Posted: 22.03.09 14:52. Post subject: СМИ о скоттише (продолжение)
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Posted: 22.03.09 14:53. Post subject: March 19, 2009 A. MU..
March 19, 2009 A. MURRAY/I. Ljubicic 7 5, 7 6 An interview with: ANDY MURRAY
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Pays to challenge calls, doesn't it? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I mean well, obviously got pretty lucky. Supposedly he took the second bounce of the ball, yeah, which obviously landed on the line. So I don't think it was obviously it wasn't the technology problem. It was sort of human error, which can obviously happen with line calls. I got lucky on that point. I don't know whether it had a huge bearing on the outcome or the result.
Q. How are you feeling? ANDY MURRAY: I felt okay. It's hot. It was very hot today. I felt a little bit different in relation to the other days. It was very breezy on the court. A lot of times on the big stadiums, if there is just a slight breeze, it does make a big difference. It sort of stays obviously in the stadium. From one of the end it was difficult to dictate the points, but I felt fine. Physically I was moving well again, hitting the ball better as the match went on.
Q. How is your ankle? ANDY MURRAY: The ankle was fine today. Didn't feel it at all.
Q. Can you talk about Federer and Verdasco? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, I think Federer obviously is I mean, neither of them have played since Australia but have played pretty well here. I know he had a tough match with Gonzбlez in the last round, but Verdasco struggled a little bit against Kolschreiber. You know, it's going to be a really good match tonight. I obviously would like to watch it. Regardless, it's going to be a tough match. Yeah, I wouldn't want to pick a winner in that one.
Q. Can you talk just about individually? Obviously you played Federer and you played Verdasco, both. What do you feel like you have to do against both guys? ANDY MURRAY: I played Federer a lot. I've played him about seven times, so we know each others' games pretty well. Obviously if I want to beat him I need to play one of my best matches. You know, it's important to serve solid and make a lot of balls and not feel like you have to do, you know, anything special on each point to win against him. You know, if you watch the way that Nadal plays against him, it's not like, you know, every point it's doing something unbelievable. He just plays solid, solid, solid crosscourt balls to the backhand, and, you know, it obviously works. Against Verdasco I've got a very good record against both of them. But at the Aussie Open match, I think I a lost one set against him in the past five times I played him. He's obviously improved a lot. You know, his forehand is a big weapon if it's firing. Obviously try and stay away from that.
Q. Are you at all surprised that you made the semifinals giving the build up to the tournament? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, a little bit. You know, I didn't know how I was going to play. As I said, I was just going to try and take each match at a time. I think when everyone says you know, all the players say that, but they might not necessarily be thinking it. I wasn't thinking about the semifinals at all. I was thinking about the first round match and how I would get through that and each day working on my game and trying to get a little better. I have done that with each match, and with the next match hopefully I'll play even better than I did today.
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Posted: 22.03.09 16:14. Post subject: click here Там можно..
Posted: 22.03.09 16:25. Post subject: Murray and Nadal rea..
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Murray and Nadal reach Indian Wells final
Scotland's Andy Murray took advantage of an error-prone Roger Federer to reach the final of the ATP event at Indian Wells with a commanding 6-3 4-6 6-1 victory on Saturday.
The 21-year-old Scot fended off a spirited fightback by the Swiss in the second set to wrap up the win in one hour 48 minutes and will meet world number one Rafael Nadal in Sunday's title match.
Murray, who has won ATP titles this season in Rotterdam and Doha, where he beat Federer in the last four, broke the Swiss twice to sweep through the first set in half an hour.
Although Federer raised his performance to level the match, Murray regained control by breaking in the fourth and sixth games of the third to seal victory in one hour 48 minutes.
'Every time I play Roger, I feel like I got a shot to win,' fourth-seeded Murray told reporters after beating Federer for the sixth time in eight encounters. 'That's one of my best wins against him for sure.
'I'm playing the match how I want it to go. If I started trading big groundstrokes with someone like Federer, I think he likes that.
'I haven't done it against him, and I don't do it against many people,' added Murray, who became the first Briton to reach the final here since Tim Henman in 2004.
Federer, the number two seed who won the Indian Wells title for three consecutive years from 2004, piled up 32 unforced errors to Murray's 15.
'Way too many errors today,' the Swiss world number two told reporters after struggling with his backhand throughout the match. 'I struggled with the rhythm today. He played unbelievable in the end, and I made many mistakes.'
Federer squandered three break points in the fourth game of the match before being broken in the fifth when he struck the net cord with a backhand and the ball bounced out.
Murray, playing with fluency, also broke in the ninth to take the opening set when an attempted sliced backhand by the Swiss as he advanced toward the net sailed wide.
After early breaks were traded in the second, Federer broke Murray again in the seventh game after hitting a superb crosscourt forehand winner before twice holding serve to clinch the set.
Federer, repeatedly urged on by the crowd, failed to maintain his comeback in the third, being broken in the fourth and sixth games as a resurgent Murray completed a deserved victory to reach his third ATP final this year.
Posted: 22.03.09 20:18. Post subject: Murray Masters Feder..
Murray Masters Federer To Reach Final
World No. 4 Andy Murray once again got the better of Roger Federer, defeating the three-time BNP Paribas Open champion 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 on Saturday in Indian Wells to advance to the final at the year’s first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournament. He will play Rafael Nadal for the title after the Spaniard defeated American Andy Roddick 6-4, 7-6(4). “I've started to play better against him lately, but he's obviously one of the toughest players ever,” said Murray about playing ATP World Tour Champion Nadal. “I have to play some of my best tennis.”
In his semifinal match, Murray took a frightening tumble in the fourth game of the decisive set, but brushed himself off and won the next three points to go up a break. He broke the Swiss again to take an insurmountable 5-1 lead, and served out the win on his fifth match point.
“Way too many errors today,” said Federer, who committed 32 unforced errors total, including 14 in the first set. “The first set, I tried to keep playing; I couldn't. I struggled with the rhythm today, so that was the same thing in the third set... He played unbelievable in the end.”
Federer had a golden opportunity to assume the lead early in the semifinal match when he held triple break point at 2-1 in the first set, but made three errors and then lost serve in the next game. He pointed it out as a pivotal point of the match: “Who knows if I maybe win that point, maybe he can't play the way he played all match long. That definitely helped him to stay in the match, and then maybe got the break later on after that. So it was a tough match for me and tough moment.”
Since falling to Federer in straight sets in last September’s US Open final, the 21-year-old Murray has now beaten the Swiss four straight times to assume the 6-2 lead in the head-to-head series. He is the third player to have defeated Federer at least four times in a row, joining David Nalbandian and Nadal.
“If you change the pace with the ball a lot and mix it up, I'm playing the match how I want it to go,” said Murray about his tactics. “If I started trading big groundstrokes with someone like Federer, I think he likes that. I haven't done it against him, and I don't do it against many people. That's my game style. Very rarely do I lose matches having let the other guy play his natural game.”
Murray is off to a career-best start in 2009 with an impressive 20-1 record, his only loss coming in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. He opened the year with the Doha title, posting wins over Federer and Andy Roddick, and then defeated World No. 1 Nadal in February at Rotterdam to win his 10th ATP World Tour title.
He is the first British player to reach the BNP Paribas Open final since Tim Henman finished runner-up to Federer in 2004. The 21-year-old Scot won his first two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title last year at Cincinnati and Madrid.
Federer said of his opponent: “He's a great counter puncher and reads the game really well. He's got great feel, so he's very confident at the moment. You can tell the way he plays. He knows he doesn't need to play close to the lines because he knows he can cover the court really well. I think that calms him down mentally. I think that's why he's playing so well.”
The 27-year-old Swiss was playing in his first tournament since an epic five-set defeat to rival Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open, having been sidelined with a back injury for the past month.
He was attempting to become the first four-time winner in tournament history. He won three straight from 2004-06, joining Americans Michael Chang and Jimmy Connors as title leaders at the year’s first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournament.
Posted: 23.03.09 12:31. Post subject: Надаль не оставил Ма..
Надаль не оставил Маррэю ни единого шанса в финале Индиан Уэллс
В этот вечер Рафаэль Надаль почти не ошибался. Процент попадания первой подачи - под 90. Все остальные показатели тоже зашкаливали. В общем, Энди Маррэю не было оставлено ни единого шанса, притом, что британец также показывал теннис весьма высокого класса. (где автор высокий класс увидел , я вот ждала-ждала, да не дождалась - прим. мое) Отметим, что одним из основных факторов этого матча, как и в женском финале, стал сильнейший ветер. Было видно, что менее опытному британцу с ним было справляться особенно нелегко.
Posted: 23.03.09 12:39. Post subject: Избиение младенца Р..
Избиение младенца
Рафаэль Надаль стал победителем турнира серии Masters в Индиан-Уэллсе, в финале разгромив Энди Маррея со счетом 6:1, 6:2.
Этого матча ждали с нетерпением. В свете явного схода с орбиты бессменного лидера последних лет Роджера Федерера, именно соперники по отчетному финалу ныне рассматриваются большинством специалистов и болельщиков как основные величины в мировом теннисе на ближайшие годы. Если с Надалем уже все давно ясно, то резко заматеревший Маррей прибавил настолько, что Британия, за последнее время явно охладевшая к теннису ввиду отсутствия в нем сколько-нибудь пристойных результатов, кажется, нашла в его лице новую спортивную икону. Популярность Энди на англоязычных ресурсах растет не по дням, а по часам, и хотя до Бекхэма ему еще далеко, дорогу, как известно, осилит идущий…
Прогнозов на финал, как обычно, хватало. Многие, поначалу признавая Надаля фаворитом просто потому, что он Надаль, подумав, вспоминали, что именно Маррей отнял у 22-летнего «Бешеного Быка с Мальорки» титул в Роттердаме, и именно Маррей остановил победную поступь испанца на US Open-2008. Словом, единого мнения не нашлось, и все сошлись на старом добром «игра покажет». Она и показала…
Встреча началась спокойно. Игроки обменялись геймами на своей подаче, третий гейм тоже остался за подающим (Надалем), а вот в гейме четвертом первый номер мирового рейтинга резко прибавил и сделал брейк. Это событие настолько шокировало Маррея, что он так и не пришел в себя до конца партии. 41 минута – и Рафа оказался в роли ведущего по сетам.
Что творилось с шотландским теннисистом, сказать сложно. С одной стороны, ему явно мешал ветер, укравший у него целый ряд очков. С другой – тот же ветер обдувал и Рафу. Опять же, проиграв пару мячей, унесенных дуновением Зефира, с одной и той же позиции, Маррею, возможно, следовало бы сделать скидку на движение воздушных масс. Однако Энди с упорством, достойным лучшего применения, продолжал стрелять с форхэнда по «девяткам», наблюдая за тем, как мячи улетают за заднюю линию или же в коридор.
Так или иначе, партия была проиграна вчистую. 21-летний британец не сумел получить ни одного брейк-пойнта – с такими показателями рассчитывать на победу было проблематично.
Второй сет стал почти точной копией первого. В начале партии Маррей, казалось, встрепенулся и взял два гейма (правда, оба на своей подаче), но затем вновь расклеился, и избиение 191-сантиметрового младенца продолжилось. Взгляды, бросаемые им на своего наставника Майлза Маклэгана, не помогали – старина Майлз, похоже, и сам был не очень-то в курсе, что происходит.
Последний же гейм встречи и вовсе превратился в формальность. Надаль быстро оформил тройной матчбол, и хотя Маррей и подергался, ввязавшись в длительный «грунтовый» розыгрыш, исход этого действа не оставлял сомнений.
В итоге, за один час и двадцать минут 22-летний Рафаэль Надаль разгромил 21-летнего Энди Маррея и завоевал свой второй (после 2007 года) титул на кортах Индиан-Уэллса.
Соперников же ему по-прежнему не видно. Может быть, Вы, молодой человек? Нет? Что ж, на «нет» и суда нет. Будем искать…
Posted: 24.03.09 09:53. Post subject: A. MURRAY/R. Federer..
A. MURRAY/R. Federer 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. You took such a terrible tumble there. Did you feel that the match was over at that point possibly? ANDY MURRAY: Well, obviously got a little bit scared at first. Then, you know, once I got up and ran around after a couple points, I knew that it felt okay. But I had a few problems with my groin, that groin, when I was younger. Actually got a tear in the cartilage, which quite a lot of people do have. I just kind of get used to it. It's a bit stiffer than my right side. Obviously feels fine just now. Hopefully it'll be okay tomorrow.
Q. After that particular fall, he then went into a bit of a trance and you were almost able to dominate the match from there on in. ANDY MURRAY: I managed to do the same in Doha, as well. You know, just -- yeah, I started to make a lot of balls. I was getting the ball nice and high and deep, and actually, after I fell over, the wind picked up quite a bit. He missed a few balls long in that game, mishit a couple. After that, he had little chance at 5-1. But I think I lost one, maybe one point in the next -- from after I fell, maybe one point in the next sort of three games after I fell. It was quite comfortable after that.
Q. Two years ago when you played Tommy Haas, you took a fall down a set and you came back and won. Can you just talk about that? Seemed like a couple times when you kind of hurt yourself you've come back and played stronger, at least here you have. ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, the match against Haas was a bit different. It was quite serious. I had problems with the ankle that I twisted. The next day I woke up feeling pretty swollen and not great. You know, today I didn't feel like I hurt myself. I just went down. Obviously when you fall or lose your footing and stuff, you're a little bit shocked at first, a bit scared. But I don't think that it's going to be a problem tomorrow. I haven't been hurt that much in the last couple years. Yeah, I don't feel like anybody plays better when they're hurting.
Q. It seems like against Roger now you're playing on your terms. You're pretty much in control of the entire match if you're playing at your top level, which is a pretty tough thing to do against him. Talk a little bit about that. ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. Well, the one thing I tried to explain to a few people, like a year or so ago, is that, you know, people say, Oh, you play very defensively. You didn't hit the ball particularly hard all the time, or whatnot. You lose a lot of the matches by letting guys sort of dictate the points. But you know, trying to explain that there's more than one way of dictating points. It's not just going for big, booming serves all the time and huge forehands. If you change the pace with the ball a lot, you know, and mix it up, you know, makes your guy -- I'm playing the match how I want it to go. If I started trading big groundstrokes with someone like Federer, I think he likes that. I haven't done it against him, and I don't do it against many people. That's my game style. Very rarely do I lose matches having let the other guy play his natural game.
Q. There was a lot of anticipation toward a Federer/Nadal final. How does it feel to ruin those plans? ANDY MURRAY: Doesn't really bother me, to be honest. Every time I play Roger I feel like I got a shot to win. You know, I'm sure a lot of people would like to see Roddick in that final now. Maybe I definitely wasn't thinking about that during the match.
Q. Are you still practicing Bikram yoga, and how much do you attribute your fitness and focus to this? ANDY MURRAY: I did it in the off-season quite a lot. I don't do it that much throughout the year, because you get very dehydrated doing it. It's very hot, so you need to make sure that going in, you're hydrated. When you come out, it takes, you know, two, three hours before you're feeling normal again. So I do it a little bit in the off-season when I have time to recover and whatnot. But I don't do it that much during the year.
Q. That's six times out of eight you've gotten a piece of Roger. How would you rate your all-round performance today? ANDY MURRAY: I mean, it was good. I lost my concentration a bit at the start of the second set. You know, managed to get myself back into the match -- into the second set, sorry. It was good. I don't think I did anything incredible, but that wasn't what I was trying to do when I went in to play the match.
Q. Can you talk about playing the finals tomorrow and facing either Andy or Rafa? ANDY MURRAY: Both are obviously very tough. Rafa won the first set, but -- I mean, Roddick has always been very tough in the States. He loves playing in front of his home crowd, and it will be obviously tough against him. I've got a good record. Nadal, I've started to play better against him lately, but he's obviously one of the toughest players ever. I have to play some of my best tennis.
Q. When you were a kid, were you the fastest kid in your school? ANDY MURRAY: In a straight line, no. (Laughter.) But, I mean, since I played tennis, that was one of the things that I've always done very well, is have good anticipation and felt like I could chase a lot of balls down. That's just gotten better now that I've got stronger. Like over 100 meters I'm okay; not great.
Q. Federer had a reputation for being very strong in third sets. You've taken him four times. His level was going up and down quite a lot today. Were you surprised to see that? ANDY MURRAY: No. I mean, like I said, it depends. As long as I'm sort of playing the match on my terms and I'm sort of getting the ball in the position that I want to get it in and making him play difficult shots, then not really. I mean, he missed a couple backhands early in the second set. Then he started trying to hit forehands from way in the, you know, into the advantage side of the court. He was running around a lot and playing very sort of low-percentage shots. When you do that, you're going to make mistakes.
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Posted: 24.03.09 10:24. Post subject: Federer "old"..
Federer "old" in loss to Murray 3/22/09 6:05 AM | Ricky Dimon
Roger Federer referred to himself as "old" following his semifinal loss to Andy Murray at the Masters Series Indian Wells on Saturday. Murray advances to play Rafael Nadal.
Andy Murray beat Roger Federer for the fourth straight time on Saturday afternoon, prevailing 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open. Federer's third-set meltdown invoked memories of the 2009 Australian Open final, in which the world No. 2 fell to Rafael Nadal 6-2 in the fifth set.
Whereas Federer broke down in tears following that epic encounter, this time the Swiss composed himself and did his best to explain the loss to Murray, against whom he is now 2-6.
“I’m old, he’s young," noted Federer, six years Murray's elder at 27. "Makes a huge difference."
Federer went on to use the term "shocking" in describing his third-set performance. "I think in the last few matches I always felt Andy came on strong as the match went on. This time was different. I think I played well in the second, forced the issue a bit more, and then I played a shocking third set."
The 13-time Grand Slam champion, however, made sure to give credit to Murray for seizing victory. "He played unbelievable in the end," Federer said. "He’s a great counter-puncher and reads the game really well. He has great feel. So he’s very confident at the moment. You can tell, the way he plays. He knows he doesn’t have to play close to the lines because he can cover the court really well. I think that calms him down mentally. I think that is why he’s playing so well."
Murray will take on Nadal, a straight-set winner over Andy Roddick, in Sunday's Indian Wells title match. Federer now moves on to Miami, where he was upset by Roddick in last year's quarterfinals.
Posted: 24.03.09 10:26. Post subject: Minor scare for Murr..
Minor scare for Murray prior to Nadal clash 3/22/09 6:19 AM | Ricky Dimon
Andy Murray went down awkwardly during his Indian Wells semifinal win over Roger Federer on Saturday, but he looks good to go for the title match against Rafael Nadal.
Andy Murray appeared to survive a possible injury on Saturday when he took an awkward fall during his 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 semifinal win over Roger Federer at the Masters Series Indian Wells. The world No. 4 said he has been having problems with his left groin, and he appeared to aggravate it when he fell in the fourth game of the third set.
"I got a little bit scared at first," Murray admitted. "Then, once I got up and ran around after a couple points, I knew that it felt okay. It feels fine just now.
"It was sore when I fell over and then after a couple of points it felt okay," added the Scot, who did not lose another game the rest of the way. "I'll have to wait and see once the adrenaline wears off and I cool down."
Federer was also concerned, if only for a moment. "I was worried for him; he went down badly," Federer explained of his opponent. "I was happy to see that he got back up. That was good that he's not injured."
Murray is set to do battle with Rafael Nadal in the BNP Paribas Open title match on Sunday afternoon. They recently contested an injury-plagued final in Rotterdam, where Murray was dealing with an ankle problem and Nadal had his knee flare up again. Murray prevailed in three sets.
Posted: 24.03.09 10:40. Post subject: March 22, 2009 R. ..
March 22, 2009
R. NADAL/A. Murray
6 1, 6 2
An interview with:
ANDY MURRAY
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Goes without saying that it was a bit of a brutal day to play tennis, wasn't it? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it was tough. You know, I haven't played in conditions as windy as that for quite a long time. Rafa dealt with it very well. You know, he hit the ball cleaner and just, yeah, seemed to get himself in better positions than I did. Then you don't necessarily want to be doing a whole lot of defending and running. You want to be in the best position possible to hit each ball, and I wasn't. That's why he managed to dictate most of the points.
Q. As Nadal's peer and someone who has beaten him before, detail what it is that makes him so difficult to play. ANDY MURRAY: I mean, when I played him in the past, he's obviously an incredibly tough player. The thing I always felt when I played him was that you get a chance to play your game, because he does play with a lot of topspin. You know, early on in the rally the ball sort of comes up to a nice height, and you can move the ball around. He moves very well, and he's got a big forehand, obviously, and he competes great. He's improved the rest of his game. He's using a bit more slice and coming to the net a little bit. His backhand has become a better shot. So he does everything quite well. It's not one thing in particular.
Q. You said at the beginning of the tournament you didn't expect to do very well here, considering your illness before. Are you pleasantly surprised with the way the tournament went? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. I mean, I don't feel like I'm that disappointed just now with how the week went, because I wasn't expecting, like you said, to do that well. I obviously had some very good wins. You know, I got a lot of the matches that I wasn't necessarily expecting. So going into Miami I'm going to be better prepared than I thought. You know, obviously today was not my best day, but I'll definitely get over it, because, you know, I'm guessing, you know, I'm not going to play in those conditions, you know, each week.
Q. You took a spill yesterday. Was there any lingering... ANDY MURRAY: No. My groin feels fine. I don't think that was anything to do with the outcome of the match. I'll definitely be okay for Miami.
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Posted: 24.03.09 10:49. Post subject: Murray optimistic de..
Murray optimistic despite Indian Wells beat-down 3/23/09 9:02 AM | Johan Lindahl
Andy Murray won't let a comprehensive loss to Rafael Nadal in the Indian Wells final derail him from his winning mission in Miami.
The world No. 4 will be returning to Florida for the second time in four months after devoting four weeks of his off-season to working on fitness in the subtropical heat.
Murray is looking forward to proving himself again on hard courts at an event where his best showing was a 2007 semifinal.
"I don't feel like I'm that disappointed just now with how the week went, because I wasn't expecting to do that well," said Murray, who was down with a virus the week before Indian Wells.
"I obviously had some very good wins. I got a lot of the matches that I wasn't necessarily expecting. So going into Miami I'm going to be better prepared than I thought."
Posted: 24.03.09 12:19. Post subject: Из статьи Юлии Нитки..
Из статьи Юлии Ниткиной "Новые чемпионы и повторение пройденного" (Sports.ru)
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О причинах того, почему Мюррей стал так опасен для Федерера, мнения экспертов расходятся. Бодо считает, что причина именно в некоторой схожести их игровых стилей: «Когда вы смотрите на великолепные теннисные навыки Федерера, его опыт, его талант бойца, вы задаетесь вопросом – почему же у него возникают такие проблемы с Мюрреем. Моя теория состоит в том, что Мюррей как бы приводит в замешательство и раздражает Федерера тем, что покушается на территорию, которую все – и особенно Надаль – считает принадлежащей Федереру. Потому что игра Мюррея кажется немного волшебной. Она артистична и непредсказуема. Мюррей, возможно, не умеет двигаться и махать ракеткой так легко и без видимых усилий, как Федерер, но он очень часто так же приводит оппонентов в замешательство разнообразием и искусностью своих ударов».
Стив Тиньор же, напротив, считает, что в чем-то Мюррей ближе к Надалю, чем к Федереру: «Шотландец, с его высокой скоростью, интуицией и высокой способностью принимать разнообразные удары, не нуждается в том, чтобы так же ходить по высоко натянутой проволоке, как Федерер. Его талант, заключающийся в том, чтобы понизить игру, приземлить ее, делает эффектность бесполезной.
Мюррей провел большую часть третьего сета выполняя скучные резаные удары и неуверенные свечки и при этом демонстрировал вещи в десять раз лучше – косой форхенд крюком и бэкхенд по линии – только, когда Федерер выходил к сетке. Это была тактика предложенная Мухаммедом Али 35 лет назад – он позволял оппоненту бить себя, пока тот не устанет, потом наносил один нокаутирующий удар. Как и Али, Мюррей, кстати, большой поклонник великого боксера, знает, что это атакующая тактика, замаскированная под защитную. И с самого начала пресс-конференции он хотел, чтобы все поняли – это он выиграл матч, а не Федерер проиграл.
Мюррей закончил утверждением, которое я никогда прежде не слышал ни от одного игрока – что Федерер не играл в умный теннис. «Он много бегал», – сказал Мюррей, – «И выполнял много рискованных ударов. Когда ты делаешь это, ты непременно ошибешься».
Он не испытывает трепета перед Федерером, никаких привычных мантр, типа «неважно, как он сегодня играл, он все равно самый великий игрок в истории». Ничего подобного, просто недоуменное пожимание плечами, которым Мюррей говорил нам: «Это был мой план, что вас так удивляет?»
По словам Мюррея существует больше, чем один способ диктовать розыгрыш. Существует больше, чем один способ выиграть борьбу. Существует больше, чем один способ для теннисного художника, чтобы нарисовать матч».
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Posted: 24.03.09 12:50. Post subject: Тиньор что-то загнул..
Тиньор что-то загнул про схожесть скотта с Рафой. они похожи как слон на апельсин. Полностью согласна с Бодо.
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Posted: 24.03.09 15:32. Post subject: Тьфу млин, зачем все..
Тьфу млин, зачем всех сравнивать и обряжать в воротнички? Они ваще разные, я бы даже сказала, противоположнче по всему. Если только говорить о дифенсив стайл, да и то, Рафа уже давно нападающий так что я тоже за Бодо, он рулит
А вот это, на мой взгляд, передёргивание какое-то:
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Мюррей закончил утверждением, которое я никогда прежде не слышал ни от одного игрока – что Федерер не играл в умный теннис. «Он много бегал», – сказал Мюррей, – «И выполнял много рискованных ударов. Когда ты делаешь это, ты непременно ошибешься». Он не испытывает трепета перед Федерером, никаких привычных мантр, типа «неважно, как он сегодня играл, он все равно самый великий игрок в истории». Ничего подобного, просто недоуменное пожимание плечами, которым Мюррей говорил нам: «Это был мой план, что вас так удивляет?»
Уж только ленивый не знает, как Марри боготворит Федерера, но при этом почему он должен непременно на каждой ПК им восхищаться, особенно, если выиграл матч? Или если он этого не сказал, то можно считать, что скотт кинул в него поганую тряпку чтоль?
Вообще, почитала ПК скотта, всё-таки он фанат игры, так всё складно рассказывает и о тонкостях любит потрындеть, праильно, пишущую братию тоже надо образовывать Ыыы
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Posted: 24.03.09 15:42. Post subject: Винус Уильямс и Энди..
Винус Уильямс и Энди Мюррей провели матч на крыше внедорожников 24.03.2009 15:05
Начало турнира Sony Ericsson Open-2009 было ознаменовано "Теннисом в автомобильной пробке": ведущие мировые теннисисты Винус Уильямс и Энди Мюррей провели матч, стоя на крышах машин, застрявших в пробке на Ocean Drive, Майами. Декорацией к матчу стали дома квартала Арт Деко в районе South Beach, и все зрители были поражены игрой в теннис в этом совершенно неожиданном месте. Для этого трюка использовались два модифицированных внедорожника, на крышах которых были смонтированы платформы и закреплены ремни безопасности.
"Sony Ericsson Open – это один из самых зрелищных и гламурных турниров в спортивном календаре. И не только благодаря месту проведения, но и мероприятиям, которые сопровождают турнир: теннис перемещается за пределы корта, и это усиливает эффект", – заявила Винус Уильямс.
"Я всегда с нетерпением жду приезда в Майами и участия в Sony Ericsson Open. Это один из самых увлекательных турниров в спортивном календаре, и подобные мероприятия позволяют привлечь огромное внимание к нашему виду спорта", – приводит слова Мюррея пресс-релиз Sony Ericsson Open.
п.с. фотки с этого события в теме... соответствующей
Fanka
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Posted: 24.03.09 15:48. Post subject: Стихийное бедствие С..
Стихийное бедствиеСвета перестала обращать внимание на "переводы" высказываний, в оригинале либо совсем иначе, либо чуть иначе, но крайне редко именно так, как вещалось и произносилось... эта особенность краткости англ. по ср. с рос. дает свои "плоды, цветочки и ягодки" в виде недопонимания (в лучшем случае)
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Posted: 24.03.09 16:00. Post subject: вдогонку - Бодо мен..
