Andy Murray - From 407 to Wimbledon Champion?
Posted by Sport.co.uk on: 26 June 2009 - 14:31
Author: Kate Enock
Britain is expecting. Excuse the cliché, but whenever Murray steps onto the court during these Wimbledon Championships, he will have “the hopes of a nation” resting on his shoulders. For those of us who have been fans of Murray since he first appeared on the senior circuit back in 2005, his progression from an awkward, badly behaved, scrawny young lad from Dunblane, to a superstar who totally justifies his No.3 ranking, has been quite remarkable.
The British public and media have been well known in the past to get over-excited about the prospects of their tennis starts on the grass at SW19, but Andy Murray is a totally different player to Henman or Rusedski, and if he plays his best tennis, he will be walking out onto Centre Court next Sunday.
When Murray’s world ranking jumped from no.407 to no.46 during the 2005 season, John McEnroe said that, “with Murray, the sky’s the limit.” Yet this did not seem to be the case during his infamous match with Arnaud Clement at the second round of the US Open when he threw up on the court and behaved like a petulant child on his way to a loss in four sets. Andy Murray, the tennis player and the person, had a lot of growing up to do.
It soon became clear that Murray, although he had incredible skill with the racket, was not quite up to the physical demands of the modern men’s game, often being outmuscled from the back of the court. He trained incredibly hard during the off-season, and after losing in the first round of the 2008 Australian Open to eventual finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and not enjoying a very successful clay court campaign (a surface where he is yet to prove that he is totally comfortable,) he set his sights on Wimbledon.
Murray was seeded 12th at Wimbledon last year, and after an epic encounter with Richard Gaqsuet in the 4th round where he saved a match point at two sets down and played some truly inspiring tennis, we all became excited. He seemed to have matured, become stronger, and more tactically astute. Could Murray possibly make the final? The simple answer was no. Against Nadal in the quarter finals he was dealt a harsh lesson, with the Spaniard expertly picking him apart with his brutal ground-strokes from the baseline.
Murray then went to the US Open full of confidence after having reached the semi-final of the Toronto Masters and then winning the Cincinnati Masters defeating Novak Djokovic in the final, which resulted in him having a career high ranking of world No.6. He beat some excellent players on his way to a semi-final against Nadal, and following his humiliation at Wimbledon, Murray had a point to prove. After a rain delayed match Murray emerged victorious, beating Nadal in four sets. He had changed his game plan after Wimbledon, realising that he would never win simply rallying with Nadal from the baseline. His success was as a result of excellent serving and returning, sublime ground-strokes, the occasional volley and some ridiculous drop shots. But then in the final against Federer, he lost in straight sets.
Although Murray went on the beat Federer and win the Madrid Masters, what the 2008 season proved to Murray, his fans and the tennis world, was that he was incredibly talented and he had the game to defeat any of the best players, yet he lacked the consistency and temperament to win a grand-slam. He could be brilliant in one match, then flat and uninspiring in the next. This was going to have to change if Murray was to become a genuine contender for Wimbledon 2009.
On the back of the most successful clay court season of his career after having reached the quarter final of the Madrid Masters and losing to Fernando Gonzalez in the quarter-finals, Murray arrived at Queens with a lot of confidence. He beat James Blake in the final, the first British player to win the tournament since 1983.
So, to the question being whispered around the Wimbledon crowd and debated in the media; is the hype surrounding Andy Murray justified? Or, like Tim Henman, will he choke at the final hurdle?
For me, Murray is a genuine contender for the title and he absolutely must make the final. Some people might say that he has been helped by the withdrawal of Nadal and the defeat yesterday of Del Potro from his half of the draw, but that is just ridiculous, for Murray should be on Centre Court next Sunday not by luck, but because he deserves to be there. Although he is prone to a few stumbles (as seen against Kendrick in his first-round,) Murray possesses all the weapons to make the final, and frankly, if he doesn’t, it will be a shame not just for him but for the tournament as a whole, as he is probably the only player left who could challenge and beat Federer.
British sports fans are know for their fickleness and readiness to turn their backs on those who they support, but maybe this is because we are so used to watching them fail to fulfil their potential. Let’s hope that this does not happen with Murray. He has matured and improved as a tennis player and as a person over the last few years, and if he does end up making the Wimbledon final, there should be no one saying that he does not have the ability to win.