Andy Murray happy with progress despite defeat by wily Stepanek
Neil Harman, Tennis Correspondent, Paris

Another £29.2 million fell into the lap of the British game yesterday and it had nothing to do with someone landing a lucky dip at the local Tesco. The enduring success of Wimbledon offered another of the windfalls that challenge the LTA, year after year, to enhance a sporting landscape that remains frustratingly fallow.

Starting on Sunday week, the staging of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 arena in southeast London before a succession of full-house crowds will present another paradox: the country’s ability to host leading tennis events with a sure touch and yet fail to produce players of a credible international standard.

Andy Murray apart, of course. The British No 1 departed the BNP Paribas Masters here at the hands of Radek Stepanek, of the Czech Republic, in the third round yesterday in a curate’s egg of a performance, but he did not appear as crestfallen as one might imagine. London awaits, the niggles are almost out of his system, he is getting nicely grooved, there are ten more days to rest and be ready for when the O2 flag falls and every match is against the seven “best of the rest” in 2009.

Near the end of his 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat by Stepanek you were not sure whether Murray was lashing the ball with the intent of ending the rallies for the ultimate purpose of winning the match. That has always been this tournament’s problem — that not everyone wants to win it with similar passion. It makes it vulnerable to those intent on preying on the sport to the extent that more and more matches — it has been alleged — are being referred to its integrity unit because they involve strange patterns of play and betting.

Not that Murray is the type of player ever to get involved in anything like that, but after the first set here, who would have wagered a bundle on Stepanek? Not this correspondent. Murray breezed through with ease and the set’s final shot, a burst forward to run down a drop shot and a beautiful cross-court flick, prompted the world No 4 to turn to his corner with a look of “how about that?”

Then, a non-professional cameraman started to take photographs during points and Murray, disturbed, was 3-0 down in the second set. He was never quite in control from that moment on as Stepanek’s craftiness and judicious use of the drop shot kept bearing fruit. From 5-2 down in the final set, Murray clawed back to 5-4 but Stepanek served four first-service beauties from the five he required.

Rafael Nadal also found the going tough, breaking Tommy Robredo to stay in the match before beating his Spanish compatriot 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

Though he has only just returned after six weeks spent resting his left wrist and immediately won a tournament in Valencia, Murray believes that he has played enough with the banquet in his back yard to come.

“My goal after coming back was to get in good enough shape to compete well in London and I think that has been achieved,” he said. “What I’ve done in the last couple of weeks has been absolutely perfect.”

The Scot apart, there is one male, Alex Bogdanovic (No 176), in the top 200 in singles, with two women, Katie O’Brien (No 88) and Elena Baltacha (No 89) inside the leading 100 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

Success at doubles is regarded as a justification for the governing body to pat itself on the back so it should be noted that there are four men and one woman in their respective top hundreds. This has to be why a host of coaches were in Jersey this week to watch an ATP Challenger event in which no British male got beyond the second round.

All will appear rosy when the curtain goes up at the O2 and a seventh qualifier was confirmed yesterday. Despite his 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 defeat by Robin Söderling, of Sweden, Nikolay Davydenko cannot be caught by any of the four players, including Söderling, who now have a single place to play for in the last three days of this championship.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ … 914919.ece

Andy Murray given difficult draw in ATP World Tour Finals

Andy Murray has been drawn in the same group as Roger Federer, the world No 1, for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

The Briton will also face US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro and Fernando Verdasco, of Spain, in Group A at the 02 Arena in London. Group B features Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko and Robin Soderling.

Soderling initially failed to qualify for the prestigious eight-man event but was handed a place when Andy Roddick pulled out through injury. The competition runs from November 22-28.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ … 921343.ece

- Na koniec kariery rozlicza się z wielkich szlemów - punktuje Andy Murray przed startem kończącej sezon imprezy World Tour Finals.

To akurat jest oczywiste. Przez ostatnie lata miliony razy przewijał się rekord Samprasa, a o wyczynie Connorsa słyszymy tylko przy okazji tematów statystycznych

Murray Ready To Take Giant Stride

With an ATP World Tour-best six titles this year, British favourite Andy Murray has taken a big step forward over the past 12 months but how big the next stride becomes remains to be seen.