вдогонку - Бодо менее радикален по ср. с Тиньором, посл. иногда как скажет, как в детстве говорили, как в лужу...
вроде он прогнозировал поганке глубокую черную депрессию в случае невыигрыша АО (мда, много у нас осталось на тех площадках)
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Posted: 24.03.09 16:04. Post subject: Fanka да я давно пе..
Fanka да я давно перестала вообще переводы воспринимать с цитатами игроков и читаю давно уже все на англицком.
хруня
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Posted: 24.03.09 19:28. Post subject: Рискну запостить пер..
Рискну запостить перевод заметки, ссылку на которую давал Этернал
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Энди Мюррей сыграет в Queen’s Сlub
Четвертая ракетка мира британец Энди Мюррей примет участие в турнире Aegon Championships, который пройдет с 8 по 14 июня на кортах Королевского клуба, и ранее известном как Stella Artois Championships. На этом турнире британец одержал свою первую победу в туре в 2005 году и постарается выиграть первый титул в Британии и первый титул на травяном покрытии.
«Это удобное покрытие для меня и, конечно, для меня очень важна победа в турнире на родине. Этот турнир – идеальная подготовка и хорошая проверка перед «Уимблдоном», и, думаю, в этом году у меня есть все шансы выступить успешно.
У меня только хорошие воспоминания об этом турнире: я с детства смотрел этот турнир по ТВ, видел игру Тима Хенмана с Питом Сампрасом, здесь я выиграл свой первый матч в туре, здесь прекрасные болельщики, и мне нравится играть на траве. Нам приходится большую часть сезона проводить на харде и грунте, и хорошо, что есть возможность поиграть и на другом покрытии», – цитирует теннисиста официальный сайт турнира.
Меня вот интересует, почему Энди так уверенно говорит об победе на турнире, который еще впереди? Или он говорит о давнишней победе?
Fanka
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Posted: 24.03.09 19:49. Post subject: хруня пишет: Меня в..
хруня пишет:
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Меня вот интересует, почему Энди так уверенно говорит об победе на турнире, который еще впереди?
хруня не говорит он уверенно о своей победе, а хруня пишет:
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для меня очень важна победа в турнире на родине
это ж другой коленкор и оттенок. Кому не важна победа на родине (?), но мне лично таааак кажется
хруня
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Posted: 24.03.09 19:51. Post subject: Fanka Понятно, но б..
Fanka Понятно, но было бы более логично услышать такие слова уже после победы
Fanka
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Posted: 24.03.09 23:57. Post subject: хруня да, ты права,..
хруня да, ты права, логично после игры но я другим - послушным, логичным, скромным, слащавым, супервежливым - скотта не представляю он задира и выскочка, с "немытым" языком и огромным самомнением. Вот такого нам его придется терпеть А что делать?
хруня
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Posted: 24.03.09 23:59. Post subject: Fanka Одним словом,..
Fanka Одним словом, вредина
хруня
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Posted: 25.03.09 09:11. Post subject: Энди Мюррей: «Могу с..
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Энди Мюррей: «Могу стать первой ракеткой мира»
Четвертая ракетка мира британский теннисист Энди Мюррей рассказал о том, что не собирается усиливать подачу и о планах на сезон.
«Лучше я буду продолжать подавать, как сейчас, и выигрывать 86% геймов на своей подаче, чем дарить сопернику очки, делая двойные ошибки. Если такой процент выигрыша на своей подаче сохранится на протяжении всего сезона, думаю, я, в конце концов, стану первой ракеткой мира», – цитирует теннисиста Times online.
Posted: 25.03.09 11:05. Post subject: Roadblocks abound fo..
Roadblocks abound for Murray at Masters Series Miami 3/24/09 5:42 PM | Ricky Dimon
Andy Murray has been the undisputed second best player in the world this season, but the Sony Ericsson Open draw did not treat him as such. Both David Nalbandian and Fernando Verdasco are in Murray's quarter
Andy Murray has already appeared in three ATP finals this year--and won two--but if he has aspirations of making it to a fourth, he will have to navigate a brutal quarter of the Sony Ericsson Open draw
Murray will open his bid to succeed Nikolay Davydenko as Masters Series Miami champion against either Juan Monaco or Marc Gicquel. The Scot could meet No. 28 seed Mardy Fish after that. Murray should be able to take care of those opponents, but Fish can be dangerous on hard courts (last season he was the runner-up in Indian Wells and reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals, and he won a title in Delray Beach earlier this year).
Round four is where things could get especially taxing for Murray. Potential opponents include Richard Gasquet and David Nalbandian (о-хо-хо). Although the Frenchman has been slumping, Gasquet is 2-1 head-to-head against Murray and would be 3-0 if he had been able to serve out last summer's memorable Wimbledon encounter in the third set. Nalbandian is also far from his best form at the moment, but the Argentine is 2-0 against Murray and he held five match points against eventual champion Rafael Nadal last week in Indian Wells.
If Murray makes it safely through to the Miami quarterfinals, he will most likely meet either Radek Stepanek or Fernando Verdasco. Along with Murray, Stepanek and Verdasco are two of the hottest players in men's tennis right now. Stepanek has already captured two titles this season; in Brisbane and San Jose. Verdasco captivated the tennis world with a remarkable run to the Australian Open semis and a memorable five-set epic semifinal against Nadal. The Spaniard missed some time with a foot problem, but returned in Indian Wells and reached the quarterfinals before falling to Federer.
The world No. 4 should be able to advance out of this quarter if he plays like he has been throughout the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, but the recipe for an upset is in place. If the hard courts of Miami are playing relatively fast, Nalbandian could knock him out; if they are playing relatively slow, watch out for Verdasco.
Posted: 25.03.09 11:27. Post subject: Talk already turning..
Talk already turning to Murray on grass 3/24/09
Andy Murray is keen to win his first title in Britain as organisers at Queen's Club gear up for the home appearance in June of the world No. 4 to start the Wimbledon grass-court run-up.
Murray will surely be the star attraction in west London starting June 8 at the venue where he claimed the second and third victories of his career at the ATP level in 2005. And even with the Miami Masters having not yet begun, the talk in Britain is all about Murray's Wimbledon chances.
"Grass is a good surface for me and obviously it would mean (хруня, я знала, чувствовала, он на самом деле употребил сослагательное наклонение ) a lot to me to win a tournament at home," said the Scot. "All the guys that have played well at Queen's tend to have gone on to do well at Wimbledon so it's a good marker to see where your game is at.
"The tournament has got an unbelievable history and all the guys use it as pretty much the perfect preparation for Wimbledon. I think this year I've got a good chance of doing well." (опять же о шансах разговор )
Posted: 25.03.09 11:28. Post subject: Держал бы язык за зу..
Держал бы язык за зубами, ей-Богу, а то его пресса задавит
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Posted: 25.03.09 11:35. Post subject: поганка жжот ыыыыыыы..
поганка жжот ыыыыыыыыыыы, ой я не могу круче тучи. Скоттинка еще грунт не настал, тебя там быстро обломают Жаль про Уим ничего не сказал, я хочу послушать историю о том как он всех порвет на траве
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Posted: 25.03.09 13:51. Post subject: Uncle Toni on Murray..
Uncle Toni on Murray by MurraysDropshot 23 March 2009
A translation of a phone interview (before IW final)between Uncle Toni and a journalist from El Pais newspaper, published this morning (sourced from another tennis messageboard):
"Well,I really hope that Murray doesn't have anything else in his game to improve upon. because if he's going to get better than this then he will be unstoppable. " ........." He runs to everything; he has a lot of talent; he serves well, he has a good right FH and he has a VERY good BH...I wouldn't know where to suggest improvement.....He's a complete player!" Toni Nadal who has always shown an exquisite admiration and respect for Roger Federer allows himself to wonder about the present form of the Swiss player out loud and in public for the first time."In the match against Murray I saw a slower version of Roger and an unwillingness to work. This is not the same player as only a couple of years ago. He has lowered his standard of play. "
"As of today,Murray and Rafael are the two best players on the circuit. As far as I can tell, they are. Murray has lost only one match this year.. (make that 2 now) ... He is probably the fittest player of the moment right now (но тут дядя загнул, конечно, на фоне Рафы скотт бледен в этом плане) I really believed that it was Djokovic who was going to be the next rival but he has lowered his game a bit....I'm not sure why.. but this is such a psychological sport..."
Uncle Toni continues: " Murray has a great talent and he is a very dangerous player. A rivalry, you ask, between him and Rafael like the one with Federer?.. Unfortunately (for Rafael he means, not for "tennis")).... there are quite a few really good players out there who can make a lot of trouble. There are Djokovic, N abaldian,Delpotro.... Murray and Rafael might one day have a two way rivalry but even though he's very, very good, it will be difficult for Andy to leave on tennis the mark that Federer has made."
Posted: 25.03.09 14:01. Post subject: From The TimesMarch ..
From The TimesMarch 25, 2009 Andy Murray's master plan to be No 1
He said it in a very matter-of-fact way, but the effect of the words was profound. Andy Murray was discussing his serve, that most potent of weapons, the one with which Pete Sampras carried all before him, without which Goran Ivanisevic would not have won Wimbledon, and that Rafael Nadal has recently enhanced to the extent that it is a wonder he could win six grand-slam tournaments and be considered a so-so server.
Consider this carefully. Murray has won 86 per cent of his service games this year but, with a first-service percentage of 60, he remains fourth of the top four in that regard. He is the fourth-best on the ATP World Tour in terms of winning the point when he returns an opponent's first serve - the very best when returning a second serve and in the total of return games won.
The building blocks are in place, with the Sony Ericsson Open, which starts today in Miami, another step in the Scot's march to the top. “I would rather continue serving like I have been and winning that 86 per cent of my service games rather than give guys more opportunities by serving double faults,” the British No l said yesterday. “If I win 86 per cent of my service games throughout the year, I think I finish No 1 in the world.”
This was no throwaway remark. Murray believes it and so do a lot of folk. On present form, he is second only to Nadal, with Roger Federer straining and Novak Djokovic waning. One prominent commentator was moved to say over the weekend at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, that he considered Murray was now a better player than Federer.
Back to the serve. “When I play against the top players, it's not been much of an issue for me because I vary my second serve a lot more,” Murray said. “When I played Federer in Madrid and Shanghai last year and in Abu Dhabi and Doha this year, I changed it up a lot. I served some kick serves, body serves and some into his forehand. I don't think any of the top guys really play that aggressive on second-serve returns, so it's important for me to get the variation right.
“I feel I can attack Federer's second serve, I can attack Nadal's second serve and I can attack Djokovic's second serve. That part of my game is not an issue. The most important thing is the amount of points you win on it [the second serve]. My percentage this year has been much, much higher, especially on these hard courts. You can serve a 70mph serve with a ridiculous amount of kick and it can be much better than serving a slightly flatter one right in the slot.
“I have added more variety, too. Before, it [the second serve] was just predictable. I used to hit a lot of kick serves and that was it, so the guys could stand over and try and take it early, but now I'll switch into the forehand, some into the body and I'll go for a bit of kick, especially to the ad court, to try and take them out of position. If I'm breaking serve 40 per cent of the time and getting broken 14 per cent, then I'm going to win pretty much every match I play.”
It is the staggeringly mature manner in which he can discuss such an intricate part of his game and how much he feels he is measuring up to the best that marks out Murray. “I just need to make sure that I keep going, that I don't get ahead of myself,” he said. “Because there's only two mandatory tournaments that go towards my ranking instead of three last year, I can definitely move up.”
Posted: 25.03.09 14:13. Post subject: From Times Online Ma..
From Times Online March 23, 2009
The Net Post: Andy Murray is a role model for women's tennis The Times Tennis Correspondent hears that the fairer sex could do worse than incorporate some elements of the British No1's game into their own
Andy Murray as a role model for women's tennis! The suggestion was made to the Net Post by Ray Moore, the president of PM Sports Management, and an instrumental figure in turning the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells from a dusty dream over 35 years ago into one of the sparkliest gems in the tennis tiara. Breakfast with Charlie Pasarell, the tournament chairman and Ray is a last-day tradition in the desert, a chance to pick the brains of and listen to words of wisdom from two men with a century of devotion to the sport as players, politicians and passionate advocates.
Their drive in extolling the virtues of tennis in this panoramic neck of the woods has embellished the position of a championship that mixes the highest calibre of competition with the finest views that tennis can provide (bar perhaps, the Mediterranean Sea on a clear day in Monte Carlo) but does not feel the need to shout from the rooftops how good it is. And it is good. This year alone, it will bring some $250 million into the coffers of the Coachella Valley, the single most important event staged around these parts.
The two men are animated whenever they discuss tennis but it was when asked about what he felt about the 21-year-old Scot that Moore opened up memorably. His grouse was the sameness of so much of the women's game, now that Justine Henin has retired, Amelie Mauresmo wins fitfully (though she did triumph in the Open de Gaz in Paris last month), Martina Hingis has long gone and Martina Navratilova's style went out with the Ark. Moore, and many others, despair of the robotic similarity of so much of the higher echelon of the women's game and of those pressing behind. It is production line tennis.
Moore waxes lyrical about Murray. "When you see him, it's fabulous. He plays short and then he plays long. The one thing I don't like about the women's game today, is that they are like clones.They go left, right, left, right, bang, bang, bang. I don't see any of the women playing a short shot, playing a dropshot, playing a loop. I see Murray out of position, and he plays sort of a high topspin, like the Moon Ball Twins (Harold Solomon and Eddie Dibbs) who used these high things to get back into position. He's not slapping it when he's out of position. I really think the women could learn a lot from him if they took part of those elements there and incorporated them into their games.
"I'm so impressed with Murray because he plays in a very unusual way from the rest of the guys on the tour. He changes the pace from shot to shot, he'll play a roll backhand and then he'll play a slice, then he'll play it long, they he'll hit it, and then he'll come in. He's one of those true, natural talents. And the thing that's you really have to take note on, is he's unbelievably quick. That's what allows him to do these things that he does. And great hands. How about the winner he hit off (Roger) Federer's smash? It wasn't like he was 10 feet behind the baseline. He moved in 10 feet, Federer nailed the smash, and he half volleyed it for the winner. How many people can do that?" Eloquent praise indeed for the British No.1.
Murray has thrived in the desert and the tournament continues to thrive for itself, something quite rare in these parlous financial times, when sponsoring sport is not on the high priority list for chief executive officers seeking to balance the company books. Were Moore and Pasarell not a mite concerned that getting in bed with a bank, in this case BNP Paribas, might dit uneasily with public perception? Nonsense, Moore replied. "We are proud to have BNP Paribas here. Before Charlie and I went to a third meeting with them in Paris, they had been here twice before. They came here on a really beautiful summer day.
"Finally we did go to Paris, and the day we made our presentation was September 15, the day Lehman Brothers went under. When we walked into the room, the BNP Paribas people said that if we hadn't flown this far they wouldn't have met with us because this was the worst day in banking history since 1929. That's how we started the final meeting. But tennis is the only sport they sponsor. They've had every single sport knocking on their door, but they've stayed with tennis, because firstly, they love the sport; secondly, the demographics work for them. They wanted to be our partner."
Moore would have been delighted had BNP Paribas signed a three year deal with a three year option. They came back and said to him they would sign for ten years, five down and five on approval. The deal was signed there and then. And what a boon it has been.
Eaton snubbed for wild card spot
Three weeks after he was the Chosen One as far as Great Britain's Davis Cup team against Ukraine was concerned - he won two play off matches to get into the team, won a live singles set against on his debut, gained his country's solitary point in a 4-1 and can hardly have been said to have let the side down - it is a kick in the you-know-wheres for Chris Eaton to be deemed unworthy of a wild card into the main draw of the Aegon Jersey challenger this week while Dan Cox, Dan Evans, Colin Fleming and Josh Milton were. Eaton was reduced to having to qualify. What more did he have to do to earn a spot in what is a British based tournament heavily influenced by the people who were so keen him to have him represent his country such a short time ago? Once again, the LTA's choices do not make a great deal of sense.
Bud wiser than most when it comes to tennis
There are tennis writers, and there are tennis writers and there is Bud Collins. No-one in the history of the sport has devoted more words to paper, be it in newsprint, magazine or book form than the doyen of the courts, who is still going strong and still bedecked in colours that you and me would think twice about wearing, after more years covering tennis than he cares to remember. It is hard to believe he will become an octoganerian the week before Wimbledon.
Bud and Anita, his devoted wife, were back in Indian Wells this week, their daily 12.30 chin wags on stage drew a litany of excellent guests, Denis Ralston, Abe Segal, and Ray Moore to the fore and they even invited the Net Post to be a part of their discussions, but we sadly had to decline because the date and time co-incided with Andy Murray knocking tennis balls around.
But the Collins' are nothing if not indefatigable. Recently, they visited Chiang Mai in Thailand to dedicate the Bud Collins Tennis Courts at the Prince's Royal College, a school founded by Bud's missionary grandparents in 1887. A guest was Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, the No.1 junior in the world who you may recall was beaten in the Wimbledon girls' final last year by Laura Robson of Britain.
Unfortunately, there have been problems with soil stability and internal politics so the dedication had to be delayed until February next year, when the first Bud Collins Northern Thailand junior championships will be staged. We have no doubt the great man will be there to give the event his personal blessing.
Safin: 'Rafa's much more talented than he looks'
Here is Marat Safin's unique take on on Rafael Nadal, as expressed when the Net Post wondered what he thought of the Wimbledon champion and his place in the sport. "He's very enthusiastic, and he's just into the game and he's 100 per cent concentrated. He has a lot of just motivation to get better and better. Of course he's much more talented than he looks (interesting!), because also a lot of people thought he doesn't have such great hands, but apparently he has unbelievable touch.
He sees the ball quite well, unbelievable athlete. So just it's easier to adapt yourself to other surfaces, and he adapts very well. Also he improved his serve and decided to go to the net. Just he breaks everybody mentally. Before the match, everybody knows that they don't have any chance. He learns how to play on other surfaces, and I think it just was amazing. Nobody thought actually he managed to play great on grass, but he made it. It's really surprising, but it also makes my appreciation grow that he managed to do that in such a short period of time." That is 24 carat Marat.
Injury-prone Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko, the Russian who has played only four matches this year, continues to be in the wars and will miss the defence of his Sony Ericsson Open title in Key Biscayne, the tournament that starts later this week. Davydenko has a foot infection and does not know when he will be fit to resume. Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina is fast closing in on his No.5 world ranking.
A smacker from Sharapova - jealous? The Net Post received a kiss on both cheeks from Maria Sharapova last week after we had not seen each other for six months. I just thought I'd mention that.
я всю статью разместила, мне показалась интересной
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Posted: 25.03.09 14:15. Post subject: Марри и Федя облизан..
Марри и Федя облизаны Дядей по самое нимагу Лучше бы скотт этого интервью не видел ыыыы
quote:
He is probably the fittest player of the moment right now
Щас сдохнуу
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Posted: 25.03.09 14:27. Post subject: Can Fed handle Murra..
Can Fed handle Murray's bag of tricks? Friday, March 20, 2009
Posted by Peter Bodo, TENNIS.com
So far, the early tournaments of 2009 suggest this year will be one of continued transition rather than the status quo, or even radical change, in men's tennis. Basically, the results suggest that everything other than the clay-court titles (for which Rafael Nadal has had something like a "right of first refusal" for a few years now) is up for grabs.
The results in Melbourne confirmed this, and the run-up to the weekend in the desert at the BNP Paribas Open has as well. Nadal is the clear No. 1, but below him, it's a game of musical chairs likely to get more spirited and fast-paced as the next few months unfurl toward Roland Garros.
Thus, you can look at the upcoming Indian Wells semifinal between Roger Federer and Andy Murray as a bellwether match that will suggest just how alertly Federer must glance over his shoulder (at the likes of Murray, Novak Djokovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and maybe the redesigned Andy Roddick) even as he's in a dead sprint, trying to catch Nadal.
Murray, you may have noticed, is 5-2 against Federer. Anyone else notice just the wee bit of frost in the comment Federer made after his last match at Indian Wells, as he looked ahead to this semifinal matchup?
"I'm aware that he has beaten me more than I've beaten him, but on big occasions, I think I came through," Federer said. "I have to build on that and make sure I play a tough and good match against him. Anything else is not going to do the job against him."
I wouldn't exactly call that bulletin-board material, but we know the buried message: If I can get myself into a Grand Slam-final frame of mind, you can throw that head-to-head record right out the window.
The only problem with Federer's reasoning is that he's got a pretty narrow definition of "big occasions." For among Murray's wins, three have occurred at the level just below that of majors: two in Masters Series events (Cincinnati and Madrid) and one at last Masters Cup -- the official year-end tour championships and, notionally, the fifth-most important tournament of the year.
So it seems that Murray is more than capable of bringing his A-game to bear on Federer at an A-event, and the relatively slow cement courts at Indian Wells will enable Murray to dig as deep as he wants into his counterpunching, bait-and-switch, table-turning bag of tricks. The guy is remarkably good at luring Federer -- and everyone else -- into what often ends up looking like a much more artfully and programmatically laid trap than you can actually achieve in a liquid game whose closest thing to a set play is the serve-and-volley.
Still, when you look at Federer's enormous skills, his experience and competitive talents, you have to wonder why he has so much trouble with Murray. My theory is that Murray kind of confuses and annoys him by encroaching on turf that everyone else -- most especially Nadal -- concedes to Federer. For one of the distinguishing -- and welcome -- features of Murray's game is that it seems a mite … magical. It's "artistic" and unpredictable. Murray may not move or swing the stick as fluently and effortlessly as Federer, but he often gets to the same place, flummoxing opponents with versatility and skill.
If Murray pulls out the win, there will be that much more evidence that the game is indeed in transition, long past that phase when it was all about Federer, with a side order of Nadal. Maybe even past the phase when it was all about the rivalry of the top two players.
Posted: 25.03.09 14:58. Post subject: From The Sunday Time..
From The Sunday Times March 22, 2009
Novak Djokovic feels Andy Murray closing in on him Serb’s hold on the No3 spot slipped after Andy Roddick plucked the Australian Open and Indian Wells titles from him Barry Flatman
Posted: 25.03.09 15:02. Post subject: Федя рассыпался в ко..
Федя рассыпался в комплиментах
Tennis-Defeated Federer applauds Murray's court craft Sun Mar 22, 2009
By Mark Lamport-Stokes
INDIAN WELLS, California, March 21 (Reuters) - Triple champion Roger Federer paid tribute to Andy Murray's match strategy and on-court speed after being outplayed 6-3 4-6 6-1 in Saturday's semi-final of the ATP event at Indian Wells.
"He's a great counter puncher and reads the game really well," the Swiss world number two told reporters after slipping to his sixth defeat by the Briton in eight career meetings.
"He's got great feel and he's very confident at the moment. He knows he doesn't need to play close to the lines because he knows he can cover the court really well.
"I think that calms him down mentally. I think that's why he's playing so well."
Federer gave Murray more than a helping hand by piling up 32 unforced errors in an uncharacteristically erratic display at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
"Way too many errors today," said Federer, whose last victory against Murray came in the final of the U.S. Open in September. "The first set, I tried to keep playing and I couldn't.
"I struggled with the rhythm today and that was the same thing in the third set. He played unbelievable in the end, and I made many mistakes
Posted: 25.03.09 15:15. Post subject: Andy Murray's mu..
Andy Murray's mum Judy plans to open elite tennis academy Mar 22 2009 By Fiona Young
ANDY MURRAY'S mum has moved a step closer to opening an elite tennis academy.
Judy Murray wants the school in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, to be like former world No.1 Justine Henin's in Belgium.
Ex-national tennis coach Judy plans four indoor hard courts, four clay courts and four outdoor hard courts plus minitennis courts.
Speaking before Andy thumped Roger Federer in America last night, Judy said: "Henin's has the look of a house and the feel of a friendly, family atmosphere about it.
"In terms of trying to develop something in Scotland I think that's the sort of thing that would work.
"A stand-alone academy would be almost impossible to make itself pay."
Judy added: "To think that Andy was in the final of the US Open last year and we don't have one single US Open-type hard court is amazing."
Top prospect Emma Divine, 14, from Edinburgh, is the only Brit at Club Justine near Brussels, placing a huge financial burden on her family.
Posted: 25.03.09 15:44. Post subject: У кого-нить есть сол..
У кого-нить есть солёные огурцы? Слишком много комплиментов, просто ту мач
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Posted: 25.03.09 15:46. Post subject: Murray plans to be k..
Murray plans to be king at Queen’s this year - как можно выдержать такие заголовки статейка глупая с набором банальностей, даже не хочется размещать...
Fanka
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Posted: 25.03.09 15:55. Post subject: Света погоди ты с с..
Света погоди ты с солеными огурцами , Верда или Налб по нему проедутся, будем читать другое... а др. нет, я самые карамельные не тащу
лучше посмейся
When the Spaniard complained to the umpire about the smell emanating from Murray's end of the court at 2-2 in the second set, the British no. 1 lost complete control - of his temper and of his bowels - and released an air biscuit from his Chamber of Horrors that had spectators in the front row gasping for breath.
Алёна
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Posted: 25.03.09 16:38. Post subject: Из обзора зарубедной..
Из обзора зарубежной прессы на спортс.ру.
quote:
О причинах того, почему Мюррей стал так опасен для Федерера, мнения экспертов расходятся. Бодо считает, что причина именно в некоторой схожести их игровых стилей: «Когда вы смотрите на великолепные теннисные навыки Федерера, его опыт, его талант бойца, вы задаетесь вопросом – почему же у него возникают такие проблемы с Мюрреем. Моя теория состоит в том, что Мюррей как бы приводит в замешательство и раздражает Федерера тем, что покушается на территорию, которую все – и особенно Надаль – считает принадлежащей Федереру. Потому что игра Мюррея кажется немного волшебной. Она артистична и непредсказуема. Мюррей, возможно, не умеет двигаться и махать ракеткой так легко и без видимых усилий, как Федерер, но он очень часто так же приводит оппонентов в замешательство разнообразием и искусностью своих ударов».
Мюррей как бы приводит в замешательство и раздражает Федерера тем, что покушается на территорию, которую все считают принадлежащей Роджеру
Стив Тиньор же, напротив, считает, что в чем-то Мюррей ближе к Надалю, чем к Федереру: «Шотландец, с его высокой скоростью, интуицией и высокой способностью принимать разнообразные удары, не нуждается в том, чтобы так же ходить по высоко натянутой проволоке, как Федерер. Его талант, заключающийся в том, чтобы понизить игру, приземлить ее, делает эффектность бесполезной.
Мюррей провел большую часть третьего сета выполняя скучные резаные удары и неуверенные свечки и при этом демонстрировал вещи в десять раз лучше – косой форхенд крюком и бэкхенд по линии – только, когда Федерер выходил к сетке. Это была тактика предложенная Мухаммедом Али 35 лет назад – он позволял оппоненту бить себя, пока тот не устанет, потом наносил один нокаутирующий удар. Как и Али, Мюррей, кстати, большой поклонник великого боксера, знает, что это атакующая тактика, замаскированная под защитную. И с самого начала пресс-конференции он хотел, чтобы все поняли – это он выиграл матч, а не Федерер проиграл.
Энди Мюррей с самого начала пресс-конференции хотел, чтобы все поняли – это он выиграл матч, а не Федерер проиграл
Мюррей закончил утверждением, которое я никогда прежде не слышал ни от одного игрока – что Федерер не играл в умный теннис. «Он много бегал», – сказал Мюррей, – «И выполнял много рискованных ударов. Когда ты делаешь это, ты непременно ошибешься».
Он не испытывает трепета перед Федерером, никаких привычных мантр, типа «неважно, как он сегодня играл, он все равно самый великий игрок в истории». Ничего подобного, просто недоуменное пожимание плечами, которым Мюррей говорил нам: «Это был мой план, что вас так удивляет?»
По словам Мюррея существует больше, чем один способ диктовать розыгрыш. Существует больше, чем один способ выиграть борьбу. Существует больше, чем один способ для теннисного художника, чтобы нарисовать матч».
