LONDON CALLING
DEUCE



“It’s amazing I get to play in front of a home crowd again,” said British No. 1 Andy Murray when he was first told he’d qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. “It was such a good atmosphere last year. It was the first year at The O2, and they put on a great event. I look forward to competing again.”

This will be Murray’s third appearance in his capital city this year. He reached the third round at the AEGON Championships in June, and then, a couple of weeks later delighted British fans with his stunning run to the semi-finals at Wimbledon. One of those British fans was The Queen, who watched her subject in action and met him in person after his match.

While spectators at Murray’s other tournaments throughout the year may not have been quite so regal, he has nevertheless posted some sovereign results. After reaching the final of the Australian Open in January – the first Briton to do so since the 1970s – he later lifted trophies at two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events, in Toronto and Shanghai, winning both finals over Roger Federer in straight sets.

All of which brings his total tally of tour-level titles to 16. When you consider that fellow Britons Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski won 11 and 15 titles respectively before retiring, it’s fair to say that Murray is now Britain’s most successful tennis player in the Open Era. And still only 23 years old.

It’s quite an achievement, and one that Murray has worked very hard for. Currently ranked No. 5 in the world – but previously as high as No. 2 – he looks to be one of the most physically strong of all the players on the tour. His ability to chase down balls other players would leave for dead and his knack of striking aggressive winners from almost anywhere on the court make him a very intimidating opponent. Often, even more effective than this, is the way he disorientates opponents by constantly varying his style of play.

Murray knows that if he is to reach the very top of the South African Airways ATP Rankings he needs to both heighten this aggression and continue with the variation, especially when he’s up against three players ranked above him: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

“I have to make them feel like they’re under pressure a little bit more,” he said recently. “I think when I played [and beat] Roger in Toronto, I played a lot more aggressive; didn’t give him many chances to really dictate the points, especially on my serve. That’s something I need to do against them in the future if I want to beat them.”

Murray believes he knows which areas to target. “Roger plays closer to the baseline, but he doesn’t hit as many winners off his backhand. You obviously need to try to keep the ball away from Roger’s forehand, whereas Novak, he can hurt you from any part of the court. You need to kind of balance your attacks a bit more. You need to change the pace of the ball, use some slice, try not to let him get in too much of a rhythm because when he is in a rhythm he can dictate the points.”

Based in Surrey, where he lives in a £5 million mansion with his girlfriend Kim Sears and his pet Border Terrier Maggie, Murray is very much the local boy at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. It’s surely an advantage that he can commute home after matches, instead of having to stay in a hotel.

Aside from Kim and Maggie (the latter of whom incidentally now has her own Twitter page), other members of Murray’s entourage include part-time coach Alex Corretja (who twice reached the Roland Garros final), strength and conditioning coaches Jez Green and Matt Little, and physio Andy Ireland. Murray says he plans to appoint a full-time coach in the near future.

When it comes to family there is father William (who works in retail management), mother Judy (a professional tennis coach) and older brother Jamie, whom he teamed up with to win the Valencia doubles title earlier this month.

It was thanks to his older brother that, in the week ahead of their Valencia triumph, Murray made a rare trip back to his hometown of Dunblane, up in Scotland. The occasion was Jamie’s wedding to his Colombian girlfriend Alejandra Gutierrez. As best man, Murray stood alongside his brother – both men in kilts, of course – at the private ceremony at Cromlix House, a luxury hotel near Dunblane. Murray also organised Jamie’s stag party at a nightclub in the West End of London.

But now his entire focus will be on the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. In 2008, on his debut in the season finale, when the tournament was played in Shanghai, he reached the semi-finals. Last year he won two matches and lost one match during round robin play, after which he narrowly missed out on qualification into the semi-finals due to game difference.