It's been a strange year for Andy Murray.  As he prepares for his second appearance in a year-end final at the newly styled Barclays ATP World Finals at London's O2 arena, the young Scot will know that his performance amongst the world's elite will determine whether his year will end up being one of minor frustration or major celebration.

A title winning performance in London will, of course, confirm everything his admirers have been saying for so long – namely that he is a multi-Grand Slam winner in the making.

But anything less will provide more ammunition than is reasonable from critics who were on his back almost as soon as he stepped onto the pro circuit.  It began after he was struck by cramps during his first ever appearance on Wimbledon's Centre Court against David Nalbandian in 2005.  Preferring to concentrate on his apparent physical frailty rather than applaud the way he had outplayed the former Wimbledon finalist for two sets, his detractors suggested his was unfit and lazy.

Quick fast forward to the US Open last year when, after more than two hours of hard-fought tennis in suffocating heat, it was the match-hardened Jurgen Melzer who needed treatment for cramps while Murray wandered around impatiently twiddling his racket.

MurrayHours of rigorous work in the gym and on the court with his team headed by Miles Maclagan and his fitness trainer Jez Green had taken care of the physical problems, which were nothing more than growing pains.  And any suggestions of laziness have been wiped away amidst the sweat and hard labour of those off-season training sessions in Miami.

But the impatience amongst his critics is still evident.  After winning ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles [at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters] in Cincinnati and [the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open in] Madrid last year, 2009 was ear-marked as the year for Murray to land his first Grand Slam.  As we know, it hasn't happened, although two more ATP World Tour Masters 1000 victories [at the Sony Ericsson Open] in Miami and [the Rogers Cup in] Montreal offered proof of further improvement.  However, no one needs to remind Murray that the road to the top is not getting any easier with the huge improvement evident in Juan Martin del Potro's game and the way Novak Djokovic has re-discovered his form and confidence.

But let's put a time line on this and see where Murray stands when compared to the best, i.e. Roger Federer.  The Swiss did not win his first Grand Slam championship until the age of 22 years and 11 months.  Should Murray win the Australian Open in January, he will still only be 22 years and eight months.  Of course there have been many younger first time Grand Slam winners than Federer with the 17-year-old Boris Becker at Wimbledon and another 17 year old, Michael Chang, at Roland Garros coming to mind.

But neither of them can rival Federer's record.  The argument here is not that Murray will go on to emulate everything Roger has achieved but simply that Andy is not behind schedule in attempting to do so.  Everyone develops at their own pace and, to take Chang as an example, winning at a very early age does not guarantee a career laden with Grand Slam titles.  After Roland Garros, Chang never won another one.

So the impatience is something that Murray finds slightly irksome although, such is his growing maturity, he does not make much of it.  Only when pushed in conversations with reporters he knows does he let his feelings show.

"Those people who are still asking questions about my game – I'm not sure how to answer them," he says.  "What is it I need to do to prove that I can become a great player?  I don't know what that is.  In my view, it's been a good year.  I improved my previous best in three of the Slams; I won six tournaments; I got my ranking up to No. 2 [in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings].  And, generally, I feel I am playing a lot better now than I ever did.  I was searching for consistency last year and now I feel I have that.  I don't feel that there have been any weeks where I felt my performance was a big let down."

MurrayCertainly his return to the circuit after a six-week lay-off to allow a wrist injury to heal was impressive.  He won the Valencia Open 500 to claim his sixth ATP title of the year – more than anyone on the tour.  Losing in three sets to Radek Stepanek on a tiny No. 2 court at the Bercy Palais Omnisports in the BNP Paribas Masters was certainly not a great way to end the regular season but there were mitigating circumstances.  It was 1:45 a.m. by the time he had battled his way past James Blake in the early hours of Thursday morning and he did not get to sleep until 4:00 a.m.  By six o'clock the following evening he had to be back on court.  Surprisingly he cruised through the first set 6-1 but the obdurate Czech clawed his way back to grab an unlikely victory.

"It's difficult to come back after finishing so late and feel 100 per cent," Murray admitted.  "You know, it's obviously limited recovery after a long match.  But you still come out and try to give it your best shot.  [It] wasn't good enough."