Posted: 25.03.09 16:51. Post subject: Алёна мы эту статью..
Алёна мы эту статью обсудили на 1-й стр.
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Posted: 25.03.09 16:56. Post subject: Fanka When the Span..
Fanka
quote:
When the Spaniard complained to the umpire about the smell emanating from Murray's end of the court at 2-2 in the second set, the British no. 1 lost complete control - of his temper and of his bowels - and released an air biscuit from his Chamber of Horrors that had spectators in the front row gasping for breath.
хруня
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Posted: 25.03.09 19:56. Post subject: Fanka лучше посмейс..
Fanka
quote:
лучше посмейся
Я вью Тони Надаля в тему Рафы утащу, ладно?
Fanka
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Posted: 25.03.09 20:38. Post subject: хруня тащи-тащи htt..
хруня тащи-тащи я хотела у рафы тоже запостить, но с тайм проблемы. Не хотела повторять, а просм. есть ли там, уже времени нет.
Fanka
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Posted: 26.03.09 10:37. Post subject: Federer-Nadal Rivalr..
Federer-Nadal Rivalry On the Ropes
There was much to be learned from the recent tournament at Indian Wells, one of the most prestigious non-major events on the tennis calendar. The women's game is absolutely lost without the Williams sisters. Novak Djokovic seems to have lost his fire. Andy Murray is without question the No. 3 player in the world (трепещи, Джокер). And the rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, while remaining the best matchup the sport has to offer, may be on life support.
The two didn't get a chance to meet at Indian Wells, not after Federer went down so quietly against Murray. There's no other way to say it: Murray simply owns Federer right now. He's 6-2 in their lifetime matchup, including four straight wins, and as Federer faded away in the third set (6-1) Sunday, the spectacle bordered on mismatch.
It was Federer's third loss of the year, and each time he has melted down in the final set. "I'm old. He's young," Federer said in a brief, uncomfortable press conference. But as longtime tour insider Joel Drucker wrote on espn.com. "Flip as that comment came off, more disturbing was the subdued manner in which Federer competed once Murray grabbed the lead. It's one thing to lose; it's another to seemingly stop competing."
Federer has all the shots in the book, but so does Murray, the Scotsman who plays such a fearless, imaginative game. And yet, when it came to Sunday's final, Murray was powerless against Nadal, whose drive to compete seems more ferocious than ever. At 22, and on top of the world, Nadal has noticeably improved his volleying, serve and sliced backhand. As he said earlier in the year, "I love the competition, not only in tennis but all aspects of life. When I compete, I love to be there and fight for the win. Maybe I more like fighting to win than win."
The result is a player now eminently comfortable on all surfaces and virtually guaranteed to win the first major of the year, the French Open, in May. Federer still doesn't have a coach, and right now, against the stiffest competition, he doesn't appear to have a clue. I wouldn't write off this man. I personally witnessed all of his titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and his utter command of the game had people calling him the greatest of all time. You don't hear that kind of talk now. But I'd like to think Federer's crunch-time malaise is temporary.
The sport could definitely use a revival from Djokovic, one of its most engaging characters. He defaulted in the fourth set against Andy Roddick at the Australian Open, and he was strangely vacant in losing to Roddick 6-3, 6-2 at Indian Wells. Those in attendance said it was as if Djokovic -- the real Djokovic -- wasn't even there. "I just didn't have any momentum on the court," he said. "No feel for the ball, no movement, no solutions. It was just something else...some other reasons. Just hard to explain."
Posted: 26.03.09 10:50. Post subject: MURRAY EYES NADAL TH..
MURRAY EYES NADAL THRONE
Wednesday March 25,2009 By Alix Ramsay
Andy Murray has thrown down the gauntlet to Rafael Nadal – he wants the Spaniard’s world No 1 spot and thinks he knows just how to get it (громко чересчур )
Despite the beating he took from Nadal on Sunday in the howling gale that battered the Indian Wells final, Murray believes he has the game to beat the Spaniard and the serve to dethrone him.
Murray is regarded by everyone in the locker room as having one of the best return games in the world, but now that he has improved the accuracy and consistency of his service game he feels he can challenge for the top ranking.
“If I’m breaking serve around 40 per cent of the time and getting broken 14 per cent, then I’m going to win pretty much every match I play,” said Murray. “If I win that percentage of my service games throughout the year, I’ll finish No 1 in the world.”
Murray has lost only two matches this year – like Nadal – and he has won 20, just one behind his rival. Both men have won two titles and reached another final, although one of Nadal’s titles was the Australian Open.
But Murray’s serving stats are impressive, with 86 per cent of his service games won and 76 per cent of his first-serve points won. Nadal’s figures are 86 and 66 per cent respectively. As for his return game, no one has broken serve more times this year than Murray, who has a 38 per cent strike rate.
In the past, Scotland’s finest has claimed that his only goal is to win a grand slam title, but after spending six months as world No 4 he is closing in on Novak Djokovic, the man immediately above him.
Indeed, having beaten all the top three – and in the case of Roger Federer, on a regular basis – Murray’s ambitions have broadened. A major title is still his ultimate goal but dethroning Nadal is, he thinks, within his reach.
Posted: 26.03.09 10:52. Post subject: Энди о себе “My con..
Энди о себе
“My consistency has been very, very good since Wimbledon last year,” said Murray. “I’ve been winning matches consistently in tournaments, not having too many early losses.
“My ranking reflects that and I want to keep moving up. This year has been very good so far. I started well in Doha, the Australian Open didn’t go as well as I would have liked but the last two tournaments, Rotterdam and Indian Wells, have been very good. Hopefully I can keep it going.”
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Posted: 26.03.09 10:56. Post subject: и это всё о нем On-..
и это всё о нем
On-song Andy eyes a No1 hit
Published: 25 Mar 2009
ANDY MURRAY believes he is on track to become world No 1.
The Scot is pushing Serb Novak Djokovic for the No 3 spot after reaching the final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells at the weekend, where he was beaten by No 1 Rafa Nadal.
No British man has ever been ranked in the top three — but Murray reckons he can push both Nadal and world No 2 Roger Federer, whom he beat for the fourth straight time in the semi-finals in California.
Murray, 21, said: “It’s definitely the best start to a year I’ve had.
“Looking at the matches I’ve won and the win-loss record since Wimbledon — I think if I’d played like that the whole year then I would be close to finishing No 1.
“If I can improve in the clay-court (все-таки о грунте он думает серьезно) season then I can definitely move up.”
Posted: 26.03.09 12:01. Post subject: “My consistency has ..
quote:
“My consistency has been very, very good since Wimbledon last year,” said Murray. “I’ve been winning matches consistently in tournaments, not having too many early losses.
“My ranking reflects that and I want to keep moving up. This year has been very good so far. I started well in Doha, the Australian Open didn’t go as well as I would have liked but the last two tournaments, Rotterdam and Indian Wells, have been very good. Hopefully I can keep it going.”
Пусть сначала грудь накачает, а потом её выпячивает ыыыыыыыыыыыыыы
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Posted: 26.03.09 13:16. Post subject: статья о брате скотт..
статья о брате скоттинушки
MURRAY’S ANGER AT CUP DISLOYALTY Thursday March 26,2009 By Alix Ramsey
Jamie Murray has accused Britain’s Davis Cup captain John Lloyd of disloyalty and claims being left out of the team that lost to Ukraine at the start of the month was “a kick in the teeth”.
At the time, Murray was Britain’s No1 in the doubles but Lloyd dropped him in favour of Ross Hutchins. He and Colin Fleming lost the doubles rubber in five sets as Britain crashed 4-1.
“I felt like it was a bit of a kick in the teeth,” said Murray. “I felt that I hadn’t necessarily been playing the best tennis but still felt I was more than capable to play a match for the team and win a rubber.
“For John to not really back me to go out there and play a good match was more disappointing than not being in the team.”
Britain must win their next tie in September in order to avoid relegation down to the third division .
Posted: 27.03.09 10:29. Post subject: From The TimesMarch ..
From The TimesMarch 27, 2009
Rejuvenated Andy Murray ready for Miami bid
Neil Harman
It is symptomatic of Andy Murray’s desire to squeeze every last bit from his reservoir of talent in the four-man race for supremacy that a spare room at the apartment that he purchased here last year is being occupied by Jez Green, who devised the physical programme by which all other standards in the British game should be measured.
Green’s presence is a constant reminder that if Murray wants to succeed in his quest to win grand-slam events and become an ever more aggravating thorn in the side of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, he has to be at or as near to his physical peak as often as possible. The pounds he lost while suffering the virus that ruled him out of the Davis Cup tie against Ukraine this month, are slowly being replenished and he is almost back to his optimum weight.
The devilish gusts that bedevilled Murray’s attempt to defeat Nadal in the final in Indian Wells last Sunday have been replaced by the balmy breezes of Florida, conditions in which he is well versed.
“My legs and my energy levels are fine,” the world No 4 said before his second-round match tomorrow in the Sony Ericsson Open against Juan Mуnaco, of Argentina, or Marc Gicquel, the Frenchman. “I had some reserves last week I didn’t really know I had and I’m much better prepared coming into this week.”
While Nadal is becoming almost as consistent on hard courts as he is on clay, Federer is feeling his way back after six weeks off and still has the thrashing by Murray in California to rid from his system. The pressure on Novak Djokovic, the world No 3, has been turned up a notch by the arrival of his entire family here, leaving Murray well placed to eat into the deficit between himself and the Serb in the rankings.
Djokovic is talking about “making things look right”, which are hardly the words of a man who believes in everything that he is doing. “I wasn’t myself last week,” he said. “So I have to turn the next page. I just have to prove to myself again that I have the quality to be one of the best players in the world. I just need to be confident.”
It will not be easy for the 21-year-old. He plays Frank Dancevic, a difficult opponent from Canada, in the second round and could then meet Marcos Baghdatis, the Cypriot who needs a victory over a top-five player to get his career pointing in the right direction again.
Jamie Murray is another in need of an injection of confidence. He has talked about being “kicked in the teeth” over his rejection from the previous Davis Cup squad and in the next breath has said that it could have been the best thing to happen to him. He is teamed here again with Simon Aspelin, the Swede.
When the Murray brothers return to the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, southwest London, next month, there will be a couple of familiar faces missing. Kevan Taylor, the LTA’s director of finance, left the governing body yesterday — the second person in that position to do so since Roger Draper became the chief executive — and the head of food and beverage has also departed. What is it in the water there?
Posted: 27.03.09 11:29. Post subject: ПК Марри в Майами: ..
ПК Марри в Майами:
ANDY MURRAY
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. You said at Indian Wells that you were a little bit surprised that you'd gotten all the way through to the final, given that you hadn't been well before that tournament. It's sort of four hard weeks. How would you an assess your physical state and your approach to this tournament? ANDY MURRAY: I feel much better, much better prepared this week than at Indian Wells. I obviously played a lot of matches there. Probably four days of practicing on these courts before my first match. You know, it's been pretty blustery on the courts and whatnot. Yeah, I've had a couple of hours each day. Physically, I feel fine. A little bit jet-lagged, but in terms of my legs and, you know, energy levels, I feel fine.
Q. It's almost kind of a home from home here. How comfortable do you feel at this particular tournament? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it's nice. First year that I will be able to stay in my apartment. I've spent a lot of time here in the last year and a half or so, obviously training, you know, taken a couple of holidays here as well. I know Miami relatively well. Obviously nice to get to sort of stay in your own bed at the tournament. That doesn't happen too much throughout the year.
Q. Are you enjoying a little bit the fact that the first four or five top spots in the national world rankings are really up for grabs, and everybody is in position to be the best player on the circuit? Are you enjoying that? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah. Well, I mean, the last couple of years I think it's been much, much better for tennis. Obviously Roger was so dominant before that everyone just sort of expected, you know, him to win everything. Now it's obviously a lot more open. But Nadal, he holds three of the four slams. He's strong on clay. Right now he's starting to, you know, sort of gain a bit of ground on everyone. I think he's quite a bit in front. But I still feel, like you say, on any given day -- it's not just the top four or five guys. I think it's going up to sort of 10, 15, where they can beat the top players. It's definitely more interesting for tennis now.
Q. What gave you the most encouragement last week to draw on coming into this event? ANDY MURRAY: I think physically, you know, I was very surprised, you know, how, I mean, lucky I only had to play once back-to-back days before the, you know, the final. But Robredo pulled out there, so obviously I was recovering decent after the matches because I had some time. But, you know, I was expecting to feel pretty rough on the court and struggling with my breathing whatnot. I obviously put in a lot of hard work in December and stuff and obviously had some reserves there that I didn't necessarily know I had before. I feel this week coming in I'm much better prepared.
Q. Did it come as a big relief that you didn't have glandular fever or mono or anything like that? ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it was tough, because when I had the first batch of sort of tests done, I got told it's not glandular fever, and then the next morning I got a call saying this it could be. Then I was starting to panic a little bit. You know, I think Ancic has had to go home again this week because he's struggling again with, you know, illness and stuff. Those things can drag on for a long time. Especially for sports people, it takes even longer because we're doing a lot of exercise and it comes back. Yeah, I was obviously pleased it wasn't that, because it's a pretty debilitating illness. I'm just happy I'm feeling good again.
Q. Does it affect the way you practice here and prepare for the matches, the wind? ANDY MURRAY: No. I mean, at Indian Wells, it was totally calm pretty much until the finals there. You know, when I've been practicing it's been windy, but it's -- I mean, there's some wind that's tricky and some wind that's strong and changes the way you have to play a little bit. But it's always going in the same direction, not swirling around and changing every, you know, couple minutes. Just from one end you're obviously hitting into the wind, and from other, you're with it. You can adjust your game for that. The thing that was tough at Indian Wells was that it was changing every couple of minutes and even during some of the points. It was tough to control the ball.
Q. Safin was saying in Indian Wells that he thinks, or at least he was, a bit surprised by Nadal's hands. They were better than he expected. Is there anything about the way Rafa's improved technically stroke-wise that's taken you by surprise, or does it all make perfect sense to you? ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, he has been very close to being -- he was 2 in the world for three or four straight years. So he's always been unbelievable. But, you know, he's starting to play a bit more aggressive than he used to on the hard courts. When he's closer to the baseline, he's a bit -- he's more comfortable than he used to be. I just think when he won his first slam outside of clay, I think that's, I don't know, he just seems a bit more comfortable on the quicker surfaces. With his racquet head speed and how sort of heavy he can hit the ball, he would have always been able to play well on hard courts. Just mentally sometimes it takes a little bit of -- just winning a big event like he obviously -- that match at Wimbledon was so close to going the other way. Never know what might have happened had he lost that. But since then, if you look at his game, not a whole a lot has changed. He's able to keep the ball much lower off the net, and I think that's why he's playing better on the quicker courts.
Q. You are one of the fewer players that have beaten Roger. Rafa is a lefty player so it helps him. What helps you against Roger? What is the key to your successes against Roger, do you think? ANDY MURRAY: There's obviously not just one thing. You know, I have to play very well to win against him. But if you watch the matches when I played him, you know, I'm not trying to hit winners on every point. I'm not trying to finish points early. Just keeping myself in the points and trying to keep to the ball to a good length, and when I'm in trouble, sort of keeping his ball low on his backhand because he's not so dangerous from there. Each time I play against him, you have to change little things, because he adjusts his game as well. When you play against any of the Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, you need to keep changing little things because they're going expect you to do what you did in the last match, especially if you won against them. So it's not just as easy as Nadal being a lefty, why he beats you.
Q. Obviously you guys are different players. Do you ever look at how Rafa played Roger as any kind of roadmap for you, or can you just feel what you do and made your progression that way? ANDY MURRAY: Well, I watched. I watched so many of Roger's matches when I was growing up. I had a couple bad injuries when I was younger and watched loads of tennis. So when I did come back on the tour or get to that level, I knew how I had to play against him. The one thing that I always thought, or it looked like from watching, was that everyone was just trying to play so well all the time to win against him, trying like too hard and trying to hit the ball to the line and playing the game style that necessarily didn't work for them. You know, I made sure that when I played against him I haven't tried to do that. I haven't felt that just because I'm playing Federer I have to hit every ball on the line and stuff. So it's not -- I just learned a lot from watching when I was growing up.
Q. The celebrated thing about Rafa is that it's like playing against a wall and he never gives up. You all are in extraordinarily good shape and you're very fast. What's it feel like, you deal with it as a player? ANDY MURRAY: Before the Indian Wells match I won three times against him, you know, in a row, and started to feel quite comfortable playing against him. Yeah, he's so consistent and really fast. You know, he has obviously one of the heaviest forehands the game has ever seen. Again, it's easy to think, you know, I have to play unbelievable all the time. That's not always the case. I have to pick the right shots to go for the lines and play aggressive against him, and then you've got a chance. It is obviously very difficult, because when you get more tired in the tight situations, you know he's not going to give the points to you. That's where, I mean, you have to be very strong mentally to win against him, especially in the big matches tight situations.
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Posted: 27.03.09 12:06. Post subject: Стихийное бедствие п..
Стихийное бедствие пишет:
quote:
Q. Did it come as a big relief that you didn't have glandular fever or mono or anything like that? обошлось с моно ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it was tough, because when I had the first batch of sort of tests done, I got told it's not glandular fever, and then the next morning I got a call saying this it could be. Then I was starting to panic a little bit.
а остальное о Р и Р., ничего нового всем трещит, что готов к бою
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Posted: 27.03.09 23:41. Post subject: Murray fears Nadal i..
Murray fears Nadal is pulling away from the pack
• Andy Murray enjoys the benefits of home comforts in Miami • Scot eyes semi-final with Spaniard with new-found vigour
Posted: 29.03.09 09:57. Post subject: Murray battles throu..
Murray battles through to third round in Miami
Saturday 28 March 2009 21.05 GMT
The British number one was hoping to build on his run to the final in Indian Wells last weekend but had to recover from a poor start to defeat Juan Monaco 4-6 6-3 6-2.
Monaco, who turns 25 tomorrow, was inspired in the opening set but, having missed a chance to break in the opening game of the second, faded badly as Murray gradually took control in the pair's first meeting.
Monaco created the first opening in the third game as Murray struggled to find his range, and the world number 59 finally took advantage on his third break point.
The Argentinian was playing near faultless tennis and Murray looked frustrated by his failure to break down his opponent, who was frequently taking the initiative in rallies. It got worse for Murray in the fifth game as Monaco claimed a second break to love, although the Scot turned the tables in the next game to at least pull the score back to 4-2.
Murray saved further break points in the seventh game but then failed to take his one chance to break back as Monaco wrapped up the first set 6-4. The 21-year-old was on the back foot at the start of the second set as well, the Argentinian winning the first three points on Murray's serve.
But this time the Scot stood firm and he should have gone a break ahead in the next game. A net cord seemed to have set him up perfectly but Monaco's desperate retrieval landed just inside the baseline.
Murray looked somewhat ill at ease, which was surprising given he trains in Miami over the winter and bought an apartment in the city last year. However, he was gradually getting the upper hand and secured the break in the fourth game.
Murray began to play with authority and a shanked Monaco return saw him level at one-set all. Monaco was up at 14th in the world last January but has slid down the rankings considerably since then and struggled to rediscover his form of the opening set.
Murray duly broke again in the first game of the decider but Monaco showed he had some fight left by levelling immediately. A third successive break gave the British number one the advantage again and from there he eased to victory.
Posted: 29.03.09 12:40. Post subject: Andy Murray struggle..
Andy Murray struggles in his match at the Sony Ericsson tennis tournament The matchup between the No. 4 player in the world and the 59th was closer than anticipated Saturday.
BY BILL VAN SMITH Miami Herald Writer
Andy Murray is the fourth-ranked tennis player in the world. Not bad. But in the world of professional tennis, being No. 4 means -- well, not as much as you might think, particularly in the era of Nadal-Federer.
There is a steep drop-off in name recognition by the casual fan after those two -- so steep, it's like jumping off a cliff.
Murray, 22, is accustomed to dealing with the lack of acclaim. And he certainly can find consolation in the nearly $4 million he won in 2008.
What he isn't so accustomed to is struggling against the world's 59th-ranked player, which is what happened Saturday in the Sony Ericsson tournament against Argentina's Juan Monaco.
There was a sigh of relief from Murray after his 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Murray, who recently moved to Miami and has an apartment on Brickell Avenue, knows the type of performance he demonstrated Saturday was not indicative of his No. 4 ranking, nor will it get him far in the tournament. да, с таким перформансом вчерашним пройти далеко в турнире - только если толстые фамилии с турнирной сетки самоудалятся ранее
''I definitely need to step it up,'' he said. ``It was the same last week [in Indian Wells, Calif.]. I didn't play my best early in the tournament.
``But, like I say, the only important thing is winning по сути дела прав поганка . I found a way.''
His serve was what brought him back after the dismal first set.
''I don't tend to think the match is finished when you lose the first set,'' the Scottish player said. ``But I knew it was going to be tricky. I was struggling to get into a rhythm
``I knew I needed to change something, and I started going for my serve more. My serve is something that has improved. I have to work on the rest of my game, but I'm just happy I've got the chance to do that. I could have lost.''
Tourists flock here for the sunshine. Murray was wishing it would just go away. заметила, он не любит острого солнца
''I was struggling with the sun,'' he said. ``It's been the first time for a while I've had that problem.
``From one of the ends I was having to slow my serve down a lot because the sun was right in my eyes.''
During the match he even asked for a cap, which he usually doesn't wear. Murray, who won five ATP events in 2008, has worked relentlessly on his conditioning since moving to Miami.
He has used University of Miami training facilities for the most part. However, he downplayed the workouts.
''I don't think it makes a huge outcome in the matches,'' he said.
What he does think is helpful is living less than 10 minutes from the Tennis Center at Crandon Park.
''It's nice away from the court, just to be able to sort of go back to your own place and just relax and not have to stay in hotels,'' he said. ``You can kind of just get away from the tennis a little bit more than normal.
``Sometimes when you stay in hotels you see the players at breakfast, obviously at lunch you'll see them and at the courts. If you can just get away from things, it's a bit easier.''
Next opponent for Murray is Chile's Nicolas Massau, who should have strong fan support in South Florida.
That's OK with Murray.
''It's just me and him that are going to be playing,'' he said.
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Posted: 29.03.09 22:19. Post subject: §±§¬ §б§а§г§Э§Ц §Ю§С..
ПК после матча с Монако
29 March, 2009
When you lost the first set, how worried were you?
Well, I was finding it difficult. I don't tend to think the match is finished when you lose the first set. But I knew it was going to be tricky. He was playing very well. I was struggling a little bit to sort of get into a rhythm. From one of the ends I was having to slow my serve down a lot, because the sun was right in my eyes. So, I was having to slow it down. He was getting into a lot of rallies and hitting the ball better than me from the baseline. I knew I needed to change something, and I started going for my serve more and won a lot of free points. My serve was really the difference between winning and losing the match.
How much of it was due to the fact you had not played him before?
I mean, a little bit, but we know each other pretty well. I practiced with him in Spain. He went to the same academy, and we had the same coach there. Obviously when I play someone for the first time, especially when the conditions are tricky, it's going to be tough.
Did you summon for a cap at one point?
Yeah.
Did you forget one?
I haven't worn a cap for a long time, since before Wimbledon last year. You know, each week it can be a little bit different where the sun is at certain times. Today I was struggling with it. It's been the first time for a while I've had that problem.
You're living down here and you did major training down here. How much of a help has that been?
I don't think it makes a huge outcome in the matches. It's nice, away from the court, just to be able to sort of go back to your own place and just relax and not have to stay in hotels. You know, you can kind of just get away from the tennis a little bit more than normal. Sometimes when you stay in the hotels you see the players at breakfast, obviously lunch you'll see them, and at the courts. If you can just get away from things, it's a bit easier.
How pleased are you with the way you dug that one out? You had to dig deep when you weren't playing well initially. You had to come through this one. Is that a good thing for you?
Like I said, only thing that matters really is winning. If I played great today and lost, then I'm sure everybody would be pretty negative about it . But when you win it's a bit different. I was really happy with the way I served. I thought that was just the key. I served a high percentage and got a lot of free points when I really needed it in the second and third set. I found a big serve. It's something in my game that's improved. I have to work on the rest of my game, but I'm just happy I've got the chance to do that. I could have lost today честно признался .
There's likely to be a pretty boisterous atmosphere against Massu. Are you ready for that?
The Chilean supporters are great. Obviously they get right behind their sportsman, Massu and GonzЁўlez are probably two of the most famous people from there. They've both got incredible records in the Olympics. I think GonzЁўlez has a gold, silver, and a bronze. Massu obviously won the double gold. So, yeah, I'm sure it's going to be a great atmosphere. At the end of the day, it's just me and him that are going to be playing. I hope I can come through.
Do you enjoy that atmosphere like when it's a crowd that probably should be against you? Does it fire you up? Do you revel in it, or are you just able to block it out?
Oh, it helps. I mean, sometimes if the crowd is kind of neutral, you know, it's just a nicer match. If you have someone against you or for you, yeah, it just makes it a little bit easier to get fired up sometimes. The crowd were getting behind Juan at the end the second set. It helped me a little bit to sort of focus and, you know, realize that I'm in a fight here and, you know, I'm going to have to think my way out of it. So I think it helps.
If you play at the level you did today, do you think you can go far in this tournament, or do you have to step it up more?
No, I definitely need to step it up. It was the same last week: I didn't play my best early in the tournament. But, you know, like I say, the only important thing is winning. I found a way today, and I hope I can do it on the next match as well.
How critical was that first game in the second set to you winning the match today?
Yeah, it was obviously key. You know, I don't want to go behind early. It was sort of after that when I started to return a little bit better. I played sort of closer to the baseline. If I had gone behind early there, he might have got some confidence. I had a chance, and he was a little bit nervous at the end of the first set, and I had a chance to break him and didn't take it, and then, you know, it kind of stopped the momentum, you know, going with him. So it obviously made a difference.
Dan Evans has reached the finals of a challenger in Jersey. Of the young British players that you've seen, where would you rate him amongst our talentedjuniors/almost seniors?
He's the best one. I think everybody knows that. He's obviously starting to win matches. Challengers is obviously a step up. I guess he beat Boggo today, which is obviously a good win for him. If he can win a challenger, I mean, you're a good player. It's not like the depth in tennis has got worse; it's got better and better. He's obviously had some good wins this week. I saw him beat Simon Stadler who's been around a while and been a tough player. Dan's got a chance to be a good player. He's just got to make sure his mind is in the right place and that he works hard and focuses. He might get there. But it's a tough thing to do now.
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Posted: 29.03.09 22:23. Post subject: пост от 1 апреля ht..
пост от 1 апреля Andy Murray races past Victor Troicki in Miami
Anyone sitting in the front-few rows on the Grandstand Court at Crandon Park on Thursday was given what sounded like a crash-course in 'How to Swear in Serbian', with Troicki cursing under his breath between points as he neared his humiliation against Murray, a result that put the Briton through into the quarter-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open. On a dismal, dreadful afternoon for Troicki, almost the only things he seemed capable of doing with any degree of competence were talking angrily to himself and bouncing his racket. He certainly wasn't capable of hitting a tennis ball.
Earlier in the tournament, Andy Roddick had suggested that the muggy, sticky conditions in south Florida can make it feel as though the field are playing tennis in "a swamp", and this was one of those afternoons when there was no getting away from the high humidity, especially as Murray and Troicki were on a court that already has a close and claustrophobic feel to it, with the spectators packed in behind the baselines. Still, Troicki turned in such an awful performance that Murray was able to return to the air-conditioned locker room in a reasonably fresh and deodorised state, going through in under an hour. And Troicki was perhaps a little fortunate to have won that game in the opening set as it required him to save a breakpoint, and what was also a set point, when he was serving at 0-5, 30-40 down.
Troicki's serve at that moment, which Murray could not return into the court, was the shot that prevented the Scot from registering what people in tennis call a 'double bagel', a 6-0, 6-0 win. As it was, Murray was still able to force-feed that second set 'bagel' to the Eastern European. In the second set, Troicki was lucky to get zero.
