. He's just never been that into birthdays.

“I was talking to my team about that a bit yesterday, and everyone sort of says, 'Oh, when you're 30 or 40, they are huge birthdays.' I have never found that with any birthday,” Murray said during his pre-tournament press conference in Rome on Sunday.

Part of the reason: Murray has been away from home for the past 15 of them. The last time he remembers being near his loved ones for a birthday was when he was 14. “I have always been traveling and never been around family or friends on birthdays. They don't mean that much to me,” Murray said.

Perhaps his attitude towards the annual celebrations will change this week, though, if he can defend his title at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, the season's fifth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament. Last year, on his 29^th birthday, Murray beat four-time champion Novak Djokovic to win his first Rome title.

This year in Rome, the Scot will be trying to reach his second tour-level final. Murray won his 45^th tour-level title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (d. Verdasco) in February.

Murray's Results Since Dubai

The World No. 1 knows his past success in the Italian capital doesn't guarantee him anything this week, but he's hopeful for another long stay.

“If you perform well, the conditions can suit your game, you can have a good run. Hopefully I can do that,” Murray said.

The conditions will be slightly different from Madrid, where the altitude – 667 metres above sea level – contributes to a lively ball. In sea-level Rome, “It's much slower,” Murray said. “So it's quite a different way of playing here. It's more finding a way, I think, to adjust back to these conditions.”

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The 29 year old will face Italian Fabio Fognini in the second round. Fognini beat wild card and countryman Matteo Berrettini 6-1, 6-3 on Sunday.

Murray leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 3-2 and has won their past two matches. But Fognini was the only player to push eventual champion Rafael Nadal to three sets last week at the Mutua Madrid Open.

“[Fognini] is one of the better clay-court players, for sure. He obviously would be highly motivated, I would think, playing in Italy as well,” Murray said. “I have had some tough matches with him in the past, so it won't be easy. I will definitely need to play well in that one to have a chance of winning.”