This year, as the only home nation player competing, he must ensure he progresses further.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/DEUCE- … urray.aspx

BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS

British Favourite Murray Ending 2010 A "More Complete" Player
London, England

Andy Murray will be the focus of British attention at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
World No. 5 Andy Murray insists he will finish the 2010 season as a more complete player and is looking forward to playing in front of home support at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

"I feel more complete. If I play well, I'll give myself a good chance of winning the matches, if I don't it's going to be hard. I just have to try to play my best tennis," Murray said on Friday, at the London Marriott Hotel County Hall, overlooking the River Thames and Houses of Parliament.

The 23-year-old Scot has picked up two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles this year, successfully defending his Rogers Cup title and lifting the Shanghai Rolex Masters crown (d. Federer both times). He also finished runner-up at the Australian Open (l. to Federer).

Murray admitted, “It's been a good year. It's been a bit inconsistent. Definitely the last few months I feel like I've improved a lot, I've improved many different parts of my game.

"I feel like I'm starting to learn new things again, which is nice. I'm hoping to improve more before the beginning of next year."

Murray is making his third straight appearance at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. He has a 3-2 indoor record and a 5-3 record against Top 10 opponents over the past 12 months.

"It's great, all the players start every year trying to make it," he said. “Everyone knows it is a huge tournament. I want to try to qualify as many times as I can. It's a tough thing to do. Not that many guys have been able to break through and make it."

Murray, who will play Robin Soderling in his first round robin match on Sunday, insists the pressure isn’t any different than what he experiences at Wimbledon each year.

"The pressure is pretty much the same and the home crowd really does make a difference," he said. "Every tennis player will tell you when you play at home it really helps you to have the crowd behind you.

"The venue [The O2] is going to be great, as it was last year, the atmosphere was brilliant and we had full crowds for almost all of the matches and they're expecting it to be the same again."

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis … layer.aspx

Andy Murray has his eyes on the biggest prize in tennis

ANDY MURRAY is on a Ł1million mission to land ATP World Tour Finals glory.

The British No 1 goes into battle at the O2 tomorrow knowing he is just five matches from bagging the most lucrative title in tennis.

Muzza has been put in a round-robin group alongside world No 2 Roger Federer, Spain's David Ferrer and Sweden's Robin Soderling, who he faces first.

But the Surrey-based Scot will be backed by a partizan Brit crowd, who are set to pack out the O2 every night.

Murray, 24, said: "The crowd does make a big difference and it's always nice to have them on your side.

"This tournament is great and all the players want to make it.

"I have had a good few years on tour and want to qualify for this as many times as I can.

"It is tough to break through as there are only eight spots up for grabs but I'll try my best to win it and feel pretty confident now."

World No 1 Rafa Nadal, Czech Thomas Berdych, Serbian Novak Djokovic and Yank Andy Roddick will contest Group B - and all eight players warmed up for the finals with a trip to 10 Downing Street to meet Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday night.

The visit appeared to go down a treat, although Brit Murray seemed to receive special treatment.

World No 3 Djokovic said: "It was great to meet Mr Cameron away from the media, where he was relaxed.

"He just seemed like an ordinary man but, for a lot of the time, he was speaking with Andy. I was trying to listen in."

Swiss ace Fed added: "Mr Cameron was very excited to have us there. He was giving more tips to Murray than to me. Nothing I could use for my game quite yet though!"

Nadal, who has bagged a sensational three Grand Slams this year, will certainly be the freshest after five weeks' rest.

Out of his 43 career wins, just one has come indoors in Madrid.

But the Spaniard, 24, said: "I am going to be playing with special motivation and using everything in my powers to play well there."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sp … ennis.html

Greg Rusedski questions Andy Murray mental toughness

Former British number one Greg Rusedski believes Andy Murray only needs to improve the mental side of his game to win a first Grand Slam title.

Murray, the world number five, has reached two Grand Slam finals, losing both to Roger Federer.

And Rusedski said the Scot has more than enough talent to win a major.

"For me the problem with Andy Murray's game is not his backhand or his forehand but what goes on in between the ears," Rusedski told BBC Sport.

The 23-year-old Murray, who swept past fourth seed Robin Soderling at the ATP World Tour Finals on Sunday, has been a mixed year.
   
