Murray Inc

Murray returns to face tricky Troicki
- Sat 27 Jun '09
- Comments
The British No.1 is back in the third match slot on Centre Court on Saturday, keen to take one more step towards his first Grand Slam title…

The hype machine went into overdrive after Andy Murray’s comprehensive victory against Latvian Ernests Gulbis on Thursday.

“Andy Shows He is No Illusion,” said The Express, while “Stop Me if You Can” cried The Mail.

And while there’s no doubting that the British No.1’s dismantling of a player once regarded, like Murray, as the next big thing sent out the right message – but the Scot has been the first to call for calm as he prepares for his next opponent, Viktor Troicki of Serbia.

Despite his usually explicitly understated demeanour, Murray basked in the glow of an undoubtedly satisfying second round performance.

“Andy showed exactly why he is No.3 in the world and one of the favourites for the final” – John McEnroe

“It was very good,” was his succinct assessment. “I served really good for the whole match, and when I did get myself into a point on his service game I made him work very hard for the points, hit some good passing shots. I finished points off really well, didn’t make any basic errors, so it was very good.”

The Briton made just five unforced errors and served so well that John McEnroe admitted: “I can’t ever recall Andy serving bigger or better.

“Andy showed exactly why he is No.3 in the world and one of the favourites for the final.”

His 23-year-old opponent is through to the third round of a Grand Slam for just the second time, but is currently at a career high of 31 in the world

Troicki came through a late finishing five-setter against Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver, and is more renowned for his abilities on a hard court than on grass.

He has played and lost to Murray twice before, winning only one game in their most recent encounter – Miami in March.

“Even in juniors he was always the top,” admits Troicki, “and he has improved so much in the last year. He’s playing great. He’s one of the favourites to win it.

“I need to play aggressive, play smart, give my best and hope that I can play my best tennis. I need to believe I can win these matches against the top players.”

But with Murray bidding to win a first Grand Slam title and become the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936, the Serbian will have more than just the Scot to contend with, as the Centre Court has proved twice this week already.

“At the big stages of the match, like the end of the second set, the crowd got right behind me,” Murray said. “When I had break points, they got noisier.

“A lot of my service games were quite comfortable and a lot of very short points, so I guess it would have been tough to get really, really into the match,” he added. “There weren’t that many long rallies but when I needed the support, it was always there.”

Odds from William Hill

Andy Murray 1/50, Viktor Troicki 12/1
Murray back in business on Thursday
- Thu 25 Jun '09
Murray Mania is set to grip the nation once again on Thursday as the British No.1 takes on young Latvian Ernests Gulbis for a place in round three.

Andy Murray (GBR) V Ernests Gulbis (EST)
Men’s singles, round two
Centre Court, third after 1pm

Watch Barry Cowan’s video match preview

After a tough four-set victory over American Robbie Kendrick in his opening match on Tuesday, Andy Murray knows he must improve on his performance on day four of the Championships to keep his Wimbledon dreams alive.

I’m going to need to be on my game to beat him – Murray

The British No.1 and third seed in SW19 admitted there were areas of his game that needed improvement and he will need to put that right to come through a tricky second round encounter with Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis on Thursday.

For the second time running at this year’s Championships, Wimbledon chiefs have handed Murray the tea-time slot on Centre Court – third match after 1pm – ensuring an army of armchair fans as the nation joins the action on the BBC in the early evening.

“I’m not going to start worrying about reaching the final yet,” Murray said after getting past Kendrick on Tuesday.

“I need to focus on the next match. I’ve got a very tough opponent. Gulbis has caused some upsets in the past and is a huge hitter of the ball. I’m going to need to be on my game to beat him.”

Those in the know will be familiar with the 20-year-old world No.74 from Latvia. Gulbis is often referred to as one of the most talented youngsters on the tour but, in truth, after demonstrating great potential to reach the last eight at the French Open 12 months ago he has since underachieved.

Nevertheless, the man from Riga has the ability to blow the best in the business off court on his day (he beat Novak Djokovic in January) and Murray will be hoping to make a quick start and sit on his opponent from the word go.

The Scot can go into the encounter boosted by the knowledge that he has won both their previous encounters – a three-set victory on grass at Queen’s last year and a straight-sets win indoors in St Petersburg later in the year.

Murray will be looking for more of the same as he continues his bid for glory at the grass court slam – the winner will go on to play either Daniel Gimeno-Traver or Viktor Troicki on Saturday for a place in the last 16.

Odds
Murray 1-10 / Gulbis 9-1
Murray remains grounded despite sky-high ranking
- Mon 11 May '09
Andy Murray talks about his new career-high ranking of No.3…

Andy Murray is still waiting to find out who’ll be on the other side of the net when he starts his campaign at this week’s Mutua Madrilena Open.

One thing’s for sure, though, whoever it is waiting for him in round two of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000, the Scot will be brimming with confidence after moving to a career-high No.3 in the singles rankings.