Interestingly, the tournament director, Jean-Francois Caujolle, a former Davis Cup player who knows what players go through, admitted later that the scheduling had been unfair to Murray.  "Sincerely, I believe he would not have lost that match if he had played on Court Central and if he could have finished earlier on Wednesday," said Caujolle.  "I believe Murray was the victim of our scheduling problems.  Having said that, he was extremely decent and said nothing to us about it.  He just said the other player was better than he was."

Again, his critics, who were quick to fault him for those on-court outbursts during his days with Brad Gilbert, might find it hard to believe that, behind the scenes, Murray acts with such professionalism.  It is simply in his nature to do so.  He is an intelligent young man who knows where is going and, increasingly, is realising what it takes to get there.  His year has been a big step forward.

Removing the Stepanek defeat from his mind was the first thing to do and he was immediately putting a positive spin on it.  "After the wrist injury I would have signed up for playing seven matches and winning six of them," he said.  "That is just the kind of preparation I needed for London.  Now I have 10 days to get rid of all the niggles and stiffness."

Prior to his appearance in Valencia, his actual practise sessions at The Queen's Club had not been as restricted as would normally be the case with an injured player - as the injury was to the left wrist.  "So it was only the two-handed backhand that I had not been able to hit," he explained.  "It gave me the chance to practise some one-handed sliced backhands and even hit a few more volleys, too!"

MurrayBack in London these past few days, everything has been progressing as Murray would have wished.  "They have laid two court at Queen's which, hopefully, will be identical to the one we will be playing on at The 02 so that has been great," he told me after descending from the London Eye, where he had been ensconced in a pod with ATP Executive Chairman & President Adam Helfant and a camera crew while he helped make the draw for the round robin stages of the Barclays ATP World Finals.

"That was an interesting experience," he said with a hint of his dry Scottish humour.

"We might have picked a less windy day.  It was blowing a gale up there but we seemed to survive."

With that he picked up his racquet bag in the lobby of the opulent County Hall Marriott, which sits across the River Thames from Big Ben, and headed off for another practise sesion at The Queen's Club.  All familiar territory for this young man who has taken a significant step forward with his career this year.  How big the next stride becomes remains to be seen.

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

Andrew w magazynie DEUCE.

Panicz raperem

Tennis star Murray records a rap

The Scot star agreed to add his vocal talents to a song by former Wimbledon doubles champs Bob and Mike Bryan.

But his first venture into music is unlikely to be a smash after industry buffs branded it a right racket, The Sun reports.

Collaborators ... Bob and Mike BryanBob and Mike convinced Murray, of Dunblane, Perthshire, and fellow star Novak Djokovic to lend their voices to the song - released on album Let It Rip, only available on iTunes.

But Edinburgh-based music industry boss Ronnie Gurr - who has worked with top bands like Stereophonics and Culture Club - said: "Murray spectacularly fails to grasp the concept that rapping must have a rhythmic dynamic.

http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-156202.html

Konferencja prasowa Murray'a po meczu z Federerem:

Andy Murray presser Nov. 24, 2009

Read Andy Murray press conference transcript after his round robin loss to Roger Federer.

Q. Was the first serve the big problem for you tonight?

ANDY Murray: Yeah, serve in general. You know, it was a great effort to win a set serving like that. The first serve went in, I obviously won a lot of free points. It was probably the most double‑faults I served in a match maybe this year. You know, so, yeah, didn't serve well.

And if you, you know, miss, I don't know, I guess it was probably around 35%, 40% first serves against Roger then, you know, it's easy to dictate points and dictate play. Whereas, you know, in the first set, at least when I was behind in games, I was coming up with big serves, being able to dictate, you know, the points. But, you know, after that I served pants.


Q. What was the exchange you had with the umpire around 5‑2 in the second set?

ANDY Murray: I just asked him not to stop me, you know, before I served. That was it.


Q. Asked him?

ANDY Murray: Asked him to, you know, like, probably about 50% of the time when you play in front of big crowds, there's always a little bit of noise just before you step up to serve. If the players are ready to serve, and the players want to serve, then, you know, they normally go ahead and serve. And then it's quiet by the time the return's in play. You know, just like four or five service games in a row, he stopped me.

I just asked him if he could just let me serve. That was it. Nothing stressful.


Q. How do you read your situation now qualification‑wise for the weekend?

ANDY Murray: I just win against Verdasco. I think that's pretty much what I have to do. If I win in straight sets, then I think, well, a great chance that I go through.