He reached the Australian Open final in January, the semi-finals of Wimbledon but went out in the third round of the US Open and the fourth round of the French Open, while also splitting with coach Miles Maclagan in July.

"The biggest question mark for him is to have that consistency of the top players and mentally being at that level," added Rusedski, himself a finalist in the US Open in 1997, added on Radio 5 live's Sportsweek programme.

"That is the 1% he has to add to his game that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have already. If he does that then he has a good chance to win majors because the talent is there. He is a phenomenally talented player.

"Being a top player is about having that belief and remaining calm when the pressure points arise and being calm enough to take those opportunities."

But history is on Murray's side and Rusedski is sure he can overcome the psychological hurdle.

"He will have his chance in a 10-year-career," said Rusedski.

"If you've made the top 10 before the age of 20 [as Murray did in April 2007] only one player in the history of the game has not won a major and that is Marcelo Rios.

"So for me the statistics look really good for Andy Murray, and he is too good a player not to win a major."

On Murray's search for a coach, Rusedski added: "There has been talk about possibly Mats Wilander becoming his coach.

"Mats has won seven Grand Slam titles and is a former world number one. He has done it and got the t-shirt."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/9213828.stm

Murray is tempted to carry on without coach

Andy Murray is ready to keep faith with his present entourage rather than replace Miles Maclagan, the coach he parted company with this summer. The 23-year-old Scot had been planning to spend some time this winter recruiting a replacement, but after finishing the season on a high note he has had second thoughts.

Having won two Masters Series titles since the split with Maclagan, Murray ended his competitive campaign by reaching the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals, an achievement that secured his return to No 4 in the world rankings. He lost 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 to Rafael Nadal on Saturday in one of the best matches of the year.

Alex Corretja, the former world No 2 who originally signed up to help during the clay-court season, has continued to work with Murray on a part-time basis, while Dani Vallverdu, a close friend since his days with the Scot at the Sanchez-Casal academy in Barcelona, has been a regular hitting partner. Jez Green and Matt Little, Murray's physical trainers, and Andy Ireland, his physiotherapist, have also provided continuity.

Might Murray consider carrying on with the present arrangements? "Definitely," he said. "I like working with the guys I work with. I've started improving and learning stuff again and the way things are now I feel everyone works well together. I just need to make sure that if I feel everyone is as motivated as I am to get me working to get to No 1, I'll probably keep working with the same bunch of guys and don't necessarily need to add anything. I need to wait and see because there are a lot of great coaches that I could work with."

After flying to the Bahamas later this week to play in a charity event, Murray will go to Miami, where he will spend the rest of the off season training before playing in the Hopman Cup in Perth in the first week of the new year.

Having come within two points of beating Nadal, Murray said that the performance would give him encouragement for the future.

"I need to be able to play that level for the whole year," he said. "This match is a huge motivation to get myself prepared properly in Miami and to improve everything. It does come down to the small differences. I need to train like the best player in the world. That's the only choice I have."

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tenn … 46284.html

Murray bez genu zwycięzcy?

Andy Murray w sierpniu w wielkim stylu wygrał turniej w Toronto pokonując po drodze Rafaela Nadala i Rogera Federera. Liczący na niego Brytyjczycy mieli nadzieję, że w końcu doczekają się wielkoszlemowego triumfu, tymczasem Andy z US Open odpadł w III rundzie. Dlaczego tak się dzieje, że fantastycznie grający w cyklu Masters 1000 Szkot w Wielkich Szlemach nigdy nie potrafi się wznieść na sam szczyt?Szkot w tym sezonie swoją kolekcję trofeów powiększył o te wywalczone w Toronto i Szanghaju. W sumie na swoim koncie ma 16 tytułów, z czego sześć zdobytych w cyklu Masters 1000. Urodzony z Dunblane tenisista ma dodatni bilans spotkań z Rogerem Federerem (8-6), ale przegrał ze Szwajcarem te najważniejsze mecze, w finale US Open 2008 i Australian Open 2010 nie wygrywając w nich seta.