With Troicki playing like that, he was only going to be trounced by Murray, a player who could finish this tournament as the world No 3, adding to this week's other British ranking rise with Laura Robson becoming the world No 1 in the girls' rankings. Murray must win the title if he is to have any mathematical chance of earning enough points here to move past Novak Djokovic in the rankings.
Djokovic's fellow Serbian did not exactly do much to counter Murray's tennis. After a while, Troicki was not the only one muttering out there, as the crowd also began to make their displeasure known. The Florida tennis crowd have never been a quiet bunch, and after what was arguably Troicki's worst shot of the day, which was a routine backhand that almost hit the bottom of the net, there were some loud noises of disapproval around the Grandstand Court. Murray played well, although not spectacularly, for what was, by some margin, the easiest win of his season. There was no need for Murray to be spectacularly good when his opponent, a 23-year-old ranked 41 in the world, was being so spectacularly bad. If this had been a boxing match, the crowd might have thought about ripping up the seats.
What made Troicki's hapless and hopeless performance all the more surprising was that it had appeared as though he was hitting the ball with plenty of poise and purpose in his first three rounds, winning all of them in straight sets, including defeating David Nalbandian, the former Wimbledon finalist, in the second round. This was the second time that Murray and Troicki had played, but their two meetings have come in very different settings, as the first came at last season's indoor tournament in St Petersburg. On that occasion in Russia, Murray won in straight sets, allowing the Serbian six games. This time around, in the Florida "swamp", Murray dropped just one. It was the second successive match that Murray's opponent had helped the Briton to victory, as on Monday Nicolas Massu hit four double-faults in a row.
"It was nice to get off the court so quickly," said Murray, who on Thursday has a rematch with Fernando Verdasco, the Spaniard who beat him in the fourth round of this season's Australian Open.
Posted: 01.04.09 09:21. Post subject: почему на офиц. сайт..
почему на офиц. сайте Уим турнира
Murray in a hurry
Wednesday, 1 April, 2009
Andy Murray raced into the quarter-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami with a 6-1 6-0 trouncing of Victor Troicki.
The British number one did not need to be anywhere near his best against the beleaguered Serbian as he wrapped up victory in less than an hour.
The 21-year-old will now face a rematch with Fernando Verdasco, who upset him in the Australian Open in January.
Murray had started slowly in his second and third-round matches but he sprung out of the traps today, breaking in Troicki's first service game.
Troicki was struggling just to win points and two crunching returns from Murray helped him to a second successive break and a 4-0 lead.
The Scot had two points to wrap up a love set but, to his credit, Troicki came up with some big serves to finally get on the board after 27 minutes.
It was only a temporary reprieve, however, as Murray easily served out the set.
The second set continued in the same vein with Murray again taking full advantage of Troicki's woes to break in the first game.
The Serbian battled hard to try to hold on to his serve but again he was unsuccessful as Murray eased to a 3-0 lead.
Troicki fought back from 0-40 to 30-40 in his next service game but another short second serve was a present for Murray and he duly served out for an easy victory.
Posted: 01.04.09 11:11. Post subject: "Murray in a hur..
"Murray in a hurry" - это вообще не о нём, он, наверное, самый НЕсуетной игрок тура
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Posted: 01.04.09 11:13. Post subject: Miami: Massu reactio..
Miami: Massu reaction 31 March, 2009 | 12:03
Q. What did you make of that?
Well, the end and the start weren't particularly good, but the middle part was very good. So, you know, obviously happy I managed to close the match out in two sets. I lost my concentration towards the end, but I’ll focus on what I did well. Today I hit the ball much better from the baseline than I did in the first match. You know, just make sure that that sort of slip in concentration doesn't happen again.
Q. You said in the past it's just a case of really getting through these earlier rounds and that sometimes it might not be pretty. But if you're in the fourth round, that is what it's all about.
Yeah, I mean, providing you can obviously keep winning and upping your game each time you need to. Obviously I was behind in the match today in the first one, and I found a way to come back and played well when I needed to. You know, obviously everyone would want o play their best all the time, but it's not, you know, always going to be the case. If you watched Nadal's match today he struggled a bit, but he finds a way to get through. He gets himself back in the match. That's what you need to do. Hopefully come the later stages of the tournament you're going to be playing your best.
Q. Did you tailor what you did specifically to him? You didn't seem to give him much pace, for instance.
At the start of the match he was having some huge forehands, and I was directing a bit too many balls sort of towards his backhand. Lost of the Spanish players and Argentinians, they like to hit their forehands from the backhand side of the court. You know, it's a tactic that most guys use on clay. I was giving him that shot a little too often, so I started to play a few more balls into his forehand, and then opened up the rest of court to play to his backhand. Once I got there, I managed to dictate a few more points and play a bit for aggressive when I got the first hit in.
Q. You said you lost concentration at the end. In hindsight, have you any idea why?
It happens sometimes. I mean, I'm sure sometimes when you're sort of writing a story or...you know, your mind drifts a little bit, especially when it's coming -- it was obviously a long way -- the standard of the match had gone down a little bit. His head was down, and I just missed a few shots. Sometimes it happens. It's tough to concentrate all the time, and I lost my concentration.
Q. Can you recall the last time a guy served four successive doubles against you?
No. I didn't even realize he had done.
Q. The three in the 4-All and then the first game of the second set he served a double, as well.
No, probably hasn't happened for a while. You know, occasionally obviously, you know, guys will serve, you know, a whole game of doubles, and it probably happens once or twice a year. Yeah, first time it's happened to me.
Q With both these opponents, did you have the sense that both of them could wobble mentally at certain times of the match, and it was a question of drawing the sting and waiting for them to mentally get a bit shaky?
Well, I mean, they've obviously both -- Monaco, before he got a bad illness last year, you know, was ranked around 40 or 50 in the world and was starting to come back a bit. Obviously it's tough sometimes to close matches out, you know. I think he's a pretty he mentally strong player. Massu, obviously having won Olympics and stuff he can obviously play well in big matches. No, I mean, it's not something that you expect to happen. Sometimes, yeah, guys get a bit nervous towards the end of sets or when you get ahead a little bit, and you just have to make sure that you up your game at that moment. It's not something that you expect to happen. I think if you do that it doesn't -- it's pretty easy to get sort of complacent and get behind.
Q. Obviously in the off-season you did a lot of training and got really fit, and so it Fernando Verdasco. Did you notice anything different about Fernando when you played him earlier this year, or maybe in the few years past? Did he improve any way mentally, physically in your opinion?
Well, I mean, he's a bit more consistent than he used to be. He's always been a dangerous player. If you look at his results against some of the higher-ranked guys, you know, sometimes he could lose comfortably and sometimes he would have some very close matches. You know, when I played him again at the Australian Open, I mean, I didn't play my best match, but he obviously had a great tournament. You know, I think if you have worked very hard physically it improves -- you sort of mentally -- maybe he's feeling like he can stay in the point a bit longer so he doesn't have to go for huge winners like he used to. But his technique and game and stuff hasn't changed a whole lot. I just think he's just more consistent. He was ranked in the top 20 beforehand, so he's obviously still a very good player. He's just upped it one level.
Q. We think you're playing on the grandstand tomorrow against Troicki. I think it's safe to say you've had a couple of indifferent performances out there. Is it much different playing in the boondocks compared to on center?
No, I don't think so. I didn't play particularly well there last year, you But, I mean, the first time I played here I was obviously still very, very young. You know, I think I lost to Ancic last year, and then I can't remember what happened the year -- I think I lost in the semis to Djokovic. So I don't know what the indifferent performance was. Maybe the match last year. I had a match point against Ancic, and he's obviously a tough player, but I don't think that the court should make any difference on the outcome of the match.
Q. You've played Troicki once before?
Yeah.
Q. What do you anticipate the match is going to be like?
Well, he's playing well this week. He obviously had a very good win against Nalbandian. He played well last year I think, as well. Or maybe the year before he had a close match with Roddick. He's quick. He's got a big serve. You know, I'll have to play solid and choose my moments to be aggressive, you know, try and change the pace of the ball. Because if you keep playing the same way against, him he's very solid. I'll have to do that
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Posted: 01.04.09 16:58. Post subject: ПК после матча с Тро..
ПК после матча с Троицким
"I set the tone early" 01 April, 2009 | 09:04
Q. Would you have rather had a really quick one like that than anything else?
Yeah, obviously it was hot today. You know, my first couple of the matches were long, you know, so I have spent quite a decent amount of time on court. Yeah, especially nice when the weather is like this to get in relatively quickly.
Q. You talked about playing well and playing smart. It was just that today, wasn't it? Fifty eight minutes of playing well and playing smart.
Yeah, didn't make a lot of mistakes. High percentage of first serves. Used my slice well. Just kept thinking all the way through the match. Right from the start, to get a break early, kind of set the tone for the rest of the match. He didn't really recover from that.
Q. I think you've got to go back to Hamburg now for the last time that you didn't reach at least the quarters of a Masters Series. Is that consistency the thing that pleases you, the fact that there seems to be no letdowns these days?
Yeah, well, it does happen sometimes. First round match here was tough. In Dubai I had a tough match there against Stakhovsky. You know, was down a set and a break, and could have easily been down a set and a break against Monaco. It can happen. But, yeah, lately I've been finding ways to win when I've not been playing my best. I guess that's all you can do. But like I said, at the end of last year consistency was great, and started this year really great. I need to make sure I keep it going in the next few months.
Q. When your opponent is imploding a little bit, is it difficult to sustain the levels of concentration that you need to do to keep him in that position?
No, I mean, I guess sometimes, you know, like I said yesterday after I played Massu, you lose concentration sometimes. But today I didn't. I didn't give him -- I don't think he had a breakpoint on my serve. I didn't give him any chances. I was up 3-Love and 40-Love and played a couple of sloppy points. I served a double fault, maybe a couple of double faults in this game and gave him a slight chance. But apart from that, I played really solid and didn't give him any opportunities.
Q. When you see somebody getting down on themselves like he was and missing a fair bit, does that alter the way you approach the match? Do you find yourself changing the way you deal with it?
Well, because I feel, you know, the reason he's missing is because where I was hitting the ball isn't -- he's normally very solid from the baseline. I put the ball in position where he obviously didn't like it, and just kept doing that. You know, each time I did it he made more and more errors. By the end of the match, I didn't feel like he believed he could come back.
Q. Is Hawk-Eye sort of so much a part of the game now, do you ever find yourself sort of reaching or asking for it on a court where it isn't available?
Yeah, it's tough I think for the umpires as well it's difficult, because -- and the lines judges. Because when Hawk-Eye is there there's a lot less -- there's no pressure on them really to make calls. Even if they make a mistake, you can always get the right outcome with Hawk-Eye; whereas when you play on the outside. courts -- I've seen a few matches on the TV this week on that court, and guys have been getting pretty disappointed with some of the calling. It's just, you know, the umpires and lines judges are not maybe as sharp as they used to be because they have Hawk-Eye most weeks now. But I don't think they're ever going to have Hawk-Eye on all the courts.
Q. Do you feel they're so integrated you find yourself going for it when it's not there?
No.
Q. Why do you think guys are so poor in their success rate?
I think if you give a guy one challenge a set and, you know, their life depended on it, I think they would be very good at the calls a lot of times. They don't challenge thinking the ball is definitely in. I mean, a lot of times at the end of sets or in tiebreaks guys will challenge balls that they normally wouldn't do. It happens a lot in set points, match points, and what have you. I think if the players, you know, had one challenge a set or whatever, I think they would be very good.
Q. For quarterfinals, which player you prefer, Verdasco or Stepanek?
Both have started this year very well. Verdasco obviously played well in the Australian Open (сказал бы - знаю по собственному опыту , видимо, не любит вспоминать тот матч). And Stepanek, I think he's won a couple tournaments maybe already this year. So either is going to be difficult. I don't mind.
Q. Laura Robson today has become World Junior Girl's No. 1. Probably not someone you see an awful lot of, but...
I see her a fair amount.
Q. Oh, okay. Even better then. How good an effort is that at 15? Does it kind of excite you that there's another British player possibly on the way up?
I saw her play, and I watched her on the interactive channels on BBC when she was in like the quarters of the juniors at Wimbledon. I think she's very good. I think she will for sure get into the top 50. But, you know, after that, you know, you don't know. Anything can happen. I know she's had a few problems here and there with injuries because she's been growing a lot, which is normal around that age. But, I mean, she's going to be good. It's just you can never say how good someone is going to be. To be No. 1 in the world I think, yeah, it's an awesome achievement. You know, definitely for sure in the guys if you get to No. 1 in the world in the juniors you're going to be a top player pretty much. And the girls, if you do it when you're 18 it's not quite the same. She's doing it so young it shows she's going to be good.
Q. Do you mind being on an outside court like that?
Not at all. Doesn't -- Neil was saying yesterday I don't play well on that court. I think my performance today showed that I don't mind playing on the outside courts that much (smiling.)
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Posted: 01.04.09 17:07. Post subject: From The Times April..
From The Times April 1, 2009
Andy Murray barely breaks sweat in display of dominance
Neil Harman, Tennis Correspondent, in Key Biscayne, Florida
When a professional player makes only five first serves in one set, the chances are that his opponent is not going to have to work too hard to earn his corn. Thus, a mortified Viktor Troicki’s 58-minute defeat by Andy Murray in the Sony Ericsson Open yesterday ranked as one of those days when he should have rolled over and pulled the covers up. Actually, he did roll over, but in the sporting sense.
Murray was in a hurry. Strengthened, clearly, by his opponent’s inadequacies, the British No 1 played composed, thoughtful tennis on the stickiest day he has experienced since the temperatures soared at the Australian Open two months ago. He wasted little time and expended limited energy in reaching his seventh quarter-final in succession at these Masters-level tournaments. And does not 6-1, 6-0 look impressive in the record books?
Troicki had said before the match that he believed it was only in the head that he felt short of breaching the top-30 barrier — he is No 41. There is a lot more to it than that if the manner of his liquefaction on the Grandstand Court was anything to go by. “All it takes is one,” shouted a supportive voice when the 23-year-old broke his game duck. “All you’ll get is one,” would have been closer to the truth.
If Murray’s first two matches in this tournament were not his finest, he could do nothing wrong at the third time of asking. He yanked Troicki around, rarely playing two shots the same, slicing and sweeping his strokes deep into the corners where the Serb’s defence melted away.
Murray is into the last eight, where he meets Fernando Verdasco, the Spaniard who dispatched him in the fourth round at the Australian Open in Melbourne, but he was a sickly lad that day. Not so now. “Today I kept thinking all through the match and once I set the tone, he didn’t recover,” Murray said.
As things stand, he will have to win this title to knock Novak Djokovic from his world No 3 perch, although Djokovic has not beaten Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, of France, his quarter-final opponent, in their past four matches and is evidently not at ease after his sudden switch of racket in the winter.
The Serb is fighting himself as hard as he is having to fight any opponent. Troicki knows how his compatriot feels.
Posted: 01.04.09 17:21. Post subject: March 31, 2009 - Mur..
March 31, 2009 - Murray has the game, but he doesn't have the wardrobe
By Charles Bricker
You wouldn’t call Andy Murray a fashion plate. Not with those boring white Fred Perry clothes, the black shoes and that baseball cap with the Velcro flap sticking out in the back like a small flag waving in the breeze.
Tacky, tacky, tacky.
But, never mind. It’s about his tennis, isn’t it, and he has such a beautiful throwback game that I imagine Kenny Rosewall watching Tuesday’s 58-minute fox trot past the befuddled Victor Troicki and thinking, "Ah, my kind of lad."
Throwback tennis it is. The only time you get any consistent battering of the ball from Murray is on his first serve. He’s pushed the pace up past 130 mph with some regularity, and that’s allowed him to get more "free points." But his stock in trade in the ground stroke rallies is still attrition. He wears you down. He doesn’t roll up massive numbers of winners. He makes opponents roll up massive numbers of forced errors.
This 6-1, 6-0 win over Troicki at the Sony Ericsson Open was classic Murray – 11 winners and 10 unforced errors, and just one unforced error in the second set. He is sublimely comfortable at the baseline taking any ball, and especially the deep balls, and redirecting them back.
A word on those deep balls . . . it’s called "defending the baseline."=2 0You’re standing a few inches, maybe as much as a foot behind the baseline and the heavy topspin grinds into the hardcourt right on the line or just in front of it. It’s one of the toughest shots to parry, but Murray does it nearly as well as Andre Agassi, who was the gold standard for defending the baseline.
It’s not that he doesn’t possess a more aggressive game. He will step inside the baseline and take second serves on the rise and take a rip, as he did in plastering a backhand return for a winner to move out to a 3-0 double-break lead in the second set Tuesday. Or he’ll surprise you with a chip-and-charge off a second serve, as he did at 30-all in the opening game of the second set. Troicki looked flustered as Murray easily volleyed away his Serbian opponent’s retrieval.
Looking at Murray from a distance, he doesn’t strike you as being brilliantly athletic. He doesn’t have the flashy kit that makes him look like a great athlete. He’s long and slender. He’s more quick than fast. But he has great balance and great instincts for where the ball is headed. As a result, you don’t nick him for a lot of winners.
And that ability to just stay out there and keep stroking back deep .. . . I think this is one of the reasons he’s gotten on top of Roger Federer.
I’ve long had a theory about Federer – that during his run at the top of the game he got into a mental place where he assumed he would be in complete command of the point after the sixth or seventh stroke. Murray, and Rafa Nadal, have taken that mentality away from him and I think it shakes Federer to a certain degree.
How good is Murray going to be? We’re still not quite certain. His commitment, I believe, is very strong, but there are still those lack-of-concentration spells. He had one against Nicolas Massu in the third round. I want to see him get to a point where he puts together high-concentration performances five or six times in a row.
He’s had a cozy draw at Key Biscayne – Juan Monaco, Massu and Troicki, but now faces the winner of Radek Stepanek vs. Fernando Verdasco.
He reaches the quarters with a 23-2 record for 2009 and, while he’s officially ranked No. 4, I think there’s an argument to be made that Nadal and Murray are, in reality, the first and second best players in the world right now.
But we’ll see. There are five more days to go at Key Biscayne and Murray has some hard work ahead. Just keep playing the way you’re playing, lad. And, for God’s sake, put some color into your clothes чего прицепился, нормальная форма у Энди Get those Scottish wrist bands (you know, the blue with the white diagonal crosses) out of storage and start wearing them again .
Posted: 01.04.09 17:39. Post subject: Get those Scottish w..
Get those Scottish wrist bands (you know, the blue with the white diagonal crosses) out of storage and start wearing them again видимо, о такой форме ностальгирует аффтар Charles Bricker
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Posted: 03.04.09 12:13. Post subject: Andy Murray breezes ..
Andy Murray breezes past Fernando Verdasco as Rafael Nadal slips up• Murray drops only three games against Verdasco • British No1 will meet Del Potro in semi-finals Digg it Richard Jago guardian.co.uk, Friday 3 April 2009 02.38 BST Article history
Andy Murray's chances of becoming the highest-ranked British player since ATP rankings began 36 years ago took a significant leap as he avenged himself upon Fernando Verdasco to reach the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open.
Murray has to win the tournament to have a chance of climbing above Novak Djokovic into third place, but he was helped that his relatively comfortable 6-1, 6-2 victory today was preceded by a startling defeat for Rafael Nadal, whom the Scot had been seeded to meet in the semi-final. It was as if the opportunity created by the removal of the world No1 had concentrated Murray's mind.
He made a flying start for the second match a row, and in the interlude between sets, when Verdasco left the court to take a toilet break, Murray sat casually back in his chair murmuring along with the Coldplay tune Viva la Vida which was playing over the stadium's loudspeaker. By then, only 33 minutes into the contest, Murray was already in control against the man who had beaten him in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January, brilliantly containing any of Verdasco's big boomers and counter-attacking waspishly. "It was very good," said Murray. "I started very well and I saw him get frustrated early in the match and I stayed on top of him."
It was the second match in succession that Murray had made a rocket-launch start. Having taken the first five games in his victory over Viktor Troicki, he won the first four today, greatly enhancing his rhythm, confidence and self-belief. He closed out his opening service game with an ace; his first break came with four brilliant retrieves that frustrated Verdasco into error, and his second break came with a return of serve that hurtled back so fast that Verdasco did not have time to prepare for his follow-up ground stroke. And so, despite the interlude with which Verdasco sought to change the momentum, it continued.
At 3-0 the emotion of the match changed, Verdasco revealing his irritation by swinging round violently when he failed to get a first serve in, and then not trying for the ball when Murray again clouted the second serve back hard. "Everything I played was solid," said Murray."I returned well. I took my chances in the second set, and I put the ball in difficult places for him. I used my head."
The Spaniard, who clinched the Davis Cup for his country two months ago, was now making too many errors to get back into the match, and although he had the trainer on to give treatment to his right leg, Murray was not distracted. The contest ended almost anti-climactically as Murray closed out his final service game as casually as if he might start humming another tune. He has now won 24 of his past 28 games.
In Nadal's match earlier, the world's most energetic player suffered a rare and dramatic physical decline as he slid to a startling three-hour defeat to Juan Martin Del Potro. Nadal led 3-0 and by two breaks of serve in the final set against the 20-year-old world No7 from Argentina and yet faded completely away by the end of a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3) loss.
In the later stages, amazingly, Nadal was doing little more than put the ball back and ended at the mercy of his hard-hitting opponent, who, but for his tension, might have won more quickly. At the fourth attempt however he closed out his first win against Nadal to earn a meeting with Murray. The Scot has won both their previous encounters.
The other semi-final will be between Djokovic, who was taken to the doctor feeling unwell after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday, and Roger Federer, who admitted that his loss to Nadal in the Wimbledon final had been a long-term hurt to him that may have affected his form. However this seemed nothing to the emotional damage from which Roddick appeared to be suffering during his 17th loss in 19 matches to the holder of 13 Grand Slam titles. After a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 defeat, Roddick had a fit of rage in the tunnel leading out of the stadium, emptied the contents of his bag on the floor and smashed what looked like every single racket one after the other upon the concrete.
Posted: 03.04.09 19:36. Post subject: ПК Miami: Verdasco ..
ПК Miami: Verdasco reaction 03 April, 2009 | 11:04
Q. Pretty good. You happy with that?
Yeah, it was very good. Started off well. I saw him get a bit frustrated early in the match. I stayed on top of him throughout. Didn't give him too many chances. There was a big game early in the second set when I was down Love-40 on my serve. Once I won that, I felt very comfortable.
Q. What were you most pleased about in your game?
Well, just everything. I played solid. I returned well. Took some chances on his second serve; put the ball in tough places for him and used my head. It wasn't one thing in particular. I just did a lot of things well tonight.
Q. How good does it make you feel to have those two quick matches one after another given all the physical demands of these back-to-back championships?
Yeah, it's tough. Mentally it's difficult. You're away for a long time. Physically I'm still sort of getting back to sort of peak fitness. It's been sort of a blessing in some ways, I guess, I played every single match right in the heat of the day at Indian Wells and here. Tonight was the first time I played out of the heat and, it obviously very, very comfortable. When you play every match during the day, you know, in this stretch as well, it's tough to keep coming out day after day and fighting. Tonight was nice to have that change, and tomorrow I get the same thing.
Q. Is it hard to sort of keep your focus mentally when a guy takes such a long break between sets?
I don't know. I mean, sometimes it happens. Guys - especially in slams and stuff - guys go in for toilet breaks and stuff, and it does take sort of three, four minutes. The thing that's tough is if you don't -- when it is a physical timeout, you don't know, if it's bad, how it is. You need to just make sure you keep playing your game. If a guy just goes in for a toilet break it's not too bad. But it's when they go for sort of injury timeouts and you don't know exactly what they're having done, how bad it is, and how they're going to feel when they come back out. Luckily I got a break early, and managed to stay ahead of him.
Q. It was noted actually that you seemed to be humming along with the tune they were playing on the system. So you were very relaxed.
Yeah, I felt good today. It was something that -- I think I play better when I'm in that sort of frame of mind. Yeah, one of my favorite songs just now, so...
Q. Del Potro is obviously on a high after beating Nadal. He was out there for three hours. Do you think that balances it?
I think you never know how guys are going pull up the next day. I mean, you take someone like Nadal and the Australian Open. Everyone thought he was going to be tired for the final if it went a long match, and he was fine. Del Potro, I don't know, I'm sure he's in good physical shape. But it was a pretty brutal match today and a lot of long points. Both guys did a lot of running. Obviously better for me the longer the match went. Mine was a quick one, so in that respect that's obviously an advantage to me. But he's obviously still going to be very dangerous.
Q. When you play a guy of his kind of physique, is it a lot about trying to, as you say, put the ball in the most difficult place for him?
Yeah, I mean, for someone his height, he's very completely different to how most guys his height play. He plays from the baseline, very solid groundstrokes, and moves well for his height. Most guys that are that big, your Isners and Karlovic and these sort of guys, Mirnyi, they play serve, volley and try to come to the net and serve a lot of aces; whereas Del Potro is not really like that. So there's going to be a lot of rallies from the baseline. I'll just try and do what I've been doing the last few matches: use my slice and play aggressive when I need to and try and serve well. If I do that, it's going to be a tough match.
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Posted: 04.04.09 09:31. Post subject: Brilliant Murray int..
Brilliant Murray into Miami final By Piers Newbery
Andy Murray produced a sensational display as he beat Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro to reach the final of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.
The Briton sealed a 6-1 5-7 6-2 victory and will face Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final, after the Serb earlier beat Roger Federer 3-6 6-2 6-3.
An angry Federer smashed his racquet as the match slipped away.
Djokovic's win means that Murray cannot overtake him as the world number three in next week's rankings.
But the Scot will take great confidence from another fine performance as he saw off Del Potro in front of a partisan crowd in Friday's evening session.
The Scot, 21, had won both his previous matches against Del Potro and started magnificently, while his opponent appeared to be suffering from a draining semi-final win over top seed Rafael Nadal.
Murray had made swift progress into the last four and looked razor sharp, breaking twice as he raced into a 5-0 lead and quickly took the set.
It was as much a lack of concentration from Murray as anything Del Potro did that saw the Briton drop serve early in the second, having led 40-0, but Murray got the break back straight away and looked on course for the win.
But the longer Del Potro, 20, stayed on serve the more his confidence grew, and he levelled the match with a superb game at 6-5 to send the crowd wild.
The momentum appeared to be with the seventh seed going into the decider as he saved an early break point but Murray remained impressively focused and got the break in game five.
With another break point pending at 4-2, Murray had to wait while Del Potro went to his chair for treatment to his leg, but the British number one converted his second chance of the game and served out the match comfortably.
"There were a lot of highs in the game. I think I only played one or two bad games," Murray said afterwards.
"The first set was perfect. I can only hope in the future I can play close to that level.
"In the first set I mixed it up a bit and kept him moving around. I knew he would be tired after the Nadal game so that's what I tried to do."
Second seed Federer was trying to win his first title at the elite Masters 1000 level since Cincinnati in August, 2007, and the Swiss began Friday's first semi-final well in blustery conditions.
With his forehand impressive, Federer broke the Djokovic serve in games four and six, but the warning signs were there as he handed one of the breaks back before steadying himself to serve out.
From the start of second set, the 13-time Grand Slam winner's form slumped alarmingly. Djokovic broke for 2-0 and Federer missed with a makeable forehand at break point in the following game.
A Djokovic double-fault in game five then returned the break before Federer recovered from 0-40 in the next game, only to drop serve anyway, and the forlorn-looking second seed rounded off the set with successive double-faults.
His number of unforced errors in the second set stood at 17 - but the deciding set was simply a nightmare for the 2005 and 2006 champion.
A routine backhand volley into the tram lines was followed by three more unforced errors as Federer handed Djokovic the advantage in game two of the decider, and a forehand into the net prompted the usually calm Swiss to smash his racquet in frustration.
Djokovic had been far from at his best in the testing conditions, and a couple of double-faults at 4-0 gave Federer a sliver of hope.
But the Serb remained solid enough to serve out the victory and prolong Federer's wait for another Masters title.
"The key was the patience - something I didn't have in the first set," said Djokovic.
"The conditions were quite difficult. It was a nice breeze on a hot day for people in the stands, but for us players it wasn't easy. That's why there were much more unforced errors than winners."