Q. This is a low‑bouncing court. Does that suit you? You were making more errors than you usually do at the end.

ANDY Murray: No, I didn't play well. It happens sometimes. I didn't play well and I made mistakes. You know, like I say, it's difficult against him, if you miss so many first serves, then, you know, you put yourself under a lot of pressure. Maybe I made more mistakes than normal, but, you know, I just didn't play well.


Q. Your thoughts on your next match? You have a decent record against him, haven't you?

ANDY Murray: Yeah, I mean, against all the guys in the group I've got a good record. If I play well, a good chance I win. If I don't, then there's a good chance I lose.

So try and play better than I did this evening. You know, rest up and hopefully feel good.


Q. Was that one of the best Roger's played against you, last couple sets?

ANDY Murray: No. I mean, I don't know. It's difficult. I mean, you know, the US Open final, I thought he played very, very well. But, you know, tonight, you know, I just didn't feel like I played well. So it's difficult.

Not been off the court that long. But if you give someone opportunity to dictate, you know, not only on his own service games, but on yours, it's very difficult to win. I served so poorly that, you know, anyone would have looked good against me tonight because you get a chance pretty much every single point.

In the first set, when he was missing first serves, I was dominating all the points on his second serve. That's what happened in the second and third sets, because I served badly.


Q. Were you aware of the crowd out there tonight? Did the atmosphere feel different to your first‑round match?

ANDY Murray: Yeah, I thought the atmosphere was great. You know, obviously to play in front of a crowd like that's awesome. You know, I think you can't really see the crowd. I think it was pretty much packed. But, no, you know, get a good adrenaline rush when you were out there.


Q. Were you surprised how even‑handed they were?

ANDY Murray: No, not really. I mean, you know, obviously Roger's record at Wimbledon, what he's done in tennis, you know, he deserves support everywhere he goes.


Q. How much do you think your lack of matches affected the way you played today, the six‑week layoff?

ANDY Murray: I mean, the one thing that's been a problem for me since I came back was, you know, I played, you know, well‑ish first set of the matches. Then when the adrenaline wears off, I don't know, there's not quite the same spark, you know, in the legs that there was at the start of the year.

I've had letdowns in a lot of matches. I've let guys back in the match straightaway, early in the second set. And that's something that I was doing really, really well, you know, when I was playing a lot, you know, at the beginning of the year. When I was getting ahead, I was not giving guys chances to come back into the matches. That's something that, you know, these last few tournaments of the years I've not done so well.


Q. Now the match with Verdasco becomes more important. This is the round robin. Last year you won the three matches. It's not a defeat like in another kind of tournament.

ANDY Murray: No. The only important thing is to try and qualify from the group. Whether you win one match, three matches, two matches. Last year I won three, lost in the semis. This year I could potentially lose two matches and win the tournament.

So you just never know. I mean, the match against Verdasco, obviously I'll try and win. You know, if I do that, good chance I go through.


Q. This is a new venue for the ATP World Finals. Do you hope it gets a new audience for tennis in Britain?

ANDY Murray: Yeah, well, I hope so. I mean, the more people watching, you know, playing tennis, I guess enjoying tennis, the better. You know, I know just from speaking to friends, you know, people that I meet that, you know, they tend to start playing a lot, you know, during the summer, during the Wimbledon time, and then after that, you know, it can be sort of 10, 11 months before they start playing again.

Hopefully with a competition like this, you know, maybe you can try and get one at the start of the year as well. It just makes it a little bit easier for people to sort of keep in contact with the sport.


Q. Did you have a back injury of some description?

ANDY Murray: No. My back's been fine. I had a problem with my groin for, I don't know, three, four weeks since I started playing again. It's just a bit sore. But I'm pretty sure all of the players have got something a little bit stiff or sore. You know, obviously at this stage of the season.

http://www.tennistalk.com/en/news/20091 … ._24,_2009

Andy Murray out of ATP World Tour Finals despite win over Fernando Verdasco

To scenes of utter chaos last night, Juan Martín del Potro qualified for the semi-finals of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals by virtue of a single-game advantage over Andy Murray, only to be told during his on-court interview that the officials were not sure he had made it.