With three titles to his name this year, a career-best 29-4 match stat for ‘09 and a British ranking record now under his belt, it’s safe to say the boy from Dunblane will be feeling pretty good about himself.

Murray has been within touching distance of Novak Djokovic in the rankings for the best part of the last year and as of Monday May 11, he leads the Djoker by 70 points.

Murray will be hoping to consolidate his new ranking in Madrid. In a slightly strange way he’s the defending champion, since he lifted the Madrid Masters title last year which was played on indoor hard courts and at the back end of the season.

Murray is the fourth seed in the Spanish capital and will begin against either Juan Ignacio Chela or Simone Bolelli while the first seed he will face will potentially be Tommy Robredo in round three.

Here’s what he had to say about his game, his ranking and his mental state going into the fifth Masters 1000 of the year…

Murray on hitting world No.3
“Anytime that you move up and anything that you do is a good thing. It’s obviously never been done before in the UK which makes it nice but it’s one of those things that if you start focusing on the ranking or on what another player is doing you kind of take your eye off the ball a little bit.”

On being below Rafa and Roger
“I’d be prouder if I was in the middle of them. I’ve been on a very good run the last eight or nine months. I think the ranking reflects that. To get close to those two or to get inbetween Roger and Rafa is a tough thing to do. They have had the top two spots for the last five or six years maybe, it’s an incredible run that both of them have been on. They are probably two of the best players ever and it wouldn’t surprise me if they went down as that. I think Rafa is already on six Slams, I’d love to try to break that up but like I said before I need to try to focus on just winning matches.”

On overtaking Roger Federer
“I know how the rankings stand and the points and I’ve got a chance of overtaking Roger if I can play very well the next couple of months. The most important thing is to concentrate on playing well and not the ranking. If you are always thinking about what time he is playing at and what his draw is like and what not then you’re not taking care of yourself and that’s the most important thing.”

On his current clay-court form
“I feel I can obviously get better on clay and learn how to play better and get on to the second week and go deep in the French Open and that’s why he’s (Rafael Nadal) so good, because he’s… every weakness he had when he joined the tour he’s always looking to improve and even though when he’s number one in the world, he’s so far in front in the rankings, you see him on the practice court and he’s always giving 110% and that for me is a motivation, to see someone who has been so successful and still is trying to improve.”

On his Madrid prospects
“Well, the surface was obviously better for me last year, after losing my first match in Rome, I just want to try and win my first match and take each match as they come. I’ve got a tricky draw coming here, the conditions are different here – there’s no use thinking about finals and semi-finals, I mean, I don’t play that well on this surface, well enough yet to think past my first match and I play the winner of two very solid clay courters, so I’m not going to think past them.”
Murrays urge public to double up for charity
- Fri 01 May '09
The brothers are fronting a Marie Curie Cancer Care campaign that aims to raise money by getting more people on court.

Andy and Jamie Murray have given their support to Marie Curie Cancer Care’s ‘Anyone for Tennis 2009’ campaign.

The charity, which aims to raise money to provide free nursing care to terminally ill people, wants all ages to get involved.

Enthusiasts are being encouraged to organise any kind of sponsored doubles tournament anytime between May and September.

The winners from each tournament will go into a prize draw which includes Centre Court tickets for Wimbledon, a coaching session and lunch at the National Tennis Centre and a tour of the LTA’s training base from an elite player.

Players should register before June 1 by phoning 08700 340 040 (local rate), emailing tennis@mariecurie.org.uk or visiting www.mariecurie.org.uk/tennis where they can download a free fundraising pack.

The Murrays said: “’Anyone for Tennis’ gives players the chance to improve their game, as well as helping Marie Curie Nurses provide wonderful care to terminally ill people and support for their families.

“Every match will help patients spend their final days surrounded by the people they love the most.”
Tired Murray already planning for Madrid
- Fri 01 May '09
Andy Murray says he has a good idea of what he needs to do ahead of his next event in Spain.

Andy Murray says he has a clear idea of what he needs to do next on his journey to becoming a better clay court player – despite admitting to feeling jaded after a punishing tournament schedule in 2009.

The British No.1, who could climb to a career-high No.3 in the ATP rankings in the next couple of weeks, has decided to give himself a short break before concentrating on his preparations for the Madrid Open, which begins on May 10.

“I didn’t have that much time in between winning the title in Miami and the beginning of the clay-court season,” Murray told the Guardian.

“You need to have strong legs on clay, to be able to last for four hours and to shift your balance when you’re sliding. So I’ll do some work on that and try and give myself a bit more balance.”

After his three-set defeat to tricky Argentine Juan Monaco in Rome on Wednesday, Murray said he is constantly working hard to figure out how he can best adapt his game to European clay.

“On hardcourts it’s a bit easier to find a player’s weakness,” he added. “On clay, because the ball sits up a lot more, it’s tough to get through the court and apply pressure.

“You need to have more of a set pattern to get into position, so that if there’s a short ball you can really go for a weakness.

“I started to find it against Rafa in Monte Carlo, and against Monaco I started well but I just couldn’t keep it up.”