Of his racquet smashing, Federer said: "I didn't lose it. I was just frustrated. Just because I smashed the racquet doesn't mean I lose it. Didn't feel great, it's just a natural thing I did."
He added: "Once one guy gets the upper hand, the other guy is a bit uncertain. It's tough but he struggled big time in the first set.
"I finished worse than him. He played so bad in the first set, I had a great effort by finishing even worse than him.
"You try hard and then it's just not working. Today it is different just because there's so much wind as well. Once you start feeling bad, it's kind of tough to regroup."
Posted: 04.04.09 17:54. Post subject: Miami: Del Pot react..
Miami: Del Pot reaction 04 April, 2009 | 14:04
Q. What gave you most satisfaction about coming through this evening?
I had to fight hard in the end. I played a great first set. I'm sure it's easy to say that I dropped my level a little bit, but I was playing great tennis in the first set. The guy served like 80% first serves in the second set and served big. It wasn't like he was just rolling them in. He was serving like 125, 130 and made it tough for me. I did play one bad game from 40-Love up on my serve. Apart from that, it wasn't like I was making a lot mistakes or missing balls that I shouldn't have been. He served really well in that set and put pressure on my service games. In the third I managed to fight back and played well again.
Q. In the first set I think he won 14 points in the whole set. How does that set rank in terms of the best set you ever played?
It was very good. I played a lot of good sets before. It's just whether you can sort of manage to do it for the whole match. Today I didn't necessarily play that level the whole way through. Like I said, I managed to come through in the end. But, no, it was up there. I played very well and made him do a lot of moving and changed the pace of the ball. Didn't go for huge serves, just served smart. No, it was very good.
Q. Was it your mindset that he had played three hours in his previous encounter and it might work in your favor?
No, I mean, obviously he was going to be a bit tired at the end of the match. I think the difference between playing three sets and five is that if you're behind - like in the second set he played a few good games and got a bit of momentum and was always ahead and served well. You can always sort of see the finish line kind of. Whereas in a five-set match it's tough to sort of keep coming back and fighting when you know you're going to be on the court for at least another two and a half, three hours. So he obviously gave it a good go. Just at the end, I don't know if it was physical thing why, you know, he started to miss balls at the end or not. But I'm very happy with the way I played. So whether he's tired or not doesn't really bother me.
Q. Have you ever felt this good going nto a Masters final?
Well, I mean, in Madrid I felt good. I think each time you get to the final, you know, of a big tournament you're going to be feeling pretty good about your game. The one thing that is tricky here and obviously last week, with Rafa was playing well going in and had some very nasty conditions to deal with. I struggled with my game. Here it can be very windy as well. It will be right in the heat of day so it's going to be physically challenging. There's a lot of things you have to contend with. I'm feeling good and I'm hitting the ball well, and I'll try and do the same thing in the final.
Q. How did you feel regarding the crowd? They were sometimes against you.
No. He had great support in his match with Rafa yesterday, and tonight as well. But it's sort of more like a Davis Cup atmosphere. Yeah, they got behind him. But I felt like I dealt with it very well. Got me a little bit more fired up when they booed when the Scottish flag came on the big screen. I thought it was a good atmosphere. It wasn't too bad. The Argentines love their tennis, and there's a reason why it's so tough to play against in Argentina. The crowd really helped them out, and they did the same tonight.
Q. You've beaten Djokovic in the past. Do you think you have an edge over him in the final?
No, I think if both of us play well, it'll be a great match. I'm sure he feels the same way. I know I'll have to play well if I want to beat him. The last couple of times I played I sort of figured out a way to play against him; whereas before I struggled a little bit. I feel confident, and I've had a really good run so far this year. Not going to put any extra pressure on myself for the match tomorrow, or Sunday. It's going to be a good match.
Q. Could you just take us through what you were thinking when he took his breather, so to speak, on the third breakpoint? You were in a great position to win the match, and he bends low for a volley and walks off and has treatment and you've got to wait until he comes back on. Do you think's slightly against the spirit in which the game should be played?
Well, I mean, the tough thing is, yeah, he could be badly hurt. So you have to obviously look at the player's health. What obviously you don't want is if the players are sort of using the medical timeouts and toilet breaks to disrupt the rhythm of the opponents. That's obviously not -- it's pretty unsporting if you're doing that. But if guys are hurt, they're more than entitled to take the injury timeout. I understand obviously that the physios have to come out and assess the situation and know what the problem is and whatnot. But it was probably a good -- by the time that point had finished, before he actually hit the next ball it's going to be six, seven minutes. It's a long break. I think they could maybe speed that up a little bit and reduce the time that the physios are allowed. You have to look for the player's health first. Sometimes guys, yeah, might exploit it a little bit and use the rule to their advantage. But, you know, I'm not the one to answer that. You know, Juan will, I guess, tell you the truth.
Q. What other sport can you stop it at such a really crucial juncture like that and have a seven-minute timeout for what looked like a rub, basically, on his thigh?
That's obviously the thing that is tough. I mean, you can't. I guess in football guys would get substituted if they have a problem at the end of the game. They're taken off with obviously one-on-one sport. They have to stop the play. I mean, I'm all for, you know, saying guys, unless there's some sort of taping required or whatever, that you shouldn't really be allowed to sort of stop and just have a massage, because I don't think that's making a huge -- doesn't make a huge difference in two minutes. A massage on your groin or whatever is not going to cure it. If there is a problem, it's not going to cure it.
Q. Were you really pleased with how well you coped with that situation and served out so well for the match?
Yeah, when I broke him I played quickly. I knew that he was taking a long time in between points. I don't know if he was trying to slow the pace down or if he was a bit tired and trying to make sure he was feeling good going into each point. I served well at the end of the match. I played aggressive. My service games - didn't give him any chances when I got ahead in the third.
Q. Did you watch any of the Federer/Djokovic match?
Yeah, I watched it on the TV.
Q. Did you have a wish for an outcome?
No. Obviously both are great players. Wasn't the best of matches. I'm sure Roger and Novak will tell you the same thing. But the conditions are tough, I'm sure. People watching me in Indian Wells in the final last week wouldn't have thought I was a particularly good player. Sometimes the conditions are very tricky. Federer made a lot of mistakes in the second and third sets. Really lost his rhythm. Sometimes that happens in the wind. But, I mean, after the first set I thought Federer was going to go and win it.
Q. Did it give you any insight on how Djokovic might play on Sunday?
No. I think one of the things that -- you know, obviously you can watch matches to sort of see what guys, what sort of patterns they play or what they like to do on big points and whatnot. They're going to change the game depending on who they're playing against. There's not one way of playing tennis. Every guy has his strengths and weaknesses. I'm sure he'll try and change the way that he played today against me. I'll play probably differently than Federer played today.
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Posted: 04.04.09 18:31. Post subject: Andy Murray to face ..
Andy Murray to face Novak Djokovic in Miami Masters final What Rafael Nadal had been unable to do in the quarter-finals, Andy Murray achieved in the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open, turning a lead of two service breaks in a deciding set into a three-set victory over Juan Martin del Potro, the dangerous 6ft 6in player from Argentina.
By Mark Hodgkinson Last Updated: 9:02AM BST 04 Apr 2009
Murray will play Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, for the title on Sunday.
Murray cannot become Britain's first ever world No 3 here, as Djokovic is already guaranteed to keep that ranking by reaching the final with his defeat of the racket-trashing Roger Federer.
Del Potro came back from two breaks down in the final set against Nadal, but there was not to be a second successive comeback by the 20-year-old from Tandil, who will break into the top five for the first time on Monday morning.
Murray made sure of that by playing some composed, controlled and gloriously effective tennis, with his 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 victory putting him into his second successive Masters final, having finished as the runner-up to Nadal at the Indian Wells event in California.
For someone of his height, Del Potro is a good mover around a tennis court. The South American also knows how to hit a forehand, as he showed in the opening game of the semi-final when he smacked one through the court for a fine winner.
Even so, it was Murray who achieved the first break of serve, striking in the second game when he hit the ball deep enough to force an error from Del Potro's strings.
Some scrambling retrievals from Murray in the fourth game, when he twice somehow kept the rally going, brought him another break, and he was 4-0 up.
Murray's defence appeared to be driving Del Potro mad, especially his lobs. Murray ended up taking the set 6-1.
If you also included his fourth-round match against Serbia's Viktor Troicki, and his quarter-final with Spain's Fernando Verdasco, Murray had been on a run of winning 30 games from 35. Murray could hardly have played a better first set.
However, Murray was broken in the second game of the second set when, having been 40-0 up, he then found himself at deuce and hit a couple of double-faults.
For the large numbers of South Americans in the stadium, there was suddenly something worth getting excited about.
Del Potro, though, double-faulted in the next game to give Murray a breakpoint, which the Scot converted.
They were back on serve again. Murray lost his delivery again, and so the set, when at 5-6, 0-40, he mistimed a forehand wide of the court.
Going into the third set, Del Potro was timing the ball very nicely on both wings, and he appeared to have the momentum.
The first break of the decider went Murray's way, putting him 3-2 up.
In the seventh game, Del Potro was breakpoint down on his serve when he broke off, walked over to his chair, called the trainer on court and took a medical timeout to have his cramping legs massaged.
While that was within the rules, it hardly appeared to have been that sporting for Del Porto to have taken the timeout when he did.
In all, Del Potro held play up for five minutes. For much of that interval, Murray skulked around at the back of the court, anxious to get started again.
Back hitting tennis balls again, Del Potro saved that breakpoint, but Murray had another and converted it to go 5-2 up. Murray had the double break. Unlike Nadal, Murray was able to beat Del Potro from there.
Posted: 04.04.09 18:33. Post subject: Murray reaches Sony ..
Murray reaches Sony Ericsson Open final after hard-fought victory over Del Potro By Mike Dickson in Florida Last updated at 2:53 AM on 04th April 2009 Comments (0) Add to My Stories Andy Murray defied a partisan crowd and spirited fightback from tennis's up and coming man this morning to reach the final of the Sony Ericsson Open. The British number one is through to his second Masters series final in two weeks after overcoming giant Argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro 6-1 5-7 6-2 colossal performance in front of a packed Crandon Park saw him come through at the end and give himself the chance of re-emphasising that he belongs in the world's top three. Tomorrow he will meet the man one above him in the rankings, Novak Djokovic, who earlier knocked out a racket-hurling Roger Federer. Apart from brilliant returning of serve and execution of tactics, Murray also survived a shocking use of ATP Tour rules by Del Potro as he attempted to close down the match.
Posted: 05.04.09 09:07. Post subject: PREVIEW: Murray aims..
PREVIEW: Murray aims to keep his Masters level top against Djokovic
Miami - Andy Murray brings an awesome recent record in Masters 1000 events into his Sunday title clash with Novak Djokovic for the Miami crown. The Scot number 4 has played for the trophy in four of his last appearances at this elite level, winning Cincinnati and Madrid (back-to-back) and reaching the Indian Wells final a fortnight ago against Rafael Nadal.
"Each time you get to the final of a big tournament you are going to be feeling pretty good about your game," said the 21-year-old, who owns a 2-4 deficit in his career series with fellow 21-year-old Djokovic, ranked one spot higher.
"The conditions here can be tricky.
"Here it can be very windy as well. It will be right in the heat of the day so it's going to be physically challenging. There's a lot of things you have to contend with.
"I'm feeling good and I'm hitting the ball well, and I'll try and do the same thing in the final."
Murray is the first British player to ever get this far in Miami, while Djokovic, who knocked out Roger Federer in the semis, is bidding to back up his 2007 honours at Crandon Park.
Murray has won the second-most matches on the ATP this season, 25 against 26 for Andy Roddick. The Scot has suffered just two defeats while winning titles in Doha and Rotterdam.
And Murray is confident that he now has the game to start turning it around against Djokovic. "If both of us play well, it'll be a great match. I'm sure he feels the same way. I'll have to play well if I want to beat him.
"The last couple of times I played I figured out a way to play against him; whereas before I struggled a little bit. I feel confident, and I have had a really good run so far this year. But I don't want to put any extra pressure on myself."
While he leads in the overall table, Djokovic has dropped his last two meeting against Murray, both at Masters in Canada and Cincinnati last summer.
"I lost the last two times,but they were close matches," said the Serb. "But he has drastically improved in the last year or so.
"But it's a final and everybody has a lot of motivation to win. It's a big event and it's really unpredictable."
Djokovic stand 12-6 in career title matches while Murray is right behind on 10-6.
But the confidence cannot be missed in Djokovic's current tone: "I'm playing on a much higher level these days and I'm playing with more confidence and self belief.
"Hopefully I can continue that in the upcoming match."
Andy Murray’s rich vein of form continued when the British No1 outclassed Novak Djokovic to win the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, his third Masters event title and third tournament victory of 2009.
Murray added the victory in Florida to those in Doha, where he beat Andy Roddick, and Rotterdam, where he came out on top against Rafael Nadal.
In fact, he has won 26 of 28 singles matches this year, losing only to Nadal, the world No1, in the final at Indian Wells, and, the only real blot on his copy-book, to Fernando Verdasco, the Spaniard, in the last 16 of the Australian Open.
Murray may have been thought of at one stage early in his career as “that surly Scot” [or am I in a minority of one here], but he has won over his critics over the past year with his increasingly mesmeric performances.
Now hot on the heels of Djokovic, the world No3, in possession of a well-rounded game that must be the envy of many of his peers, only one thing is missing from the Murray resume: a grand slam.
Rafael Nadal is pretty much unbeatable on clay, so Roland Garros is out of the question, but Wimbledon is no longer the staple of the big serve-and-volley players and he must be among the favourites for the US Open, where he came so close last year.
What do you think of Murray? Is this the year he becomes the first Briton (apologies to our Scottish readers) since Fred Perry claimed the US Open in 1936?
MY RESPONSE Well I never thought of him as “that surly Scot” and why the apology to Scottish readers? Is it for the cheeky “surly Scot” remark OR is it because you think we Scots don’t think of ourselves as British. I’m a Scot and yes I think of myself as Scottish first but I’m also proud to be British. I for one will be very proud the day Andy wins his first major wearing the clothes of the great Fred Perry. It will be a great day for British tennis and yes I do think we Scots will feel an extra sense of pride.
I think Rafael Nadal will win the French Open again. I honestly can’t see that not happening BUT I would not be completely surprised if Andy won Wimbledon. His best chance is still the US Open though.
Andy is an amazing talent and I’m sure he will win a major – hopefully quite a few.
три темы в посл. время - выиграет ли БШ Рафа, первый шлем Энди и что далее с Роджером???
Fanka
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Posted: 06.04.09 10:46. Post subject: Murray thrilled with..
Murray thrilled with run of form
Andy Murray heads into the clay-court season in confident mood after a superb run on US hard courts that culminated with victory in Miami on Sunday.
The Briton, 21, beat Novak Djokovic 6-2 7-5 to win his third Masters title, and it followed a run to the final at the Indian Wells Masters two weeks earlier.
"It's been a really good month for me," the Scot told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"I wasn't feel great going into Indian Wells and I didn't have such high expectations."
Murray has also won tournaments in Dubai and Rotterdam this year and is the only player to have won three times in 2009, taking his career total to 11 ATP titles.
He had arrived in the US last month on the back of pulling out of Great Britain's Davis Cup tie against Ukraine because of a virus.
Murray was still feeling the effects when he began his campaign in Indian Wells but believes the lower expectations might have helped him.
"It's kind of worked for me in a lot ways," he said.
"I've been more relaxed on the court and my performances have been very good. I got a lot of matches to get my fitness back and hopefully be feeling good going into the clay-court season."
Murray went close to overhauling Djokovic for the world number three ranking in Miami and is likely to do so in the forthcoming clay-court stretch.
The Serb has a lot of ranking points to defend from last year, having won in Rome and reached the last four in Monte Carlo, Hamburg and the French Open.
Murray, in contrast, did not make it past the last 16 in any of those events and will hope to do considerably better this year.
"I'm just excited to try and improve on that surface because I think I can play very well on it, I just haven't the last couple of years, and I'll work hard in the next week or so to get ready for Monte Carlo," he said.
"I'd like to do better than I did last year and try and make a quarter-final of one of the tournaments, and take it from there."
Such is the Briton's form, only twice since Wimbledon - at the Olympics and Australian Open - has he failed to make at least the quarter-finals of an event.
His 57-7 match record since losing to Rafael Nadal at the All England Club is the best of any player for that period, with the Spaniard on 50-7 .
"I'm finding ways to come through matches at the start of tournaments when I haven't been playing my best," said Murray.
"I've started to play better and better as the weeks have gone on and just played my best tennis when I needed to, right at the end.
"Before it wasn't necessarily like that and I've got used to going deep into tournaments and having that sort of expectation.
"I've just got to try and keep it going in the clay-court stretch because it's been a great start to the year and I'd love to try and keep it going into Wimbledon."
Murray was almost on home ground in Miami as he owns an apartment there, and carried out his gruelling winter training programme nearby.
"We put in a lot of hard work the last year-and-a-half and it's paid off a lot," he said.
"I had reserves, physically, that I didn't know I had before and in these kinds of conditions, this is the reason why you put the hard work in.
"So when you play the big matches in this weather you can find ways to get through even when it is tough, and it was so humid out there."
Posted: 06.04.09 14:18. Post subject: ПК послефинальное M..
ПК послефинальное
Miami: Final reaction 05 April, 2009 | 23:04
Q. At 2-5, you seemed physically to pep up suddenly, and then you ran through it. What was happening there? You seemed a little lethargic before that?
No, I mean, sometimes in matches like that it's tough.I was obviously -- I played a very good first set. Novak called the trainer after I broke him in the first game. Had a little break, and, you know, then he started to come to the net on 60, 70% of the points. I started miss-hitting some balls and lost my rhythm for a little while. But I obviously managed to find it when it was important at the end of that set.
Q. You've won what people sometimes call the fifth Grand Slam. Is this the most satisfying moment that you've had so far? Secondly, does it give you a better chance of winning one of the four real Grand Slams?
I think any time you win a tournament, obviously it gives you confidence. The Masters Series have always been -- after the slams, they're tough tournaments to win. Roger has won -- there's obviously a lot more Masters Series. I think he's won 14 -- he's won 13 slams. They're not the easiest tournaments to win. I think the win in Cincinnati, I mean, your first tour title is huge, then first Masters Series. This one still obviously means a lot. It's just a bit different than Cincinnati. But, I guess like all of your wins, it contributes to your confidence going into the slams.
Q. How much do you feel your improvement is due to your improved fitness? And can you describe some of the fitness regimens you did at the University of Miami in the summer?
I think it was end of 2007 when I started basically traveling with a fitness trainer. I spent my off-season here and trained, yeah, at the university. I traveled all last year with a fitness trainer. It just makes a big difference. I think every week, when you're traveling on your own, you can sort of go in the gym, but you don't really know the right things to do two, three days before a match. Should you be lifting weights? Should you be on the treadmill? Should you be doing speed work and whatnot? It's just given me sort of, I don't know, a bit more of a routine. I know the stuff I'm going to be doing, and that I've worked very hard on everything. I got stronger, and I put on some muscle. I did a lot of running on the track, which I had never done before. Just gives you more confidence going into the matches knowing you're in good shape.
Q. Can you talk about during the match, how do you feel the difference doing all that training?
Yeah, I think just mentally it makes a difference. Even if you're struggling, you know your opponent is going to be feeling the same, as well. Whereas before, sometimes you could get tired and look over at the other side and the opponent seems fine. A match like today, there's obviously points -- I mean, it was hot out there. A few long rallies and stuff I would be a little bit out of breath. I could look down the court and see him struggling, as well.
Q. Do the players know that Novak seems to have this problem over and over again? Do you feel like if you get him to that certain point that you got him?
I don't know. I think it's obviously -- he struggled with it a bit more this year than I think he has in the past. I've seen him play matches at the US Open that have been four or five hours that he managed to come through in those conditions. Yeah, he's been struggling with it this year, but he's obviously a great player. You need to get him to that point where he feels like it's very tough and the points are long. You know, that's not an easy thing to do. You know, if you look at the guys he's beaten this week, some really tough players. It's tough to do that to him.
Q. Considering you didn't know when you arrived in America how you were going to be physically and therefore how that would translate onto the court, how satisfying is it to have got to two Masters finals, and the only player that's beaten you is the world No. 1?
That’s just something that -- you know, my fitness that I did in the off-season and last year have obviously paid off. I spent a good part of a week in bed and didn't do anything for ten, eleven days before I came over to Indian Wells. I was expecting to feel very rough, which I didn't feel great the first few practices, but my fitness came back much quicker than I expected and much faster than it had done in the past when I had sort of, well, a decent period of break. So obviously to win a Masters Series and make a final beating Federer, Del Potro, Verdasco, and Djokovic, it's four wins against top 10 players. It's been a great month for me.
Q. Now the clay season is starting. What are your expectations?
I want to do better than I did last year. Try and reach the quarterfinals of one of the big tournaments. There's only two mandatory tournaments this year before the French. I'm planning on playing Monte-Carlo, and I can use that. There's not as much pressure playing there as there was before, because it doesn't have to go towards your ranking. So I'll just try and work on my game like I have done on all the other courts. I have found clay tough the last few years, but my game definitely got better last year. Try and do the same
Q. Did you lose concentration when he called out the trainer?
Well, it's difficult. You just never now how guys are gonna feel. You know, if he's struggling, you sometimes can expect guys to stop playing. If you look at the next game or so, you know, next couple of games, he started rushing me. He started coming forward more, and he hadn't been doing that. He went for broke a little bit and tried to shorten the points. He hit the ball well. You know, I struggled a little bit, but it wasn't just because of the timeout he took.
Q. You're a guy that obviously mixes it up a lot as far as pace and placement. Is that particularly important against a guy like Novak to do that?
I think against a lot of guys it works. Because the majority of the players now, they play so well from the baseline from both sides, that if you can use some slice and dropshots, some high balls and stuff, it just takes them out of their comfort zone. It's sort of my way of dictating how the match is getting played. You know, a lot of people might not necessarily think my game looks the most aggressive or offensive, but very few times will I sort of not have the points played how I like them to be played. Sort of slowing the pace down a little bit and using the slice. I don't often get guys hitting through me.
Q. Is there a little bit of extra satisfaction to be the first British player to win this event?
Not really.
Q. It is for us. (Laughter.)
I mean, any tournament you win is great. This is such a tough one to win that it's not just about sort of Britain all the time for me. Whether Tim and Greg got to No. 4 and I reached No. 3, it's not really what it's about. I'm competing on the world stage, and I want to try and improve my world ranking and win the biggest tournaments in the world. It's not so much about what's happened in the past.
Q. What do you expect this year for your ranking?
I want to try and improve it. I think the clay court season will be very important for me. On the hardcourts, I think my game is up there with the top guys. On grass it definitely got better last year. But on clay, it hasn't been the same as them, and that's where they have picked up sort of a lot of the points and stuff. If you got rid of the clay court season's points, I think I would be very close to Roger, and not too far behind Rafa. I need to improve my results on clay. If I do that, there's a chance I'll get higher.
Q. When you closed out the eighth game with the world's slowest ace, 76 miles an hour, were you amused, or surprised?
No. Sometimes - if you hit a big -- obviously it didn't look that fast. If you watched it, there was a lot of kick and it landed pretty short in the box. I don't think I had used that serve once the whole match. So, no, I don't know if he gave up on the serve or not, but I wasn't really thinking anything apart from I had won the game.
Q. Was there an extra benefit to staying at home in your own place?
Well, it's just nicer away from the court. I mean, I don't think it affects your performance too much when you're playing the matches. I just think it's much nicer sort of on your off days, which there are quite a few during these tournaments, that, yeah, you can just chill. You don't have to be in a hotel. You can have food at your apartment and you don't always have to go out for dinner. That's a big difference to most weeks on the tour.
Q. Do you feel when you were serving for the second set that that was basically almost like match point?
No, because, I mean, the wind did pick up in the second set as well from the end where I had to serve to stay in the set from at 5-4. The wind was right in my face. Like I say, he was rushing me a bit. If he hit a few big shots it would have been tough for me. I knew that he was struggling there, and if I could keep points long and not make any silly mistakes. I think I hit a big ace at 30-all in that game. That sort of calmed me down a little bit.
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Posted: 06.04.09 14:48. Post subject: Не могла не удержать..
Не могла не удержаться.
Murray: I Can Be No. 1 At Year's End
Tennis is a numbers game and if Andy Murray can sustain his current digit dominance on serve he believes his number will be up at the end of the year.
Murray, like Tennis Week's own Victor Lamm , has spent some time scouring serving and returning stats and believes if he can maintain his current numbers of holding serve nearly 87 percent of the time and breaking serve and ATP-best 38 percent of the time , then he will finish the year ranked No. 1.
"If I win that percentage of my service games during the whole year I think I can finish No. 1 in the world," Murray told Alix Ramsay. "If I'm breaking serve around 40 per cent of the time and getting broken 13 per cent I'm going to win pretty much every match I play."
Murray's service work hasn't been confined to number crunching.
The fourth-ranked Scott has strengthened his first serve significantly since he turned pro and has worked on varying the spins and placement on his second serve when facing the world's elite players.
"When I play against the top players I vary my second serve a lot more," Murray said. "When I played Roger Federer in Madrid, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi and Doha I changed it up a lot. I served some kick serves, some body serves and some into his forehand. I feel I can attack Federer's second serve, I can attack Rafael Nadal's second serve and I can attack Novak Djokovic's second serve. The important thing is the amount of points you win on the second serve and not the speed. My percentage this year has been much, much higher."
Posted: 06.04.09 19:36. Post subject: Маррей продолжил пок..
Маррей продолжил покорять "Мастерсы" 6 апреля 2009 года, понедельник. 0:52 Автор: Артём Тайманов, "Чемпионат.ру"
Анонс: Энди Маррей, отдав за весь турнир в Майами всего два сета, в финале легко разобрался с Новаком Джоковичем, одержав 3-ю подряд победу над сербом и став лидером сезона по количеству титулов.
Мужской финал в Майами венчал весеннюю часть хардового сезона. Уже на следующей неделе теннисный караван переедет на одно из естественных покрытий – грунт, в июне настанет пора других естественных кортов – травяных, и лишь затем игроки вернутся на искусственный хард.
А пока что за второй титул турнира серии "Мастерс 1000" в 2009-м году боролись два молодых, но звёздных игрока, два члена "большой четвёрки" – Новак Джокович и Энди Маррей. Что касается предыдущих матчей Джоковича с Марреем, то серб вёл 4:2, однако две последние игры остались за его соперником. Кстати, это их первая встреча после того, как шотландец занял четвёртую строчку рейтинга, что и неудивительно – ведь на всех крупнейших турнирах серб и шотландец теперь получают третий и четвёртый номера посева, а значит, попадают в разные половины сетки. Таким образом, для очной встречи им, в большинстве случаев, необходимо преодолеть серьёзнейший барьер из Рафаэля Надаля и Роджера Федерера.
В этот раз Новак действительно разобрался со швейцарцем, хотя тот и провёл, мягко говоря, не лучший матч в жизни, а работу по "устранению" испанца Рафаэля Надаля за Энди сделал Хуан-Мартин Дель Потро. Впрочем, аргентинец дал бой и Маррею, однако общее впечатление от последних игр Маррея на турнире было более целостным, чем от матчей Джоковича. Лучше начал шотландец и воскресный финал. Точнее, Энди фактически уверенно держал мяч в игре, умело используя смену ритма, и в целом грамотно играя тактически, а Новак раздаривал очко за очком. Не успел серб оглянуться, как счёт был уже 4:0 не в его пользу. Затем Джокович всё-таки нащупал что-то, напоминающее его теннис, взял пару геймов на своей подаче, отыграв при этом один сетбол, но к брейку серб и близко не подобрался. А для Маррея ключевой в первом сете стала цифра "3" – это и количество его невынужденных ошибок, и число отданных на подаче мячей.