Talk about killing a guy’s big moment. He looked suicidal. The next minute, he was through again and started to play tennis with Carlos Tévez, the Argentina footballer. So ended another extraordinary day.

Somewhere in London, Murray learnt that he had suffered the unkindest cut of all because Roger Federer could not force himself to win one more game in his final round-robin match. At 11.15 pm, a quarter of an hour after the match ended, Murray sent a message on his Twitter page: “Anyone know what’s going on? I think I’m audi [sic] but the rules aren’t worded too well.”Federer, Del Potro and Murray all finished with 2-1 match records and 5-4 in sets, so it came down to the percentage of games won. Del Potro’s score was 45-43; Murray 44-43.So the tournament is deprived of British interest with three days to go.

For most of yesterday, small groups gathered around pieces of paper with lots of numbers and tables on them, wearing the puzzled looks of people trying to fathom a tax return. The round robin is just as complex, though you do not get a visit from the Inland Revenue if you cannot work it out. But late last night, when clarity was needed from the sport to determine what was happening at a championship paying more than $5million in prize money, the place was in a state of moribund confusion.

Had Murray defeated Fernando Verdasco in straight sets in the afternoon, observers would have been spared this mental anguish but, as is his wont, a mid-match lapse was designed to set the entire nation’s teeth on edge.

Before, during and after his 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 victory, the rules were being rewritten every few minutes, to the extent that at 3pm, it was suggested that a Federer loss to the Argentinian in straight sets would guarantee that the Swiss qualified for another semi-final; but if he was beaten in three, the outcome would be determined between the number of games won by the three left in.

That had changed by 5pm, to the extent that, mid-match, Murray sought clarification from Gerry Armstrong, the referee. “I didn’t know if it [qualifying] was the amount of games won, or the percentage, so that’s what I asked him,” Murray said.The minimum required by Murray was victory and he kept his end of the bargain. He discovered later that had he won the final set 6-4 rather than 7-6, he would have qualified, not Del Potro. At the outset of the evening match, Del Potro had picked up against Federer where he left off in the US Open final in September, breaking the first serve and repeating the dose in the fifth game when Federer double-faulted it away.

A flukey net cord deprived Del Potro of a break in the first game of the second set, which moved inexorably to a tie-break in which he led 5-4, with two serves to come. Federer’s season was over, surely, but a blocked backhand return on the first of those points caused Del Potro to fumble a backhand — and did the same on the next. A forehand volley winner on the next point and Federer’s reaction was salmon-like.

A new set of calculations began. There were two games between Del Potro and Murray heading into the final set, so Del Potro winning by three would be enough. Lo and behold, having survived three break points in the seventh game, the third with a 112mph second serve, Del Potro pounced — or should one say Federer floundered? Did he know what the situation was? A couple of relatively weak backhand returns went unpunished, he served a double and flashed a backhand cross-court wide. Del Potro’s nerve held, with assurance.

The crux of the defining tie-break in Murray’s match came when Verdasco, trailing 3-2 with two serves to come, double-faulted on the first, missed a first serve on the second and was always struggling in the rally that he then sacrificed, attempting to play a forehand volley down by his bootstraps.

It might have been a lot easier, crucially in Murray’s case, for Verdasco saved 12 of 13 break points — which led to a debate about whether the Briton played poorly on the kind of points where he so often excels, or that the Spaniard produced his best with his back to the wall. On this day of unparalleled confusion, we did not really want to go there.

The percentage game

This is the ATP ruling to calculate the final group standings in the event of a tie

•Greatest number of wins

•Greatest number of matches played

•Head-to-head results if only two players are tied

•If three players are tied, then the player advancing to the single elimination competition is the one with the highest percentage of sets won; or the highest percentage of games won

•If the above produces one superior player (first place), or one inferior player (third place), and the two remaining players are tied, the tie between those two players shall be broken by head-to-head record

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ … 933733.ece

Szkoda, bo Kim była upiekszeniem meczów Panicza

No to teraz wreszcie wiemy, gdzie Maryś wygrywa te wszystkie Szlemy których jest etatowym faworytem - na Playstation 3.

Robertinho napisał:

No to teraz wreszcie wiemy, gdzie Maryś wygrywa te wszystkie Szlemy których jest etatowym faworytem - na Playstation 3.

Ciekawe jakie miał  staty w Top Spinie 2.