Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Andy Murray has admitted he would consider missing the prestigious Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at London’s 02 Arena if Belgium decide to stage the Davis Cup final on a clay court.

The world no.3 admits he finds the transition between different surfaces, and most importantly the switch from hard court to clay, increasingly difficult as it takes a toll on his body, and most specifically the back, which needed surgery two years ago.

Only four days separate the end of the World Tour Finals on and November 22,the first day of the Davis Cup final to be staged in Ghent’s Flanders Expo Arena, on November 27.

Murray was a semi-finalist at this year’s French Open and now is far more comfortable on clay than earlier in his career. But he requires preparation and said: “The O2 would obviously be a question mark for me if we were playing on the clay. I would go and train and prepare on the clay to get ready for the final.

“You saw last year with Roger Federer that the matches at the O2 are extremely tough and physically demanding. If you reach the final and play on the Sunday you also need to take time off – you can’t just play five matches against the best players in the world and then not take any days off.”

The Scot was nerveless and fully concentrated as he propelled Britain to the nation’s first Davis Cup final for 37 years and set Leon Smith’s team up with the chance to win the trophy for the first time since 1936.

However Murray revealed that he played the entire semi-final against Australia in Glasgow – two straight sets singles victories and a heroic five sets doubles victory alongside his elder brother Jamie – suffering pain from the back.

Murray was forced to be on court nearly seven and half hours over the weekend, culminating in the 7-5,6-3,6-2 win over Bernard Tomic that guaranteed Britain a final place. However the 28 year-old , who took three months off the tour to undergo the back surgery in 2013, admitted he had suffering increasing discomfort since practicing with his team-mates at the Scottish city’s Emirates Arena.

“My back had been giving me a lot of trouble this week and that was the thing I was most concerned about,” said Murray who also played three days in a row in Britain’s quarterfinal win over France at London’s Queen’s Club in July.

“It was fine throughout the US Open but then on Tuesday night, once I’d finished practicing and cooled down, my back was extremely sore. And then it got progressively worse.”

Murray’s usual chiropractor Mark Bender was not part of the British set up in Glasgow and he instead had to be attended by physiotherapist Shane Annun who has travelled to several tournaments with him in the last few months.

Only the fellow members of the British team knew what discomfort Murray had been suffering over the past five days and British captain Leon Smith said: “He’s quite good, isn’t he? It’s been amazing watching him work and he fights so hard.”

But Murray refused to be drawn into speculating on the euphoria that might center on the British team winning the Davis Cup on a Belgian court. “Let’s not think about what it would be like to win the event,” he stressed.

“I’ve an opportunity to do that in the final but there’s still so much tennis to go and we’ve got to win three more matches.”

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.