Разогнавшись, Энди начал с брейка и вторую партию, хотя в её стартовом гейме уже была борьба. Но тут вдруг всё перевернулось с ног на голову, причём безо всяких видимых причин, что бывает довольно редко. Преобразился и Новак, начавший играть резко и точно, и Энди, чья игра развалилась буквально на глазах. Один гейм, второй, третий… Лишь при счёте 3:1 в пользу серба Маррей зацепился, но вернуть брейк не сумел.
Джокович тут же мог взять третью подачу соперника подряд, однако упустил гейм с двух брейк-пойнтов. Но свой главный шанс Новак не реализовал, подавая на сет. Двух сетболов ему оказалось недостаточно, причём на втором из них он допустил двойную! А вот Энди хватило одного брейк-пойнта, чтобы вернуть потерянную подачу. На этом борьба фактически окончилась – Маррей в великолепном стиле сравнял счёт, сделав в своём гейме три эйса, а затем Новак под ноль отдал подачу. Шотландец же не стал давать сопернику шансов вернуться в матч, с первого же матчбола оформив свою двухсетовую победу.
Сразу после игры Энди сказал: "Матч получился очень напряжённым — было непросто играть против такого достойного соперника. Сегодня приходилось много перемещаться по корту: Новак постоянно выходил к сетке, совершая коварные удары. К счастью, я оказался сильнее в этом компоненте и справлялся с его ударами".
Таким образом, Энди Маррей выиграл свой 11-й титул в карьере, и вышел в лидеры по количеству турнирных побед в текущем году – это уже третий триумфальный турнир для шотландца. Кроме того, Энди великолепно выступает на турнирах серии "Мастерс" – из последних пяти он выиграл три, и ещё однажды уступил в финале. Посмотрим, впрочем, как у Маррея пойдут дела на грунте.
До первого из больших песчаных соревнований, кстати говоря, осталась всего неделя – это будет турнир аналогичной серии в Монте-Карло. Правда, с этого года он лишён статуса обязательного, чем уже воспользовались некоторые теннисисты – так, на него не приедут Роджер Федерер, Жо-Вилфрид Цонга, Фернандо Гонсалес, Дмитрий Турсунов, а также ведущие американские игроки – Энди Роддик, Джеймс Блэйк и Мэрди Фиш. А на ближайшей неделе пройдут турниры в Касабланке и Хьюстоне. Из россиян в Марокко отправились Игорь Андреев и Теймураз Габашвили, а в США остался Евгений Королёв.
А в паре неожиданно добились успеха Светлана Кузнецова и Амели Моресмо, получившие WC. Россиянка и француженка по пути к финалу обыграли первую пару мира (Кару Блэк и Лизель Хубер), а в решающем матче сломили сопротивление третьих сеяных - Кветы Пешке и Лизы Рэймонд. Первый сет довольно уверенно взяли чешка и американка – 6:4. Однако затем Светлана и Амели переломили ход матча, сначала отыграв брейк во второй партии, и доведя её в итоге до победы, а потом разгромив опытных соперниц на чемпионском тай-брейке – 10:3! Для россиянки это 14-й парный титул за карьеру. Предыдущий она выиграла три года назад в английском Истбурне в паре с той же Моресмо. Побеждала она и в Майами – это был 2005 год, когда Кузнецова играла пару с Алисией Молик. Моресмо же добилась всего лишь третьей парной победы в карьере.
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Posted: 06.04.09 20:57. Post subject: Бывший тренер Энди М..
Бывший тренер Энди Мюррея: «Выигрыш Энди турнира «Большого шлема» – вопрос времени»
Бывший тренер британца Энди Мюррея Марк Петчи заявил, что высоко оценивает шансы своего бывшего ученика на завоевание титулов на турнирах «Большого шлема». «У Энди огромное желание и мотивация выиграть турнир «Большого шлема», и я надеюсь это произойдет в этом году», – цитирует Марка Петчи BBC Sport.
Posted: 07.04.09 08:50. Post subject: Head Games: Murray t..
Head Games: Murray topples Djokovic in Miami final
By Peter Bodo
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla.—So, this thing about getting in someone’s head? It looks like a trend, rather than this little trick Rafael Nadal likes to play on Roger Federer.
Ah, Nadal and Federer. Remember them? They were the two guys who, as recently as the start of the year, were supposed to play the next 63 Grand Slam and Masters 1000 tournament finals. The next two names in the stud book, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, were supposed to provide semifinal cannon fodder and wait their turn.
Well, Nadal and Federer did play the Australian Open final in early February, but since then, Murray has caught fire and Djokovic has regained his traction. Today, they did a fair impersonation of Federer and Nadal in the stadium at the Sony Ericsson Open, with Murray bagging the title, 6-2, 7-5.
The roles proved remarkably portable. Federer, until last summer, was the have lording it over the eager have-not, Nadal. Likewise, Djokovic came into Miami as the long-time No. 3 behind those two men, with Murray the aspiring No. 4. But just as Nadal wrested the No. 1 ranking away from Federer last August and has ridden hard on him since then, Murray has crept up and hogtied Djokovic. He’s 3-0 against Djokovic in their last three meetings (including this one) and now a mere 170 ranking points behind the No. 3 as the tour moves to Europe and clay. And just as Nadal seemed to go where no player has gone before – into Federer’s head, to damage his confidence and sow doubt and confusion – so Murray has done to Djokovic. The best example of that was the penultimate game of the second set today, in which Murray broke Djokovic in a way that was both unexpected and mortifying. Djokovic, playing spectator at his own execution, lost four straight points, at least two of them because his mind didn’t seem to be on the task at hand, and another because he got caught in the mid-court area, uncertain about whether to hang back or swarm the net.
Swarming the net would not have been a terrible idea, either. In fact, attacking paid rich dividends in the second set, after Djokovic pretty much gave away the first by going for too much, too soon – playing right into Murray’s strategy. “I was really impatient,” Djokovic said. “I made huge number of unforced errors and he was playing solid and waiting for his chances.”
Djokovic was broken to start the second set, but broke right back as he began to find the range on his ground strokes and began to move forward more frequently, giving Murray more to think about than which side he’d try to work for his next error, and with which shot: the wimpy slice that begged to be powdered, or the crosscourt backhand intended to tease out the big forehand down the line – which Murray, anticipating well, could then run down and drive back, crosscourt, for a winner?
It isn’t exactly accurate to call Murray’s game cat-and-mouse – it’s really more like tiger-and-mouse , as Djokovic would later admit: “Andy’s moving much better (than in 2008). This switch from defensive to offensive tennis, he’s really good at this. . .”
Funny, isn’t that what they used to say about Federer?
But as lethal and tricky as Murray is, Djokovic was on the right track when he settled in and began to press forward. He broke Murray for the second time running by applying pressure that, if it wasn’t exactly distracting, gave Murray a little more than he was accustomed to having to think about. Leading 4-1, Djokovic stretched Murray’s next game to the breaking point, but Murray hung on. The men exchanged holds, and then some evil little mini-Murray began screaming inside Djokovic’s brain. He had a set point wiped out by a monster backhand crosscourt service return. He earned another set point with a lob error, but wasted that chance with a double fault. Two errors later, Murray was back on serve at 4-5.
Murray held, and then came the meltdown. Djokovic didn’t hurl his racket at the asphalt, as Federer did the other day, but he had every reason to after playing such a poor game that the notion of recovery was ruled out. Murray served out the match with no trouble.
“Yet again, I was the biggest enemy to myself,” Djokovic ruefully admitted in his press conference.
Murray pretty much agreed with the assessment, saying, “Novak started rushing me, he started to shorten the points and I struggled a little bit. He was coming in (to net) 60, 70 percent of the time in that second set. I lost my rhythm a little in that second set but I got it back.”
He didn’t even have to take it back; Djokovic handed it to over to him in a quick, brief ceremony that took place inside his head.
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Posted: 07.04.09 11:08. Post subject: Энди Мюррей: «Не вын..
quote:
Энди Мюррей: «Не выношу вкус алкоголя» Победитель турнира в Майами британец Энди Мюррей рассказал, что после пятнадцати матчей за 26 дней его организму, конечно, необходим отдых, но при этом он абсолютно не приемлет алкоголя.
«Я даже вкус алкоголя не переношу. На вечеринке после Майами я пригубил клубничный коктейль из бокала моей подруги Ким, это было ужасно».
Также Мюррей объяснил, что не берет в рот спиртное уже в течение четырех лет, после того, как еще подростком позволил себе расслабиться на выходных после усердных тренировок в учебном лагере в Барселоне.
«Тогда с понедельника по вторник я чувствовал себя ужасно, не хотелось никуда выходить, музыка была слишком громкой, а наутро просыпался с больным горлом», – цитирует Мюррея The Times.
Posted: 07.04.09 11:13. Post subject: Пять процентов для ч..
Пять процентов для чемпиона
Перед началом турнира в Ки-Бискейне лишь пять процентов посетителей Sports.ru воспринимали Энди Мюррея в качестве реального претендента на титул, но британец сумел посрамить всех аналитиков и их расклады. Остается лишь порадоваться за Энди, а также за Стива Тиньора, который рискнул поставить не на Надаля и угадал.
Мужик сказал – мужик сделал. Именно такой фразой можно подвести краткий итог выступления Энди Мюррея на турнире в Майами. Еще после своего поражения в финале (sic!) «Мастерса» в Индиан-Уэллсе от Рафаэля Надаля Энди Мюррей объявил этот турнир фактически подготовительным к выступлению в Ки-Бискейне.
«Я не ожидал, что выступлю так удачно на этой неделе. Я смог выиграть ряд хороших матчей. Благодаря тому, что я сыграл здесь так много матчей теперь я поеду в Майами в куда лучшей форме, чем мог предположить», – заявил две недели назад Мюррей.
Тогда эти слова британца были восприняты с изрядной долей скепсиса. Ну, во-первых, каждый полководец рад окрестить разгром (а Мюррей тогда проиграл Надалю 1:6, 2:6) удачным стратегическим маневром. Во-вторых, для того, чтобы выступить в Майами удачнее, чем в Индиан-Уэллсе, Мюррею необходимо будет оставаться на пике формы без малого четыре недели.
Наконец сетка турнира так же оставляла некоторый простор для сомнений – в четверти Мюррея находились: Давид Налбандян, Фернандо Гонсалес, да и Фернандо Вердаско, с приветом из Мельбурна. Ну и в качестве гарнира ко всему изложенному – титул в Майами позволял Мюррею впервые в карьере настолько близко подобраться к тройке, что ощутимо повышало важность этого турнира для него. Ну и не стоит забыть, что до этого британцы никогда не становились чемпионами в Майами.
Что мы получили в итоге? Хуан Монако во втором круге, Николас Массу – в третьем, вместо обещанного Марди Фиша. Что же до Давида Налбандяна, то от него британца избавил Виктор Троицки. Фернандо Вердаско оказался более настойчив, и встреча в четвертьфинале состоялась, но испанцу не повезло, во втором гейме матча он получил травму в южной части спины. Как следствие Вердаско допустил массу ошибок и не смог показать своей лучшей игры. Было ли все вышеперечисленное легкой прогулкой для Мюррея? Нет! Мог ли этот путь оказаться сложнее? Безусловно.
Но полуфинальный матч должен был стать тяжелейшим испытанием – на Мюррея по сетке двигался Надаль. Двигался Надаль, а пришел Дель Потро. Та встреча любым своим исходом была на руку Энди, было очевидно, что соперники измотают друг друга. Так и получилось. К тому же матч против Вердаско получился для Мюррея очень скоротечным – на выход в полуфинал он потратил один час. Первый сет матча против Дель Потро показался продолжением встречи с Вердаско – 6:1, во втором Дель Потро сумел собраться с силами – 5:7, но третий сет все расставил по местам – 6:2.
Если вы видите на корте Мюррея и Джоковича, то значит, вы смотрите турнир серии «Мастерс» – последние два сезона приучили болельщиков именно к этому правилу, на других турнирах соперники не встречались. Шесть встреч: четыре победы Джоковича давно, две победы Мюррея не так давно. Да, соперники играли и в Майами – два года назад британцу удалось выиграть у Джоковича целый гейм. Один. Но вряд ли имело смысл вспоминать тот матч, все течет – все меняется. Кто-то из соколов сумел стать орлом, кто-то – нет.
Новак Джокович в своем полуфинале обыграл Роджера Федерера. Хотя вернее будет сказать, что он сделал все, чтобы не помешать швейцарцу проиграть тот матч. Правда, это тоже надо уметь. Что же до первых кругов, то Матье, Бердых, Тсонга – сетка выглядит посерьезнее чем у Мюррея, но какое это имеет значение? Финал – это всегда особый матч.
Первый сет оставил некоторое чувство недоумения. Да, перед этим матчем Мюррей говорил, что понял, как играть против Новака Джоковича, но тем не менее сделать два брейка в первых четырех геймах матча – для финала это слишком. Не успел серб понять, на каком свете он находится, как уже уступал 0:4, но к чести Джоковича стоит отметить, что он все-таки сумел справиться со своими демонами и нашел свою игру. Первый сет спасти не удалось, он завершился со счетом 6:2, но задел на вторую партию был сделан.
После матча против Роджера Федерера Джокович заявил, что заиграл умнее после первого сета. Осталось понять, что помешало ему сделать необходимые выводы к матчу с Мюрреем и начать играть с самого начала встречи.
Начало второго сета показалось повторением сета первого – Мюррей сходу взял подачу соперника. На этом сходства закончились. Джокович заиграл точнее, Мюррей же попросту перестал играть. Рационального объяснения этому не было. Что-то похожее на свою игру Мюррей обнаружил лишь при счете 1:3, сумев спасти следующий гейм на своей подаче. Все это не могло помешать Джоковичу сравнять счет по сетам – необходимый задел был сделан, но…За весь матч Мюррей не допустил ни одной двойной ошибки, а Джокович допустил пять. Бог с четырьмя другими, но одну из них он допустил на сетболе. После матча серб возложил всю вину за поражение на себя:
«Сегодня я был врагом самому себе. У меня было два сет-бола... Я должен был их реализовывать, и кто знает, как сложилось бы в третьем сете», – заявил Джокович.
Никто и не узнает. Мюррей не сделал второго подарка своему сопернику и вернулся в игру. Счет стал 4:5, а затем шотландец подал три эйса в десятом гейме, один из которых случился на геймболе, причем на второй подаче. Видимо это совсем выбило из колеи Джоковича, так как затем серб отдал свою подачу практически без борьбы.
Энди Мюррей выиграл свой третий титул в сезоне-2009, это лучший результат среди мужчин в этом году и максимально приблизился к идущему в рейтинге третьим сербу. С учетом того, как провели эти теннисисты грунтовую часть сезона-2008 можно сказать, что удержать третью строчку Джоковичу будет сложнее, чем Мюррею его потеснить.
Posted: 08.04.09 08:39. Post subject: In praise of ... And..
In praise of ... Andy Murray The Guardian, Tuesday 7 April 2009
When Tim Henman was the best that British tennis could offer, all sorts of people moaned that he was too English to be a real champion - a sort of racket-wielding, cucumber-sandwich-munching, inarticulate version of Hugh Grant. When, they demanded, would Britain produce a tough-guy tennis player who could take on the world? Well, that player has arrived, in the form of Andy Murray, who this season has moved from future hopeful to current champion - and the same people are moaning about his character instead of Henman's. Murray, they say, is too brutal, a bit charmless, too full of himself . He plays sport to win. And that is the point. At the weekend he dismantled Novak Djokovic in the sweltering final of a Masters Series tournament in Florida, the sort of victory that is now becoming routine. Since July last year he has won 57 matches and lost just seven - a better record than anyone else on the tour. Some of those defeats came in the biggest contests, including the Australian Open, where Murray also lost in the first round last year. But he is getting better - and stronger - and is closing in on third place in the rankings. First place is not out of his reach. For the English tennis establishment this progress is unsettling. Murray, proudly Scottish, went to Barcelona as a teenager to toughen up his game; he is not a product of the well-funded Lawn Tennis Association scheme. He has also changed coach as often as his tennis shirt. But every moan will be forgotten if he wins Wimbledon this July. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/07/in-praise-andy-murray
да, мы болелы похожи - то Тим слишком мягкий, то Энди чересчур брутален, иногда не знаем как бы и к чему бы еще придраться
Fanka
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Posted: 08.04.09 09:13. Post subject: Taking stock of men&..
Taking stock of men's players статью втихомолку уволокла из роаздела Ноля , оставив первую четверку
What if there were a stock exchange for tennis players? The start of the 2009 season would have produced wild gyrations, week-to-week uncertainty and only a few standouts amid the sliding prospects … a lot like the real financial markets, in fact.
With the first quarter in the books, here's a look at how the players rate going into the clay season.
Rafael Nadal: BUY
Forget the Big Four; there's only one giant in men's tennis at the moment.
Nadal has managed to exceed the high expectations surrounding him this season, winning his first hard-court major at the Australian Open and following up with a title at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. It's the strongest start he's ever had, with his favorite part of the year still ahead.
There's only one nagging question: With all the energy he's expended, does he now have enough left to complete his usual sweep of the clay circuit?
On the one hand: yes, he really is that good. On the other, the 22-year-old Spaniard has also set up an unrealistic schedule for himself, committing to events at Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Madrid and, of course, the French Open. That's a grueling eight-week stretch with only two weeks of rest built in, so the likelihood of the odd loss or pullout is perhaps greater than in the past.
Overall, though, there's no one capable of regularly outperforming him on the dirt. His biggest challenge will be the bar he has set for himself in the past few years. Nadal actually feels his past successes have taken pressure off him by providing a hedge against any future letdowns.
It's a wise attitude, and should serve him well when he sets out to try to win a record five straight French Opens. That would surely establish him alongside, or above, Bjorn Borg as the greatest clay-court player in history, and send his stock soaring.
Roger Federer: SELL
It was the racket smash heard around the world, the perfect punctuation to Federer's current struggles. But by sending his frame hurtling to the ground against Novak Djokovic in the Sony Ericsson Open semifinals last week, at least Federer showed that he, too, knows something is wrong.
Having been the tour's best blue-chip performer and a model citizen over the past five years, Federer has arguably earned the right to have a lapse or even throw a racket without having to face an international inquisition.
More dangerous indicators are the nature of his losses -- he has dropped the deciding set against his three biggest rivals in the three biggest tournaments so far this year -- and his refusal to acknowledge that a pattern is now developing.
Both indicate that the current problem is mental. On the court, Federer's game has broken down at critical times in ways that suggest a little hesitation or self-doubt as he tries to grab control of a point, causing him to be a fraction late. Off the court, he appears to be taking each loss extremely hard, and the cumulative emotional toll might make it harder to bounce back.
Falling from such dizzy heights can be disorienting. Maybe it's time for the words of a fellow racket-smasher, Goran Ivanisevic: "Sometimes when you are winning too much, you think you should never lose again. I am learning to lose."
Federer will get through this learning process at some point, but things could get worse before they get better.
Novak Djokovic: HOLD
Only his run to the Miami final last week keeps Djokovic out of the SELL column. Victory over a depleted field in Dubai doesn't offset the quarterfinal defeats to Andy Roddick at the Australian Open and Indian Wells, and even Djokovic's performances last week were mixed. He tottered badly toward the end of his match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and failed to show up in the first set against Federer. And despite a late charge in the second set, he was thoroughly dominated by Andy Murray in the final.
His repeated problems in the heat this year are a definite concern, but if it's a simply a temperature issue and his fitness isn't at fault, the European spring weather might not bother him too much.
There'll be a lot happening around Djokovic during the next few weeks: First, Murray is looking almost certain to snatch away the Serb's No. 3 spot before the French Open. Then there are also the preparations for Djokovic's family-owned tournament in Belgrade, around which there has already been a bit of conflict.
That adds even more weight to his already-sagging shoulders, but if things go well there, it might help him going forward.
Andy Murray: BUY
His 26-2 win-loss record is the best on tour this year, and the only thing to find fault with is the timing of one of those losses. A combination of illness and Fernando Verdasco sent Murray out of the Australian Open in the fourth round. Other than that, he's been close to perfect: titles in Doha, Rotterdam and Miami, with only a pullout at Dubai and a loss to Nadal in the Indian Wells final in between.
In theory, Murray's game is well-suited to dirt, but his belief is lacking. He says his goal for the clay season is simply to "try and reach the quarterfinals of one of the big tournaments."
But despite the modest words, he's aware of the opportunity this part of the year provides. Djokovic will have to outperform Murray by over 2,000 ranking points if he wants to prevent the Scot from reaching No. 3 (which would be the highest-ever ranking held by a British player). And Murray is looking even farther ahead in his calculations. "If you got rid of the clay-court season's points, I think I would be very close to Roger, and not too far behind Rafa," he mused after winning in Miami over the weekend.
Two-time French Open finalist Alex Corretja will also be returning to the Murray team for the clay swing. There's every chance Murray could make a good run in the next few weeks and keep closing the gap with Federer and Nadal.
Kamakshi Tandon is a freelance tennis writer for ESPN.com.
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Posted: 08.04.09 11:08. Post subject: Разбитые ракетки и с..
Разбитые ракетки и сердца
Турнир в Майами уже шел полным ходом, а теннисные обозреватели, по словам Стива Тиньора, «уставшие от тенниса», молчали. И все же им пришлось вернуться к работе после событий, которые не могли остаться незамеченными – поражений Надаля, Федерера и, наконец, финала Мюррей против Джоковича, обещающего в будущем стать традиционным. Обо всем этом в традиционном пост-турнирном обзоре прессы от Sports.ru.
Поначалу все шло так, как должно было идти – фавориты выигрывали, неотвратимо идя навстречу друг другу. Несмотря на не слишком убедительную игру на этом турнире первой ракетки мира испанца Рафаэля Надаля, мало кто верил, что финал в Майами не окажется традиционным – Надаль – Федерер. У Надаля, выиграй он этот турнир, была возможность захватить все три крупнейших титула, разыгрывающиеся в начале сезона, а это не простая задача.
Об этом пишет Грег Гарбер (ESPN.com): «Исторически этот устрашающую серию все же выигрывали, хотя и относительно редко. Только одна женщина, Штеффи Граф, и трое мужчин, Федерер, Андре Агасси и Пит Сампрас, приложив сверхусилия, побеждали в один и тот же год на Открытом чемпионате Австралии, а также на турнирах в Индиан-Уэллсе и Майами.
Прежде чем попасть в Майами, Надаль провел несколько чрезвычайно продуктивных, но утомительных месяцев. Он выиграл все семь матчей на Открытом чемпионате Австралии, одолев Роджера Федерера в финале, потом добрался до финала в Роттердаме, где проиграл Энди Мюррею. После двух побед на Кубке Дэвиса, одна из которых была над Новаком Джоковичем, Надаль понюхал пороху в Индиана-Уэллсе, что включало в себя и напряженный матч с Давидом Налбандяном, после которого последовали победы над Дель Потро, Энди Роддиком и Мюрреем.
Здесь, в Майами, Надалю пришлось биться с самого начала, хотя и умеренно, с португальским игроком из квалификации Фредерико Жилем, и потом, в более сложном поединке 4-го раунда, со Станисласом Вавринкой, где была разыграна пара тай-брейков
И кто бы мог подумать, что именно Дель Потро, прежде имевший с Надалем счет 0-4 и даже иронически занесенный Питером Бодо в «Клуб имени Николая Давыденко» (то есть в группу игроков, которые стабильно успешно играют с нижестоящими в рейтинге, но редко оказывают сопротивление вышестоящим), остановит испанца в четвертьфинале. Но видно такая уж судьба у Надаля – именно в Майами проигрывать почетным членам этого клуба (как раз Давыденко стал обидчиком Надаля в прошлогоднем финале). Грег Гарбер считает, что причиной этого стали элементарная физическая усталость и желание подготовиться к грунту: «С Дель Потро Надаль сражался мужественно, как всегда. Это был поединок, длившийся 2 часа 59 минут, в котором Надаль выиграл 101 очко против 99 очков Дель Потро. Усталость, очевидно, сказалась. Это был 10-й матч для Надаля – четыре из десяти игрались с противниками входящими в Топ-10 – на протяжении всего лишь 19-ти дней. Это немного слишком даже для Надаля, возможно, наиболее крепкого и энергичного теннисиста».
Питер Бодо (TENNIS.com) в статье, названной «Воскрешение из Мертвых, или Чудеса в Майами», напротив, считает это поражение в чем-то симптоматичным, не забыв при этом отметить прогресс молодого аргентинца: «Если двухметровый Дель Потро сможет сохранить тот же уровень игры, что он показал в четвертьфинальном поединке, когда он неожиданно нанес поражение Рафаэлю Надалю в трех сетах, он заставит кое-кого подвинуться, даже если это потребует скинуть пару других ребят – Энди Роддика? Николая Давыденко? – в пропасть.
Эта победа была настолько же неожиданной, насколько громкой – в большей степени, из-за того, как это происходило, чем из-за самого факта. Дель Потро выиграл первый сет, 6:4. Надаль взял второй, 6:3, и, сделав два брейка, повел в третьем (3:0), но в этот момент у самой надежного теннисного паровоза наших дней отвалились колеса. «Это удивительная катастрофа, да», – после выразительно прокомментировал Надаль.
А вот как Дель Потро описывает момент, когда матч повернулся в его пользу: «При счете 0:3 мне начал нравиться матч, люди вокруг, болельщики, четвертьфиналы. Я стал играть более расслабленно, но, в то же время, более агрессивно. И все изменилось. Я взял его подачу при 0:3, потом, при 2:3. Когда счет стал 5:4, я сказал (себе) – сейчас я могу у него выиграть. В голове что-то повернулось».
Все же по другую сторону сетки был Надаль, а не Налбандян. И это, помимо всего прочего, гарантировало, что события, вероятно, начнут развиваться в более интересную сторону. Надаль удерживал свои позиции – чаще с трудом – пока Дель Потро раз за разом убийственно подавал и бил с форхенда. Дель Потро эксплуатировал самый вопиющий недостаток в игре Надаля – его неспособность держать мяч ближе к задней линии, чем линия подачи на половине Дель Потро. Линии для того и нарисованы, чтобы по ним попадать, а не избегать.
Надаль выдержал настоящую битву, чтобы дотянуть до тай-брейка. Он отыграл три матчбола со свойственным ему бесстрашием – дважды подав навылет; одна из подач пролетела со скоростью 211 км/ч, оказавшись его самой быстрой подачей за матч. Надаль – он такой, всегда оставляет место для десерта. На тай-брейке сначала казалось, что Надалю удалось слезть с крючка. Он заработал мини-брейк, 3:2, с двумя подачами в запасе. Затем он проиграл обе свои подачи, и больше уже не выходил вперед. Дель Потро добил его со счетом 7:3.
«Я считаю, что играл очень плохо весь матч», – сказал Надаль. «Это правда о матче». Более того, когда Надаля спросили, насколько хорошо сыграл Дель Потро, он был нетипично скуп на похвалы: «Я думаю, что это был не самый лучший его матч, нет? Так мне кажется, я не знаю. Вы можете его самого потом спросить. Но, думаю, он сыграл хорошо. Он седьмой в мире, и он очень хорош. Он не сыграл сегодня какой-то невероятный матч, но и я не играл на своем лучшем уровне». Если бы мы не знали Надаля лучше, то могли бы вспомнить басню «Лиса и Виноград». Такая его реакция наводит на мысль, что в мире Надаля не все в порядке – и это предположение он более или менее подтвердил в самом конце своей пресс-конференции, когда его спросили, понимает ли он причину того, что сыграл такой неровный матч сегодня. «Всегда есть причина, почему не играется на своем уровне. Нет, я спокоен. Я доволен собой, всем, что было в этом году, да… Я не знаю. Всегда есть причина, но это личное».
Наверное, в этой реплике скрывается больше, чем кажется на первый взгляд. Поживем – увидим. А пока Дель Потро подвинулся немного ближе к вершине, захватив 5-е место в рейтинге», – заканчивает Бодо. Надо лишь отметить в скобках, что этот его пост вызвал огромное количество версий читателей на тему, каковы все же «личные причины», озвученные Надалем.
А после Надаля пришел черед Федерера. Здесь ситуация была не столь однозначной, от швейцарца в его нынешнем морально-психологическом состоянии, увы, просто не знаешь, чего ожидать. Но то, что он продемонстрировал в проигранном полуфинале с Джоковичем, потрясло воображение и зрителей, и специалистов.