Dwa wielkoszlemowe finały dla 23-letniego tenisisty to oczywiście spory sukces, ale jest w nim coś takiego co każe zaryzykować śmiałą tezę, że po wielkoszlemowy tytuł nigdy nie sięgnie. Murray to jeden z najlepszych specjalistów od gry z kontry w dzisiejszym tenisie. Sprytny, świetnie poukładany taktycznie, najwięcej kończących uderzeń notujący będąc w głębokiej defensywie, cierpliwie rozgrywający wymiany, wymuszający błędy. Jego tenis oparty jest na wybijaniu rywali z rytmu za pomocą technicznych zagrań. Jego mocną stroną jest też return. Świetnie czyta grę i dopasowuje swoją taktykę do ruchów rywala. Wszystko wygląda pięknie: inteligencja i spryt, świetny pierwszy serwis, do tego return, ale jest w jego grze jeden poważny mankament. Jest to tenis zbyt delikatny i defensywny, by mógł mu zapewnić zdobycie wielkoszlemowego tytułu.

I znów warto wrócić do turnieju w Toronto. Tam grał tenis odważny, maszerował ochoczo do siatki, skracał wymiany, czym zaskoczył wszystkich rywali, z Nadalem i Federerem na czele. Ale już na Flushing Meadows widzieliśmy tego samego Andy'ego: do bólu konsekwentnego, biernego, przyczajonego, czekającego na błędy rywali bądź też na okazję do skończenia dłuższej wymiany. Szkot chce być cwanym lisem, który przechytrzy wszystkich, ale w ostateczności zawsze okazuje się zbyt miękki i to on zostaje upolowany przez silniejszych od siebie rywali.

Dla jednego z największych taktyków we współczesnym tenisie paradoksalnie ta taktyka jest największym problemem. Czasem tak się zaplącze w tych swoich taktycznych zagrywkach, że sam wpada w zasadzkę, którą przygotował rywalowi. Ta delikatność, pieszczenie piłki jest skuteczne, ale do czasu. W Wielkich Szlemach Murrayowi brakuje ikry, lwiego pazura, przemienia się w przestraszonego kociaka nie potrafiącego dobijać rywali, choć nawet w cyklu Masters 1000 wydaje się, że jest już przygotowany do mocnego ataku. Negatywny wpływ ma też na niego mama. Ile to już mieliśmy przypadków rodziców wtrącających się w kariery swoich dzieci, gdy ich nadopiekuńczość doprowadzała do katastrofy.

Co powoduje, że Andy ciągle pozostaje bez wielkoszlemowego tytułu? Jest to efekt słabości fizycznej, nieumiejętność wytrzymania trudów dwutygodniowej rywalizacji? A może jest to słabość psychiczna, czyli nieumiejętność radzenia sobie z presją Brytyjczyków czekających na wielkoszlemowy tytuł od prehistorycznych czasów? A może Andy po prostu nie ma genu urodzonego zwycięzcy?

autor: Łukasz Iwanek

http://www.sportowefakty.pl/tenis/2010/ … zwyciezcy/

Murray i Corretja ciągle w jednym teamie



Przynajmniej na pierwszą część sezonu 2011 Àlex Corretja pozostanie szkoleniowym konsultantem (na prawach trenera) Andy'ego Murraya, czwartego singlisty świata, dwukrotnego finalisty wielkoszlemowego.

Murray poinformował na oficjalnej stronie internetowej o przedłużeniu współpracy z byłym hiszpańskim mistrzem, a także swoim ex partnerem deblowym, Wenezuelczykiem Danielem Vallverdu.

Sezon dla Murraya rozpocznie się w Nowy Rok, gdy wystartuje Puchar Hopmana w Perth. Podobnie jak przed rokiem, Andy stworzy parę z Laurą Robson; w grupie B zmierzą się z Włochami (Schiavone), Francją (Mahut) i USA (Isner).

http://www.sportowefakty.pl/tenis/2010/ … ym-teamie/

Rok 2010 w zdjęciach

The Last Word: ATP No. 4, Andy Murray


Murray has beaten the biggest players, just not at the biggest moments.

