Watching last night's incredible final got me thinking about Andy Murray and the level of stick he gets from people not just on here, but from near enough everyone (particularly Brits) who watches tennis.
There's a lot to criticise sometimes, his attitude being the main problem, as well as his over-cautious nature and his frustrating inability to learn from his mistakes, but does he really deserve the level of criticism he gets?
Ignoring whether people actually like Murray as a person (the amount of English people who hate him for an interview taken out of context is embarrassing), Murray is a fantastic tennis player. Comparing him to Henman, another player who spent a large portion of his career at #4 in the rankings and it's not even a contest. Murray wins tournaments regularly and has reached the semi-final of all the majors, even if he's struggled to get over the line.
So why hasn't he won a major, and is it really his fault?
5 years ago I witnessed what I considered then to be the greatest player of all time dominating the sport, and looking untouchable. Along came Rafa, who somehow usurped Roger at the top of the tree, and now we have Novak taming them both. The last 5 years has seen consistently new highs being achieved by these guys and I for one think Murray is doing a great job even staying in the same league as them.
For Murray to win Grand Slams, or even just one, we're basically saying to him go out and be the best player to have ever played tennis because at the moment he is up against, in my eyes, the 3 greatest players of all time. Obviously tennis has changed over the years but the lengths you have to go to to win points against these guys is astounding.
The final last night illustrated for me how hard it will be for Murray to win a Slam, the longer it goes the more chance of some other new star coming through but I do think it's a real shame for Murray as in virtually any other period in history he would have been guaranteed a slam. As it is, I think we should just be gald that Andy can actually give these guys a game, because he's near enough the only man on the circuit who can do it regularly.
Thoughts?
Andy Murray's Mountain
posted on 13/9/11
Great article Didi, 5 stars from me.
The frustrating thing is he has the talent to beat any of them.
He just lacks the mental strength to deal with the pressure and help develop and see through his strategies.
Djokovic was in a similar position 18 months ago, but did what was necessary to get to next level.
I believe Murray is capable, it's completely up to him and his ego.
posted on 13/9/11
murray needs to improve his game if he has got any ambitions of winning a grandslam , at the moment his only chance is if the top 3 gets injured and dont rule out del potro from argentina , hez a dynamite aswell . murray is a wonderful player but just happened to be born in the wrong era
posted on 13/9/11
5 stars from me too. Excellent article.
Andy Murray is far and away the best player we have in Great Britain. He is putting in the work, doing his best and really really cares about the game of tennis. He does not have a cat in hells chance of winning a major if Djokovic, and Nadal, and even Federer continue to play as they are playing.
That said, it does not bother me one iota. What on earth are the rest of Britains tennis players doing?
Andy Murray has just given us yet another great tournament to enjoy, both as Brits, and as tennis fans.
When he went out, the standard just went though the roof.
posted on 16/9/11
His biggest problem is his 1st serve. His 1st serve in % is embarrasing sometimes. If he could regulary hit 70% against the top 3, he would dramatically increase his chances of winning a slam. The reason why he can get to semi final's, is that his return game is too good for the rest of the players, but when he is up against players who are equal to him in this regard, he tends to lose.
posted on 3/10/11
Excellen article. I am a Djokovic fan but I have huge respect for Andy and his talent. He is so close to winning his first Slam, he can almost smell it. I think he will face Djokovic in the next AO and if the Djoker is anything but his current best, andi will get his frst Slam.