Грег Гарбер пишет: «В теннисном мире всеми более или менее подразумевалось, что, преодолев мононуклеоз и проблемы со спиной, Роджер Федерер в 2009 году вернется в некое приближение своей чемпионской формы.
Возможно, это больше не является данностью, если исходить из нетипичной для него гневной выходки во время полуфинального матча в курортном Майами.
Когда Федерер ходил в юниорах, он часто в гневе разбивал ракетки в стиле Марата Сафина, если ему не нравилось, куда идет матч. Но, став профессионалом, Федерер неизменно, в течение долгих лет, являл собой образец самообладания. Последний случай бросания ракетки, поддающийся проверке, произошел во время финала в 2005 году, в том же Майами. Федерер тогда проигрывал Надалю второй сет. Он потерял контроль над собой – и своей ракеткой – но в тот раз это зарядило его энергией, и он выиграл матч в пяти сетах. Но не в этот раз.
Федерер был повержен в полуфинале со счетом 6:3, 2:6, 3:6. Невероятно, но Федерер проиграл семь геймов подряд в конце второго и в начале третьего сетов, и 24 очка из 28. Он совершил 35 невынужденных ошибок и отдал шесть своих подач, притом, что в четырех предыдущих матчах он отдал только одну. Федерер сыграл 4 турнира в этом году и не выиграл ни одного; он проиграл финал Открытого чемпионата Австралии Надалю, и три полуфинала, дважды Мюррею, и вот сейчас, Джоковичу. Само по себе, это нестрашно. В прошлом году Федерер выиграл только два мелких турнира, в Португалии и Германии, прежде чем выиграть Открытый чемпионат США. А вот то, что действительно беспокоит в перспективе – это его потеря контроля над своими эмоциями. Того самого контроля, который, как он сказал, помог ему взлететь на теннисную вершину».
Питер Бодо в статье, названной «Ракетка тут ни при чем», пытается разобраться в причинах столь нетипичного для швейцарца поведения: «И вот, опять мы повторяем эту мантру: «Что случилось с Федерером?»
Не так давно я предположил, что Федерер перешел в третью стадию величия – стадию, в которой он временами проигрывает такие матчи, которые должен был выигрывать, и ему сложно мотивировать себя на победу в любом другом турнире помимо турниров «Большого Шлема». В этой стадии ему нужно найти в себе уверенность, решимость, веру и средства для того, чтобы реализовать свои несколько упрощенные амбиции. К примеру, такие важные средства, как найм тренера, пересмотр своей подготовки, и нахождение тонкого способа донести до соперников, что у него уже аппетиты не те, и это он не просто сдает еще не проигранный матч. Этот процесс у Федерера еще не начался, возможно, потому что он все еще полагает, что находится во второй стадии величия, в которой игрок его калибра полон мощи, и им движет автопилот его гения.
В сегодняшнем полуфинале наиболее поразительным было, насколько легко Федерер отдал все свои шансы. Он выиграл первый сет у парня, над которым у него, если и не полное превосходство, то достаточное для того, чтобы тот чувствовал себя запуганным и под давлением. И Федерер просто потерял интерес. Во многих смыслах, оба теннисиста играли как на послеобеденной тренировке в не очень удачный день, хотя у Джоковича это могло частично объясняться ощущаемым им давлением. Как будто слишком мало было на кону, и проще было доиграть расхлябанно, чем собраться и получить от тренировки по максимуму. К чести Джоковича, он перестроился. А Федерер зарылся глубже в депрессивное настроение.
Эта летальная комбинация слабеющего интереса со стороны великого чемпиона и растущей уверенности тех, кто считает свои победы над ним, представляет собой внушительный вызов хотя бы потому, что она замешена на нервах. Это не часто обсуждается, но почти всегда присуще последним стадиям любой теннисной карьеры. Начинающий все чаще проигрывать чемпион похож на пресловутого стареющего стрелка – однажды в руках появляется дрожь. Однажды приходит понимание, что ты смертен. Однажды, когда игрок целится ударить справа, из глубины сознания, как вирус, вышедший из спячки, проникает тоненький голосок: «А что, если промажешь? Лучше уж не промажь! Ну, хотя ладно, давай, промажь, но только один раз, это несмертельно».
Продолжение часто обсуждаемой темы «мозгового вторжения» Питер Бодо увидел и в финале турнира, разыгранном двумя стремящимися на вершину соперниками – Энди Мюрреем и Новаком Джоковичем: «Как насчет этой штуки с тем, чтобы влезть кому-нибудь в голову? Похоже, этот небольшой фокус, который Рафаэль Надаль проделывает над Роджером Федерером, становится тенденцией. Их роли оказались в высшей степени применимы и для других теннисистов. До прошлого лета Федерер был «имущим», помыкающим «неимущим», но страстно жаждущим Надалем. Аналогично, Джокович прибыл в Майами устоявшимся третьим номером, следующим за этими двумя, а Мюррей – честолюбивым четвертым. И точно так же, как Надаль отобрал у Федерера первый номер рейтинга в августе прошлого года и с тех пор продолжает «ездить» на нем, Мюррей подкрался и связал по рукам и ногам Джоковича. После нынешнего финала он ведет 3:0 в последних матчах с Джоковичем и сейчас находится всего лишь на расстоянии 170 рейтинговых очков от третьей позиции в рейтинге, как раз, когда тур перемещается на
так же, как Надаль, кажется, попал туда, где до него не был ни один теннисист – в голову Федерера, где посеял неуверенность и сомнения, Мюррей поселился в голове у Джоковича. Лучшим примером этого стал предпоследний гейм второго сета сегодня. То, как Мюррей взял этот гейм на подаче Джоковича, выглядело одновременно неожиданно и унизительно. Джокович, выступая в роли зрителя на собственной казни, проиграл четыре очка подряд, и, как минимум, два из них потому, что его ум, казалось, блуждал в это время где-то далеко. А еще одно очко он проиграл, захваченный врасплох в середине корта, неуверенный, то ли отойти к задней линии, то ли выйти к сетке.
«В очередной раз я оказался своим собственным злейшим врагом», – с сожалением признал Джокович на пресс-конференции. Мюррей был вполне согласен с таким заявлением: «Новак начал подгонять меня, укорачивать розыгрыши, и мне было тяжело. Он шел к сетке 60, 70 процентов времени во втором сете. Я немного потерял свой ритм во втором сете, но вернул его обратно». Ему даже не потребовалось возвращать его; Джокович преподнес его сам на короткой церемонии, произошедшей в его голове.
Назвать игру Мюррея игрой в «кошки-мышки» было бы не слишком точно – в действительности, это больше похоже на «тигры-мышки». Как признал потом Джокович, «Энди передвигается по корту гораздо лучше (чем в 2008). И он очень хорош в переключении с защитного тенниса на атакующий». Забавно, не то ли самое когда-то говорили о Федерере?»
Что ж, Мюррей действительно очень прибавил по сравнению с прошлым годом, и, кажется, он становится новым любимцем теннисной общественности – умен, говорлив, к тому же ведет образцовый образ жизни. А для зрителей – чем выше конкуренция, чем больше новых ярких лидеров, тем интереснее. Продолжение следует.
Posted: 08.04.09 18:00. Post subject: Fanka Бодо не измен..
Fanka Бодо не изменяет себе, всем ставит один и тот же диагноз - к нему забрались в голову. Надаль к Роджеру, Марри к Новаку. Если бы всё было так просто, достаточно было бы обратиться к хорошему психотерапевту - и дело в шляпе. Кроме психологии в теннисе есть ещё такая штука как физика и форма. Новак сейчас не в форме, и Роджер уже не тот, что был во времена своего доминирования, вот отсюда и надо плясать прежде чем рассуждать про жителей в головах. Но Бодо это не интересно, у него своя картина теннисного мира.
Fanka
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Posted: 09.04.09 09:06. Post subject: We have learned that..
We have learned that we have a lot to learn
Monday, April 6, 2009
Posted by Peter Bodo, TENNIS.com
Now that the second major chapter of the tennis year has been written, read and closed, we're entitled to ask: What takeaways do we have following those critical early-season, hard-court encounters at the BNP Paribas Open and Sony Ericsson Open (Indian Wells and Miami)?
On the men's side, the dominant theme is that Rafael Nadal is in command; he's pulling away from Roger Federer, and though Andy Murray is closing the gap with surprising speed, the upcoming clay-court season probably will enable Nadal to open up a substantial gap again.
Murray, who lost to Nadal at Indian Wells but beat everyone in Miami, should do well on clay, where he can employ the various and sundry weapons in his arsenal . But it would be impertinent to suggest he can stay on the pace Nadal sets on clay.
There's one interesting caveat here, though. The major tuneup for Roland Garros this year will be the new Madrid combined event. Right now, it's uncertain that Nadal will play Madrid. The reason is the difference in altitude between Madrid, which is high on a great plateau in Spain, and Paris. Nadal might not want to risk having to make the transition to altitude, and then back again, in the brief period between those two events.
Nadal still hasn't committed to playing Madrid; in fact, he has made a point of articulating his indecision. But if he doesn't play, that opens a big door for a number of players in Madrid, including the hard-charging Murray, who will do well when the ball flies with a little more zip, making clay-court tennis more like the hard-court game.
And factor this into Nadal's thinking: He has been so utterly dominant on clay for almost three years now that he just might decide it's time to take a break and enter Roland Garros on more rest than he has in the past (as if he needed any further advantage). Still, if Nadal skips Madrid, he might not accumulate his customary point differential, even if he wins in Paris.
Beyond that, was I the only one slightly alarmed to hear Federer proclaim relief that the hard-court season is over? (He said it after his loss to Miami finalist Novak Djokovic.) It was an odd confession, and we'll put it down to the distress he must have felt at having played perhaps the worst match of his career against Djokovic. But it's still hard to see how Federer could be looking forward to the clay season, given the disarray in his game.
And on the subject of disarray, you all saw Djokovic's game fall apart (with considerable help from Murray) in the Miami final. The long, rhythmic matches on clay might help him regain some of his lost form, but they might just as easily screw with his head and leave him even more confused.
On the women's side, watch out for Miami champ Victoria Azarenka. She's mobile, aggressive and consistent enough to clear out some of the pretenders near the top of the game, starting with the likes of Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva. Vera Zvonareva did well to win at Indian Wells, and she has a versatile game. But her performance in the desert might have been a career run, while Azarenka's win in Miami seemed more of a step in a logical progression to the top.
For American fans, the big question is this: Can Venus and Serena Williams, after lackluster spring campaigns, rally and make up lost ground? You know the answer to that question is another question: Do they really want to?
Andy Murray returned to the UK on Wednesday after winning the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, and made his intentions clear for the remainder of the year by setting his sights on The O2 arena – host venue to the year-end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, the season-ending climax to the 2009 ATP World Tour. The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals will determine the official year-end South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings and will also crown the official 2009 ATP World Tour Champion. While qualification to the event is coveted by many, it is earned only by the elite eight singles players and doubles teams capable of demonstrating sustained excellence across the ATP World Tour’s 62 tournaments, and the four Grand Slams, throughout the season.
Murray marked his own intentions to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals by scaling the roof of The O2 arena, where tournament organisers had placed a special bulls-eye target.
“It was amazing to be on the roof of such an iconic building – the view of London from all the way up there was just incredible,” said Murray. “The event has a great history and means so much to the top players - it’s great to think the race to the No.1 ranking spot and the title of ATP World Tour Champion could come down to the wire in London. I’m hopeful that I will be back here in November to really give UK tennis fans something to shout about, in what will be the biggest indoor tennis event of the year.”
Murray has got off to a career-best start this season, winning ATP World Tour titles in Doha, Rotterdam and Miami, as well as reaching the final at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The 21 year old’s latest performances have propelled him to within touching distance of World No. 3 Novak Djokovic, with just 170 ranking points now separating the Brit and Serb. Based on his recent surge in South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings points, Murray looks to be in a strong position to earn one of the eight coveted berths for this year’s climactic event, taking place in London for the first time in the event’s 40-year history.
Next stop for Murray is the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, the third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the year, where he will get his 2009 clay court campaign underway next week.
“I haven’t got that many rankings points to defend between now and Wimbledon so hopefully I can make some more ground on the top guys during the clay court season,” said Murray.
Murray, who has already captured 11 ATP World Tour titles in his young career, issued a rallying cry for fans to come and support him at The O2 in November, saying: “The crowd can make all the difference against the world’s best players and the prospect of playing at the end of the year in front of a home crowd at The O2 arena is huge.”
Murray was joined on the roof of The O2 by former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash. The Australian, who qualified for the final showdown in 1987 at New York''s Madison Square Garden, believes that the crowds in London will be in for a treat as the 2009 ATP World Tour comes to a climax at The O2 this November.
"It''s been a fantastic start to the year, and the prospect of everything going down to the wire at the last tournament of the season in London is extremely exciting for everybody. Andy has been playing really well so far this year and if he can continue that form through to the rest of the season, along with all the support he will get at The O2, I expect him to be in the mix for the No.1 ranking and the title of 2009 ATP World Tour Champion," said Cash.
Tickets for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals go on general sale in early May. Tennis fans wishing to minimise any risk of disappointment can register at www.BarclaysATPWorldTourFinals.com in order to have priority access to tickets ahead of the general sale.
Fanka
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Posted: 09.04.09 15:41. Post subject: Алёна ага, Бодо, ко..
Алёна ага, Бодо, конечно, не промах, читать его часто занимательно. любит он это дело - психоанализ, причем к делу и не к делу. Я именно это место о влезании в голову в англицком варианте выделила причем эта аналогия пар РН - РФ и ЭМ - НД притянута за уши как якобы равноценные варианты где он у гнуса увидел проблему (ментальную!!!! ) с скоттом? просто не бегалось сербу, не дышалось и не в кондициях он был. Но видимо, это теперь просто модно - всё валить на рефлексии, подсознание и проблемы с мамой в раннем младенчестве...
Алёна
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Posted: 09.04.09 21:17. Post subject: Fanka ага, он явно ..
Fanka ага, он явно перебирает с психологическим контекстом, хотя понятно, что без психологии игра индивидуалов никак не обходится. Но на теннис.ком его Тиньор неплохо уравновешивает, который как раз делает акцент собственно на теннисе и связанных с игрой проблемах.
Fanka
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Posted: 10.04.09 09:25. Post subject: Can Andy Murray now ..
Can Andy Murray now conquer clay? April 09, 2009, 09:28 AM | By Joe Bailey
With Andy MurrayЎЇs tournament victory at the Miami Masters on Sunday, the curtain fell on the first discernible phase of the ATP season. The young man roaring closer and closer to the world No. 3 ranking may wish that he could feel solid tennis court beneath the soles of his shoes until Christmas comes, but unfortunately for him, the tour schedule dictates otherwise.
Until now, aside from a series of clay tournaments in Latin America going on in the background at the same time as the European indoor events of February, the year has been all about the hard courts. For the next two months, focus shifts decisively to red dirt and some of EuropeЎЇs most iconic cities. The main clay season is an action-packed one, bursting at the seams with Masters 1000 events, a 500 event and of course the climax at the yearЎЇs second Grand Slam in Paris. Despite lingering illness, Murray has undoubtedly been one of the dominant forces in the early part of the season, but the shift to clay brings new challenges for the ever-improving Scot.
The only exception to the tourЎЇs otherwise exclusive presence in Europe over the next two months is this week, as relatively minor tournaments are held in Houston, Texas and Casablanca, Morocco. These 250 events are mainly attended by lesser lights of the gameЎЇs elite as the main contenders for the big honours are in preparation for a full assault at the Monte Carlo Masters as of next Monday. Following the glamorous tournament in the principality, Barcelona stages a 500 event before the shaded courts of Rome host another Masters extravaganza. In the following week, that of May 4th-10th, several 250 titles will be contested around the continent, notably including SerbiaЎЇs first ATP event in Belgrade. From there, itЎЇs straight back into the thick of the main action at the spectacular new Ў®Magic BoxЎЇ complex in the Madrid Masters. If all this wasnЎЇt enough, a short lull then precedes the biggest clay tournament of them all ЁC Roland Garros, otherwise known as the French Open, rounds off the dirt-based fun.
As a fan of any player other than Rafael Nadal, you could be forgiven for wondering if clay titles are worth contending when the near-invincible Majorcan is in the field. Such has been his dominance of other surfaces in the months since his latest Roland Garros win, it may be even scarier to be reminded of just how good he is on the red stuff. With a career record of 159 wins to 14 losses with clay under his feet (12 of those losses occurring before his dominance of the surface began in 2005), it is nearly inconceivable that the world No. 1 should lose whenever he takes to the court. However, this doesnЎЇt mean that the next nine weeks are pointless in terms of predicting title winners. As an Andy Murray fan, these have the potential to be very interesting times.
Murray has a good grounding on clay, having made the decision at the age of 15 to move out of his comfort zone and attend the SЁўnchez-Casal tennis academy in Barcelona. However, his professional results on the surface thus far have been, in relative terms, little to speak of. The ScotЎЇs first senior match took place on clay, ending in defeat to Jan Hernych, at the ATP Barcelona event in 2005. A few weeks later, he burst into the public consciousness as a wild card entrant at Wimbledon and we all know what has happened since then. His rise to world No. 4 has seen him become one of the most feared opponents on the tour-dominating hard courts, but his clay record may be a blot that he wishes to correct. He has an overall 11-14 win/loss tally on the surface, going no further than the 3rd round in any tournament played.
MurrayЎЇs first full shot at the clay swing was a disappointing one, seeing him progress beyond the first round at only the former Hamburg Masters out of all the main events. However, this period coincided with a wider bout of inconsistency in his game and was perhaps understandable given that it was his maiden assault on the sportЎЇs most demanding surface. 2007 saw his clay schedule ruined by injuries, including the horror wrist twinge sustained in Hamburg that ruled him out of the French Open and Wimbledon. By 2008, he was again suffering from inconsistency and his fans feared for the direction of his career under his still-fledgling team of coaches and physios. Despite this, MurrayЎЇs performances and know-how on the clay seemed to improve as the tournaments went by. Under the tutelage of Alex Corretja, the Spanish former world No. 2 and twice French Open runner-up, the young Briton appeared to be mastering the red dirt that had so far seemed to scramble his otherwise mercurial game. With Corretja on board again for the 2009 season and with a more powerful role within the setup, Murray appears ready to truly make his mark.
Looking deeper into the statistics of MurrayЎЇs 2008 clay record, it is interesting to note the opponents that he faced in each tournament. Having overcome the dangerous Feliciano Lopez and the clay specialist Filippo Volandri in Monte Carlo, Murray was emphatically stopped in his tracks by world No. 3 Novak Djokovic. At his outing in Rome, Murray battled past Juan Martin del Potro in an ill-tempered late-night affair before being dumped out by Stanislas Wawrinka, the eventual runner-up and no slouch on the surface. Hamburg (replaced this year in the calendar by Madrid) saw Murray beat Dmitry Tursunov and Gilles Simon before losing, inevitably, to Rafael Nadal.
In some ways, Roland Garros was MurrayЎЇs most impressive tournament of the clay period. Having finally seen off the young French wildcard Jonathan Eysseric after an almighty scare, Murray dismantled the very capable Jose Acasuso in the second round before competing with the clay specialist Nicolas Almagro. At one set all, the match appeared to be in the balance, but AlmagroЎЇs expertise told in the end.
When considering the opponents that put an end to MurrayЎЇs participation in each tournament, it is clear to see that he was beaten by only the very best. This time around, with an improved ranking of No. 4 (or perhaps even No. 3 as the clay season progresses), he will avoid the likes of Federer and Nadal until at least the semi-finals, while not meeting Novak Djokovic at all until a potential final. This improved ranking will also allow him the luxury of a first round bye in the three Masters tournaments, giving him a boost into the second round without lifting a racquet.
Since Wimbledon of last year, Murray has been closing the ranking gap on Novak Djokovic. With the gap now smaller than ever after MurrayЎЇs latest tournament victory in Miami, the next few weeks could see him finally become the first British player ever to hold the world No. 3 position. Djokovic has a large number of points to defend from last season, specifically those accrued through semi-final appearances in Monte Carlo, Hamburg and the French Open, as well as a tournament win in Rome. With the SerbЎЇs level of performance and form down on last year, when he looked to be charging to the top of the game, coupled to the fact that Murray has no more than third round points to defend in any tournament, the stage looks set for an exchange of the number 3 and 4 rankings. Indeed, the changing of the guard could happen as early as next week: if Murray can equal DjokovicЎЇs Monte Carlo performance, he will assume the No. 3 position on the following Monday. From then on, the rest of the clay season affords an excellent opportunity to widen that gap beyond Djokovic and gain ground on current world No. 2 Roger Federer, who himself has many points to defend over the coming weeks.
With the clay surface seemingly more a feature of the Continent and South America, the impression is that the British view this time of the calendar as a lull in proceedings before the apparently more important grass season and Wimbledon. Barring a surprise run to the Roland Garros semi-finals, Tim Henman made little impact on the surface, while Sue BarkerЎЇs Slam win at the same event is often forgotten. Having attended a clay tournament at Vina del Mar, Chile, in February 2008, I developed a little more respect for the dirt myself. The nature of the surface slows play down and allows time for shots to be made. Consequently, rallies are longer and there is more of an emphasis on point construction and tactics. This makes for potentially long and gruelling matches, but appeals to the tennis connoisseur through its production of cerebral and imaginative play. Someone like Rafael Nadal has thrived so impressively on clay because his natural defence is so good. While he can return most balls blasted at him, he also makes so few errors, eventually wearing his opponent down and drawing a mistake to earn a point. Andy MurrayЎЇs game, sometimes derided as too passive and defensive, relying on errors from the opponent, seems well suited to clay for the reasons above.
With the Monte Carlo Masters beginning on Monday, we do not have long to wait before the speculation can end and the analysis of Murray's 2009 clay court credentials can begin. http://www.murraysworld.com/news/article/13658/
Posted: 11.04.09 14:49. Post subject: Andy Murray gets exp..
Andy Murray gets expert advice for Monte Carlo clay The European clay-court season starts on Saturday at the Monte Carlo Country Club.
Now that we have reached the orangey-red, scorched-earth part of Andy Murray's year, Team Murray will have an extra member in Alex Corretja, who was twice a finalist at the French Open.
While Murray is happy with how his tennis life is working out with his regular coach Miles Maclagan, he has suggested that he will benefit from occasionally having "a different voice" in his ear as he slides around the clay of Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid and then Roland Garros in Paris.
On hard and grass courts, Murray is up there with Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, so much so that he is threatening to budge Djokovic aside as the world No 3. On clay, he did not make it to a quarter-final at any of his five dirt-court events last year. хвалиться пока поганке нечем
This year, there is increased hope that Maclagan and Spaniard Corretja, a former world No 2, can help make Murray into a genuinely dangerous opponent across the clay of Europe.
Just as he did last year, Corretja will combine his role as a television commentator with working as a consultant to Murray.
That Murray wanted Corretja back indicated that he liked last season's clay-court arrangements. Corretja's work behind a microphone means that he often has a different view of proceedings, and that he has up-to-date information on the other players.
"I love travelling with Miles and the other guys. I've got a good thing going just now. I don't want to try to change it all and make anything more complicated, but it can be good to have a different voice sometimes, to have different input," said Murray.
"I'll see how it works out. I don't want to complicate things. Miles is my coach and Miles will be the one talking to me about my tactics and hitting with me before matches and going through what I've done well and what I haven't done well. If you are watching on TV you can sometimes see things that you can't see on the side of the court. It's good sometimes to have someone else looking out for things. Miles and I get on well. Hopefully Alex and Miles can make a good team."
This year, Monte Carlo is no longer a mandatory tournament. After Monaco, Murray will also compete at the compulsory events in Rome and Madrid, and then at the clay-court slam at Roland Garros. Murray has few points to defend on the clay, but Djokovic has plenty.
"I think I can play well on clay," said Murray. "I used to play very well on it when I was younger. It takes time to get used to the surface and that's why it is good that Monte Carlo is not a mandatory event as I won't have had a lot of time to prepare for it.
"I need to get used to playing on it again, get used to all the different sort of skills needed on clay which you don't necessarily use on hard courts.
"The movement is different, the places where you have to hit the ball are different and you need to be more patient. I'm hoping this year that I'm going to play well on it, but I'll have to wait and see."
Posted: 11.04.09 15:00. Post subject: Transforming Murray ..
Transforming Murray to make a mintALISON ROWAT April 11 2009
It has become an annual tradition, like listening for the cuckoo's cry. Each spring, just as Wimbledon glides into view on a bed of exorbitantly priced strawberries, the southern press remembers the existence of Andy Murray.
The special one's profile was boosted this week when he was photographed on a Miami beach with two ladies from Colombia who made Pamela Anderson look like Pam Ayres (no offence to the lovely Pam/who turns out rhymes like home-made jam). Oh, and he had just won a Masters Series tournament.
Posing for pictures on the beach, Murray looked like the Archbishop of Canterbury at an Agent Provocateur launch . No wonder. As a wolf-whistling hellraiser, the boy is up there with Larry the Lamb. He's more likely to be found on the Wii than on the razz.
advertisement So it was a real coup for photographers to catch him doing a peely-wally impression of Daniel Craig frolicking in the waves. A coup, because the English media's obsession with moulding him into a Wimbledon champion they can call their own knows no bounds, but is all too frequently frustrated.
Like Gordon Brown, Murray suffers from that disabling condition known as Scottishness. It's a disorder that only ever matters in bad times. If the world number four has a bad press conference, he's a surly sweaty sock; if he wins a tournament, he's the cat's City-pinstriped pyjamas. When he eventually takes the Wimbledon crown, he'll undergo the mother of all makeovers at the hands of the same press. Cheerio Andy Murray, hello Andy McHenman.
The Miami pictures are just the start of the image transformation they will try to force upon him. They also raise the terrifying prospect, for Murray anyway, that he is now fair game for similar shots.
A study of the photos showed that, but for their natural good looks, the swimsuited pair in Key Biscayne could have been our own dear Cheeky Girls. Much as the lovely Gabriela and Monica need the exposure - things have been awfully quiet lately on the model/singer/whatever front - some words of warning: his mum will have you ejected from the area faster than you can say Lembit Opik, and no-one has ever worn a bikini up here in April and lived to tell the tale. Other than that, best of British, ladies.
OLD Bob Quick certainly left his job at quite a lick, did he not? One minute the anti-terror chief was in Downing Street, flashing his secret plan to the cameras, the next he was gone.
And what dreadful fate befell Bob-Be-Nimble for potentially jeopardising such a major operation? He has walked away with a pension of Ј110,000 a year. Or, as they call it in Fred Goodwin's household, small change.
Months ago I wrote that we were living through an age of rage, when people, buffeted by economic events outside their control, felt uncommonly angry. That rage, boosted by the row over MPs' expenses, is now turning to weary disgust. With details of all MPs' expenses still to come - and what a thrilling, Grishamesque read they are set to be - those feelings can only grow.
If Britain was a person, you'd say it was in sore need of a holiday. Instead, we buy posters and T-shirts with the old wartime saying: "Keep calm and carry on." In the absence of any better suggestions, it'll have to do.
SCREENWRITERS have fired up the laptops, animal casting agents are sniffing the air and doggie Tom Cruises and Meryl Streeps sense that this, finally, could be their day.
Two extraordinary stories are the cause of the excitement. First up was Sophie Tucker, an Australian blue heeler who fell overboard off Queensland. Showing she was as much a trouper as her stage namesake, Sophie swam six miles to a desert island, where she survived for four months before being spotted.
Next came Oliver, a 12-year-old springer which had recently suffered a stroke. Oliver went walkabout while with his owner on Glen Etive. Though deaf and ailing, the four-legged soldier kept going for 37 days. Still sporting his collar, he ended up in someone's shed.
Of the two tales, Sophie Tucker's has more cinematic potential. Frankly, Oliver, love, that whole lost-in-the-Scotch-mist schtick was done to death by Lassie. Sophie's story, with its exotic location, is something else. Castaway with a canine, a walk in Jurassic Park without the need for a pooper scooper. The only thing that might put audiences off is Sophie's island diet. A half-chewed koala between the jaws won't go down well with youngsters.