Best of 2010
Murray has set the bar of expectations high enough that this could be looked at as a disappointing season, despite some excellent results. While he won two Masters titles, it was his runner-up finish at the Australian Open, which included a scintillating win over Rafael Nadal, that was most impressive.

Worst of 2010
The worst came right after the best. Murray handled Roger Federer twice this season without much trouble, but when it mattered most, in Melbourne, he didn’t have his best.

Year in Review
Murray looks at the big picture, and when you look at it from there he had a strong 2010. Finalist in Australia, semis at Wimbledon, back-to-back wins over Nadal and Federer in Toronto, a blowout win over Federer in Shanghai, and a classic battle with Nadal in the semis in London. But you also get the feeling that Murray is a little too big picture. He still couldn’t raise his game, a la Federer and Nadal, when he really needed it. How many of those classic losses can he take before he starts to wonder if he’ll ever win one of them?

See for Yourself
Murray pushed Nadal to the brink at the World Tour Finals:



The Last Word
It’s hard to make predictions when it comes to Murray. He swings between promise and disappointment every couple of months. There’s a Slam in his game somewhere, but his best hope is still someone else taking out Rog or Rafa for him.

—Steve Tignor

http://tennis.com/articles/templates/fe … 3&zoneid=9

Motivated Murray has top two in his sights


More to come: Murray says he has worked hard on his serve as he prepares for another
bid at landing his first Grand Slam

Andy Murray believes he still needs to improve if he is to land a maiden Grand Slam tournament victory and overcome the challenge presented by two of the greatest players the game has ever seen.

Last year Murray, who is ranked No.4 in the world, reached the final at the Australian Open where he lost to an inspired Roger Federer, and the semi-finals at Wimbledon where Rafael Nadal ended his quest.

Speaking in Perth on Sunday as he prepared to partner teenager Laura Robson for Great Britain against Italy in the mixed-teams Hopman Cup on Monday, Murray, 23, admitted he had work to do to improve his chances against the top two players in the world.

His last game of 2010, when he was beaten by Nadal in a thrilling three-set semi-final at the ATP Finals in London at the end of November, was a “great match”, he said and “a good way in many ways to finish the year”.

But he added: “It would have been good to win the match.

“I had to go away and realise that I played a great match but that I still needed to get better if I want to beat Rafa and Roger in the Slams.

“That is hopefully what I have been able to do.”

He has been concentrating on improving his serve in the off-season. "One of the most important shots in the game is the serve, the serve and the return, and I have worked a lot on my serve,” he said.

“I think from the baseline I have matched up well with Roger and Rafa in the past but I’ll need to serve well and return well against them if I want to beat them.”

Murray conceded he lacked consistency last year. After his Australian Open final appearance, he lost in the second round in Dubai, Miami and Monte Carlo, although he also won Masters events at Shanghai and Toronto during the year, beating Federer in both finals.

But he reached only the third round of the US Open, and the fourth round in the French Open.

“It was just a very up and down season last year,” Murray admitted. “I played great at the Aussie Open, I played great again at Wimbledon, and then the periods in between weren’t so good.

“I still finished four in the world and won a couple of the big Masters Series but yeah, obviously I would have liked it to have been more consistent.”

As he did 12 months ago, Murray turned his back on the season-opening Qatar Open in Doha to use the Hopman Cup as preparation for the Australian Open later this month.

The mixed teams event, with a guarantee of six matches - three singles and three mixed doubles - in the Perth heat was perfect for his needs heading to Melbourne, he said.

He had fond memories of last year’s Australian Open, he added, despite being beaten in straight sets in the final. “This will be a good gauge here to see where my game is at,” Murray said.

http://www.sport360.com/tennis/news/132 … his-sights