Both stories are a reminder that the wolves in our living rooms are alive, well and capable of looking after themselves if need be. Remember that the next time you sit on the floor while they hog the sofa.
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Posted: 12.04.09 14:24. Post subject: Заглянула в архивы с..
Заглянула в архивы спортс.ру, а там дали ссылку на одну статейку об Эндике. Ничего нового в приципе. Но этого я не знала:
quote:
С теннисистом работает не кто иной, как Саймон Фуллер. Тот самый, который раскручивал “Спайс Гелс”, придумал шоу “Идол” (в нашем варианте – “Народный артист”), работал с Келли Кларксон и Дэвидом Бекхэмом. – У него сумасшедшие идеи, – говорит о своем агенте Маррей. – Без него ни на один серьезный карьерный шаг я не пойду. Хочу ли я быть иконой, подобно Бекхэму? Знаете, я не настолько красив, так что этого не будет.
Posted: 13.04.09 10:52. Post subject: Andy Murray, Roger F..
Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in Monaco mix Even though Andy Murray was involved in a stunt with a prince and a king in front of Monaco's palace on Sunday, it has been Roger Federer's build-up to the clay-court tournament at the Monte Carlo Country Club that has had the tennis world talking.
About the closest that modern tennis is going to get to a royal wedding was when Federer, the former 'King of the Courts', married Mirka Vavrinec on Saturday, at an "incredibly joyous occasion" in his home town of Basle.
Mr and Mrs Federer will be honeymooning on the Cote d'Azur, as it was announced, just a couple of days before the vows were exchanged, that Switzerland's world No 2 had taken a late wild-card into the opening tournament of the European clay-court season.
Federer, a husband, and a dad-to-be, would clearly love to end his first week as a married man by lifting the trophy here, as he has not won a title all season and has never been champion on the red courts of the Country Club.
That he has never won the title in Monte Carlo is because of Rafael Nadal, who will be attempting this week to win his fifth successive trophy on the Riviera. Nadal has also won the last four French Opens.
Nadal, the 'King of Clay', and Murray played a pat-ball exhibition outside the gates of the royal palace on Sunday, with Prince Albert II looking on. In the principality, Albert is the prince, but there is little doubt over who is the king at the Country Club.
Most of the Easter Sunday afternoon strollers would have been expecting to just see the changing-of-the-guard ceremony on top of the rock, not to have come across Murray and Nadal playing some casual tennis on a half-size court made of a matted surface.
Murray and Nadal could meet again in Monaco, and on a full-sized clay court, and that would require the 21-year-old Scot to reach the semi-finals for the first time at this tournament. In fact, even reaching the quarter-finals would be new ground for Murray, who, after a first-round bye, will play either Victor Hanescu, of Romania, or Spaniard Alberto Martin, a qualifier. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/andymurray/5145594/Andy-Murray-Roger-Federer-and-Rafael-Nadal-in-Monaco-mix.html
Fanka
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Posted: 13.04.09 10:55. Post subject: хруня хруня пишет: ..
хруня хруня пишет:
quote:
Знаете, я не настолько красив, так что этого не будет.
спасибо, радует, что он все-таки адекватен и что не рвется в селебрити, всё имхо
Fanka
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Posted: 13.04.09 18:59. Post subject: Andy Murray says win..
Andy Murray says winning is not top priority as he adapts to clay in Monte Carlo
Great Britain's Andy Murray says he is enjoying the challenge playing on clay presents him with but insists he is not solely focused on winning at the Monte Carlo Masters.
With his spirits riding high on the back of three ATP title wins this season, Murray has it all to play for having never reached the quarter-final stage of a clay-court event.
A good performance in France could see Murray enter the world top three, but the Scot insists his main aim is to reach the final eight.
I enjoy clay, it's challenging, he said. "I've never made the quarters before on it, so it's nice to have goals where it's not just about winning events.
"But there is less pressure on me here, I'm just working hard to try and keep up with top guys."
Since arriving in France, Murray has been working closely with specialised clay trainer Alex Corretja to adapt his game plan to the different conditions.
Almost a year since he last played on the surface he says becoming accustomed to the increased movement underfoot is the hardest adjustment he has to make - but is confident his increased upper body strength will help with balance.
"I'm hitting the ball fine but takes time to get used to movement," he said. "I haven't hit a ball on clay since the French last year so it been 10-11 months.
"I'm just getting used to sliding, not being 100 per cent sure under your feet takes a bit of time. On the clay you need to be consistent with mentality and strokes. [Also] physical strength is important for me.
"If you are stronger physically it's not like you will panic when you are feeling tired, you know you can get through the match."
Murray's next opponent in Monte Carlo comes in the shape of Romanian Victor Hanescu who defeated Alberto Martin of Spain 6-2, 6-3 in their first round match.
Meanwhile, third seed Novak Djokovic is not exuding the same kind of confidence.
Despite winning the Dubai Championships, Djokovic fell victim to a Murray mauling in the Miami Masters final and is now only 170 points ahead of his British challenger in the world rankings.
He does however have the advantage of already playing on clay this season.
"So far so good," he said. "I didn't have a long time to adjust to new surface and conditions, but I've played Davis Cup on clay which helps me a little bit.
"And here I feel at home, I know these courts really well and have been training for a few days already so I feel fine."
Djokovic will start his campaign against Oscar Hernandez of Spain who fouhgt off competition from France's Julien Benneteau.
Posted: 14.04.09 08:47. Post subject: ATP Tour - Murray re..
ATP Tour - Murray ready to prove worth on clay Eurosport - Mon, 13 Apr 20:45:00 2009
British number one Andy Murray, in impressive form this season with three titles to his name, is ready to "let it flow" on clay and improve his miserable record on the slow surface.
Murray, ranked fourth in the world, has hired twice French Open runner-up Alex Corretja to coach him for the clay-court season.
The same agreement was also reached last year with Murray reaching the third round at Roland Garros, his best effort at the clay-court Slam.
"He just brings something a bit different, certain drills and stuff, and tactically as well, that are fundamental on clay, that obviously he would have done playing and a lot of top guys do on clay now," Murray said at the Monte Carlo Masters, where he was handed a 6-0 6-4 third round spanking by Novak Djokovic last year. "It's nice sometimes to have a different opinion on things."
The 21-year-old Scot is determined to reach the business end of tournaments on clay.
"It's challenging, when I have never made the quarter-finals of a (clay) tournament before. I'm just working hard to just try and keep up with the top guys," he said.
"I'm trying to reach quarter-finals and semi-finals of tournaments for the first time that I've never been past the second or third round of before, and that's pretty exciting.
"It takes a bit of time to get used to the movement again. I haven't hit a ball on clay since the French last year," he added.
"So it comes down to getting used to sliding, not being 100 per cent sure under your feet, it takes a bit of time but I'm hitting the ball well."
Murray, who has a first-round bye, will start his tournament on Tuesday or Wednesday against Romanian Victor Hanescu and last year's US Open finalist knows he must be more consistent if he is to master a physically demanding surface.
"Physical strength is important because on the clay you need to be consistent with your mentality, with your strokes, and then the stronger you are physically it's like you panic if you are feeling a little bit tired because you know you can get through the match," he said.
"And on clay that's obviously more important than on the other surfaces because the points are longer."
Murray added that keeping his composure was a key element for clay-court success, although he believes four-times French Open champion and world number one Rafael Nadal will again dominate on the surface.
"Sliding into the shots, spending as much time on the court as possible. Get used to the movement and feeling of changing the direction on clay," he said.
"You need to just let it flow. When you try to force your movement on clay, that's when you get all mixed up. Just try to be light on your feet."
Posted: 14.04.09 09:10. Post subject: From The Times April..
From The Times April 14, 2009
Fernando Verdasco: Andy Murray 'will be world No2 by end of year'
If Andy Murray needed any further encouragement after his stunning start to 2009, then he received it yesterday through the words of Fernando Verdasco, one of only two men to have got the better of him this year.
The Spaniard ended Murray’s hopes at the Australian Open in January when he beat him in the fourth round. Rafael Nadal, the world No 1, is the other man to defeat him — in the final of the Indian Wells Masters event last month — and Verdasco believes that it is Murray, rather than a faltering Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic, who is ready to challenge his compatriot at the top of the world rankings.
“Right now Rafa and Andy are the two best players,” Verdasco said. “This year for sure if things carry on as they are, he will finish No 2 in the world.
“He’s the guy who’s the most similar to Rafa. His first serve is better than Rafa’s, but his second serve is worse. But on the baseline he has an unbelievable backhand and the better you play against him, the better he plays.
Defensively he and Rafa are the best two players. And when he needs to play an approach to the net and volley he has a very good touch. He’s a very complete player and right now he’s so strong mentally. He believes in himself so much and believes that he can beat everyone.”
Murray will almost certainly overtake Djokovic to become the world No 3 in the next fortnight, starting with the Monte Carlo Masters this week, but the Scot knows that he needs to transfer his form on hard courts to the demands of clay, on which he has not reached the quarter-final of any event.
“It should be a good surface for me,” Murray said yesterday. “Last year, I had some good wins but I lost to the very good clay-court players. I hope this year I can have the same sort of wins and maybe do better against the top guys.
“My expectations are a bit different here. I’m trying to reach the quarter-finals and semi-finals of tournaments where I’ve never been past the second or third round before. That’s what’s exciting.”
For the second successive year, Murray has added Alex Corretja, twice the runner-up at the French Open, to his team through the clay-court season. The Spaniard will cast his eye over Murray’s progress, beginning today with his second-round clash against Victor Hanescu, the world No 35 from Romania.
“He just brings something that’s a bit different,” Murray said of Corretja. “Tactically [there are things] that are fundamental on clay that he can just point out and help me with.
“He and Miles [Maclagan, Murray's coach] get on well so they can chat through things. Sometimes if I’m doing a drill and Alex or Miles is hitting, the other can watch my movement to see if I’m doing the right things with my feet, if I’m sliding properly. It’s nice to have an extra opinion.”
Posted: 14.04.09 09:12. Post subject: 'Murray on his w..
'Murray on his way to world No 2'
Verdasco predicts Scot's form and confidence will see him overtake Federer
By Paul Newman In Monte Carlo
Andy Murray is playing down his chances of success in the clay-court season, but Fernando Verdasco, one of only two players to have beaten him this year, has little doubt about the Scot's longer-term prospects. "If things carry on as they are I think for sure he will finish this year as world No 2," the Spaniard said here yesterday.
Murray has never won more than two matches in succession on clay, but has the perfect incentive to improve that record over the next two months. Starting here with this week's Monte Carlo Masters, the traditional start to the European outdoor season, he has an outstanding chance of overhauling Novak Djokovic as world No 3 and might even replace Roger Federer at No 2.
The game's top four players have pulled away to such an extent that Murray, the world No 4, has almost twice as many ranking points as Juan Martin del Potro, the No 5, but within the elite group there are clearly two men at the top of their game and two who are not. While Rafael Nadal and Murray go from strength to strength, Federer has been losing consistently to both men and Djokovic has been struggling to recover the form that took him to last year's Australian Open title.
Verdasco, who produced one of the surprises of the year when he beat Murray in Melbourne in January, says the Scot is the player who bears best comparison with Nadal.
"Right now Rafa and Andy are the two best players," Verdasco said. "Andy's first serve is better than Rafa's, though I think Rafa has the better second serve. On the baseline Andy has an unbelievable backhand. The better you play against him the better he plays.
"Defensively, he and Rafa are the best two players and when he needs to play an approach to the net and volley he has a very good touch. He's a complete player and right now he's so strong mentally. He believes in himself so much and believes that he can beat everyone. I think that's the difference with him this year.
"We've only had three months of the season, but if he keeps playing the same way I think he will be No 2 at the end of the year. Everybody saw at the beginning of the year how strong he is."
Djokovic is just 170 ranking points ahead of Murray, though the Scot will have to reach at least the semi-finals here to catch him this week; because of a quirk in the schedule, next week's updated ranking list will include the players' points from both Monte Carlo this year and 2008. In a fortnight's time, however, when Djokovic will lose the 450 points he won here last year and Murray will drop just 150, the Scot is likely to move ahead.
Murray insisted that the ranking position was not uppermost in his mind. "If I keep winning then my ranking is going to go up," he said. "If I focus on each match, like I did in the States, just one match at a time and don't get ahead of myself, there is a good chance I'll get to No 3."
In his opening match today Murray meets Victor Hanescu, the world No 35. He has never played the 27-year-old Romanian, who beat Spain's Alberto Martin 6-2, 6-3 in yesterday's first round.
Posted: 14.04.09 09:22. Post subject: Murray relaxed about..
Murray relaxed about the onset of clay-court season SIMON CAMBERS April 14 2009
Andy Murray ventures on to the clay courts today for the first time in 11 months when he begins his French Open preparations in the picturesque surroundings of the Monte Carlo Country Club.
The Scot takes on Victor Hanescu, the world No.35 from Romania, in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters, an event that could see him become the first Briton ever to hit the heady heights of world No 3. He is almost certain to pass Novak Djokovic at some stage in the next fortnight, but a good performance here could see it come sooner rather than later.
Clay remains Murray's weakest surface - he has yet to reach the quarter-finals of any event - but having made such a strong start to 2009, with three tournament wins to his name, he is confident that he can adapt to its unique demands.
advertisement "It's nice to have goals where it's not just about winning tournaments," Murray said. "There's a bit less pressure on me, but I'm just working hard to keep up with the top guys. If I have a good clay-court season, then there's no reason why I can't keep up for the rest of the year."
Murray goes into Monte Carlo with the best record of any player, including world No.1 Rafael Nadal, having won 26 of his 28 matches. He has beaten each of Nadal, world No.2 Roger Federer and Djokovic in the past three months and his confidence is sky-high.
He said: "I'm hitting the ball fine. It just takes a bit of time to get used to the movement on clay again. I haven't hit a ball on clay since the French Open last year, so it's been 10 and a half, 11 months. Getting used to sliding, not being 100% sure under your feet, takes a little bit of time.
"If you look at Federer, I don't watch him on clay and think he's playing completely differently to how he does on the other courts. I think he can play a similar game-style. It's just the movement and the mental side, just repeating your patterns of play three or four times rather than twice to win points.
"I think physical strength is important because on the clay you need to be consistent with your mentality, your strokes. The stronger you are physically, it's not like you panic if you're feeling a little bit tired because you know you can get through the match. On clay that's more important than on other surfaces because the points are way longer. I find the whole thing pretty challenging but good."
Meanwhile, Nadal and Djokovic were among the players to insist Federer is still a man to be feared, despite apparent signs of weakness.
The usually-composed Swiss, who has yet to win a tournament in 2009, broke down in tears after losing the Australian Open final to Nadal in January and smashed one of his rackets in this month's Miami Masters.
Nadal said: "He has played a grand slam final and two Masters Series semi-finals, these are very good results. Everybody talks about the racket he smashed in Miami but that's nothing. It happens to everyone. He just needs a title to confirm his good start to the season."
Djokovic added: "I found it strange he broke his racket in Miami, he who always keeps calm. But these things happen when you are frustrated on the court.
"Federer won everything for four years and now he starts losing against some players, but you cannot say he is in crisis."
Posted: 15.04.09 17:55. Post subject: 1 ПК в Монте-Карло &..
1 ПК в Монте-Карло "3 and 2 a good result" 15 April, 2009 | 09:04
Q. A comfortable start?
Yeah. I thought I played well. I thought I moved pretty good, and returned well. And I didn't serve my best, but, yeah, 3 and 2 against him's a good result. He won a clay court tournament last year and made the quarters last week. So it was a good win for me.
Q. Do you almost go into a first match on a different surface allowing yourself to not play that well; almost like it's okay to get it out of the way as much as anything?
Well, I mean, I think for me I wanted to use this week to try and get some matches and to, yeah, try and get used to playing on the clay again and work on some things. And at the start of the match when I got broken, I was sort of moving like I was still on a hard court. And then, you know, after four, five, six games, I started to move better. I hope with each match I just start to, I guess, remember how to play on clay. I'm sure I'll keep getting better.
Q. As far as the actual clay is concerned, Roland Garros, obviously Madrid you don't know, but here or Rome...
I mean, all of those tournaments can be quick. Roland Garros can be. A lot of it just depends on the conditions. Sometimes in Rome I've played in the evening there and it's so slow. If you play during the day, it can be unbelievably quick. When I was in the States, I was watching some highlights of Stepanek against Federer in Rome last year, and the court was looking like quicker than a hard court. So a lot of it just depends. I mean here today it's fast. The balls are not fluffing up that much. It was relatively quick conditions.
мало пообщался чейго-то
Fanka
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Posted: 15.04.09 19:49. Post subject: Andy Murray eyes the..
Andy Murray eyes the top as he gets off to good start on Monte Carlo's clay Apr 15 2009 By Alix Ramsey
ONE win on a clay court and suddenly Andy Murray is ready to take on the world.
Just a couple of days ago the Scot was plotting to overtake Novak Djokovic as world No.3.
Now, after swatting aside Victor Hanescu 6-3 6-2 to reach the third round of the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, Murray is eyeing Rafael Nadal's place at the very top of the rankings.
The world's fourth best player said: "The clay-court season is very important for me because if I have a good campaign on this surface then there's no reason why I can't get closer to Rafa and Roger Federer this year.
"If I have a bad one and they pick up all the points, it's tougher for me to catch them because there's a lot up for grabs in the next few weeks.
"So as much as I want to practise and get used to the courts, the results are important."
Murray has not played on clay since the French Open 11 months ago and it showed in the first few games.
It took him 20 minutes before he could finally hold serve. Murray, however, isn't beating himself up over it - especially as it took Hanescu double the time to hold his own serve.
The Dunblane star said: "You need to be patient and not expect too much of yourself too soon.
"It would have been easy to panic earlier when I went a break down straight away and then was broken again but I stayed focused."
Charge
Indeed, after half-a-dozen games his movement was much improved and by the time Hanescu finally managed to hold his own serve, Murray was 5-2 up and very much in charge.
He said: "At the start of the match when I got broken, I was sort of moving like I was still on a hard court.
"And then after four, five, six games, I started to move better. I started giving myself more time and I moved very well at the end of the match
"It just takes practice. I am going to go and hit some balls later this evening and try to get used to the courts.
"I hope that with each match I'll keep getting better."
Today Murray has another day of practice with Alex Corretja before taking on either Fabio Fognini or Marin Cilic.
Last year's US Open runner-up has beaten Cilic on the two occasions they have met - at a 2007 Davis Cup tie at Wimbledon and at last year's Madrid Masters.
He has played Fognini only once, losing to him at the Montreal Masters in 2007 when the Scot was still recovering from a wrist injury and could barely hit a forehand.
Murray said: "I've known Fognini since we were young. We played a lot in the under-14s.
"Motreal was my first tournament back after my wrist injury, I was still hitting sliced forehands and wasn't ready at all, so I'd quite like a chance to play him."
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Posted: 15.04.09 20:06. Post subject: Fanka мало пообщалс..
Fanka
quote:
мало пообщался чейго-то
Журналисты вопросов не подготовили. Или Эндик сделал такую мину, что они решили ни о чем вообще не спрашивать
хруня
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Posted: 15.04.09 20:09. Post subject: http://jpe.ru/gif/s..
Зашла в тему фоток, а там Эндик на ПК улыбается на все 32. Лапулька прямо.
Значит, верна первая версия
Fanka
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Posted: 16.04.09 09:15. Post subject: From The TimesApril ..
From The TimesApril 16, 2009
Alex Corretja believes Andy Murray can conquer clay
Simon Cambers in Monte Carlo Andy Murray may be playing down his expectations for the clay-court season, but the man whose services the British No 1 has enlisted to help him to improve on the red dirt believes that he is capable of winning on the one surface where he has yet to prove a dominant force.
Alex Corretja, the former world No 2 and twice a runner-up at the French Open, has rejoined Team Murray and will remain in situ alongside Miles Maclagan, the Scot's coach, when the faster surfaces beckon.
“I really feel that he can play very well on clay,” Corretja said on the eve of Murray's third-round match against Fabio Fognini, the Italian qualifier, in the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters today. “He doesn't really need to change his style of game. Last year maybe he was a little bit more distracted sometimes but right now when you practise, he's really focused, he really wants to improve his game.”
That someone of Corretja's stature chose to work with the 21-year-old has to be a further boost to Murray's confidence. “I did have lots of calls from other players, top-ten Spanish players, or top-ten foreign players,” Corretja said. “I was never sure. With him [Murray], it was kind of different. I really wanted to help him.
“I also feel happy that he feels I can help him not just on clay. You don't see [Rafael] Nadal saying to his uncle [and coach, Tony Nadal], 'No, here on grass I don't need you, stay in Palma Majorca.' We did something on clay last year, it did make a difference. But maybe the difference is also that afterwards you have something on your mind from what you talked about and if you keep on doing that with your coach every day, it's also good.”
Nadal and Roger Federer, the newly married world No 2, joined Murray in the third round yesterday with straightforward wins. Nadal, chasing a fifth straight title here, crushed Juan Ignacio Chela, of Argentina, 6-2, 6-3, while Federer beat Andreas Seppi, the Italian, 6-4, 6-4.
Posted: 16.04.09 22:12. Post subject: Andy Murray can beco..
Andy Murray can become Britain's greatest ever tennis player, says coach барабанная дробь!!!! Apr 16 2009 By Alix Ramsay
TENNIS guru Alex Corretja swears Britain will soon bow to Andy Murray and declare him the best player it has ever produced.
Former world No.2 Corretja quit playing four years ago and was on the wanted list of a host of stars who craved his coaching skills.
The Spaniard, who had landed a lucrative job in television, rejected them all - until Murray knocked on his door.
And Corretja admits he came out of his comfort zone because he believes the 21-year-old Scot is special.
He is guiding him through the clay court season and and is currently with Team Murray in Monte Carlo for the Rolex Masters.
Last night Corretja said: "I had lots of calls from players - top-10 players - and I turned them all down.
"But with Andy it was different. I really wanted to help him.
"The good thing with him is he's already No.4 in the world and almost No.3 but still has a lot of room to improve.That's very important.
"Okay, I was No.2 but you could see I was exhausted just getting there. Andy needs to work hard like everyone else but it's easier because he is young and can still work on things."
Focused
Murray first asked Corretja to help him on the clay courts last year and went on to rack up the best results of his career on the slow surface.
Twelve months on, the Spaniard can see huge changes in his pupil both in his skills on clay and in his general approach to life as one of the world's best.
Corretja said: "Compared with last year he's much more into it. Maybe he was a little more distracted last season but now when you practise, he's really focused - he really wants to improve his game.
"He's much more stable than he was.
He had many more ups and downs in the past but now he's much more on one level. He believes he can beat anyone.
"He believes he's a big player, a top player. When we started last year here in Monte Carlo, I think he was top 20 but had some doubts in his mind. But he's still young and he's going to improve a lot."
Murray insists he has lowered his expectations on clay because he is still honing his skills on the surface but Corretja reckons if the Scot diverts pressure away from himself, he will be free to play as he pleases.
He said: "Even when Rafael Nadal is playing a straightforward first-round match, he will tell people it is going to be tough and that he will have to be 100 per cent.
"That's good because it means you respect the other guys. You don't fear them - you respect them. And then you beat them 6-2 6-2.
"That's what I said to Andy before his first match here - prepare for a really tough one. If you're ready for a really tough match and a tough match comes, you're ready. But if you're not ready for a tough match, and you get one, you get upset with yourself.
"But I believe Andy can play very well on clay - he doesn't really need to change his style of game." Today Murray faces Fabio Fognini for a place in the last eight.
The Italian shocked world No.18 Marin Cilic 6-2 6-0 but Corretja insists Murray will not come a cropper.
He said: "I believe that when Andy won Cincinnati he thought, 'I can be something very big'. Since then it appears that when he goes on court, no matter who he's playing, he believes he can win."
Posted: 19.04.09 12:56. Post subject: "My best win on ..
"My best win on clay" ПК после матча с Колей 18 April, 2009 | 13:04
Q. Does that count as your best clay court win?
Yeah, I think so. He's made semis of the French. I think he made semis here last year, as well. Yeah, he obviously plays very well on this surface. And he's beaten some of the top guys. He obviously had a great win against Nalbandian earlier in the day. Yeah, it was definitely my best win.
Q. Do you think it was the confidence that you got from winning so many matches or just a bit more experience on clay or a combination of the two?
A bit of both probably. But I definitely started to play not like a clay courter, but, you know, I was not making that many mistakes. But I wasn't necessarily hitting a lot of winners. I wasn't standing like right up on the baseline to return. I was standing further behind the baseline to return second serve, was hitting the ball with, well, four or five meters over the net. He was trying to hit winners from, you know, the ball was way up above his head. He missed a lot of balls long because of it. Those are the sort of things you need to do. It's not just about hitting the ball all the time great on the clay, it's about using your legs, running, making sure you get good clearance over the net, because it's tough to attack.
Q. How different was it by the end of that match compared with this morning?
I felt much better. I thought I hit the ball a lot better in this one. But, yeah, I mean, even from the start of our match, it got cold at the end. Obviously very dark. When you're having to serve and stuff, it's a little bit different. But the conditions - it's like most of the clay court tournaments, you play when it's dark and cool, you know, very slow; and then, you know, during the day here the ball flies a lot more. So you just have to be ready for that.
Q. You seemed to be troubled by your right hand during the last set.
Yeah. I got a couple of blisters. It was the first time I've had a blister on my hand before. I'm not used to getting them. I never have any problems with it. It's just I changed same racquet, but just new ones. The grips are slightly different.
Q. Was it painful?
Yeah, blisters are very painful.
Q. Was it a painful experience to play to that level with that pain?
It's sore. I mean, everyone knows playing with blisters, it's hurts. Obviously, they come in the place where the most pressure is on the hand. So each time you hit the ball, obviously you're pushing into the blister every time and it gets bigger and bigger and then eventually pops. The one on the top's popped and the one underneath is just getting ready to. Should be nice.
Q. Had to get it out of your mind, I guess?
Yeah, it's tough. But I guess, normally with the adrenaline and stuff you kind of get through it. It obviously doesn't feel particularly comfortable on your hand. Worst place to have tape 'cause it changes the way you have to hold the racquet and stuff. So I prefer to just play without.
Q. So you'll have some treatment before your match tomorrow?
There's not a whole lot you with do with a blister. You can't sort of get new skin overnight. They have these things, like sort of second skin. But when you start sweating, it doesn't really work.
Q. Just away from popping blisters for a moment, what did you do in between times? How did you fill up the time?
I went back to the hotel, had some food, saw the physio, then slept for about 45 minutes. Then I came back over after the first set of Wawrinka's match and just watched a bit of Rafa, then got ready.
Q. What is it about clay that makes it so tough for players who are really skilled on hard courts to make the transition over to clay?
I mean, on hard, the ball, when it hits the surface, obviously comes through to you. So you don't have to generate as much pace on the ball. On the clay, you know, the ball obviously stops. It checks more when it hits the court. Therefore, you have to accelerate a lot more, which is why, you know, the rallies are so much longer, because it slows the ball down so much when it hits the court. Yeah, the movement's just very different. On hard, you're very sure of your footing. And on clay, you know, you obviously are sliding around a little bit. You got to time your split step perfectly, because if you miss time it a little bit, it's easy to get wrong footed. I could go on like for 10 minutes but I guess they're the most important things.
Q. Looks like you enjoy playing on clay.
Yeah, I do. It's obviously very challenging for me because, well, I haven't played on clay since the French last year. Each year I'm sort of coming in not knowing exactly how I'm gonna play. But I'll try and play a bit more on it, not necessarily tournaments, but just practice a little bit more on it throughout the year so I don't have like year long breaks. I think it's a surface I can play well on and I used to play well on when I was younger when I trained a lot on it, but just haven't played much on it lately.
Q. What happened on that penultimate point where you seemed to be in despair? What happened there?
Oh, basically there was two marks. I thought one of the marks was in, and the other mark was out. I was very sure, because the ball, he sort of hit down the line, but he was sort of in the tram line, so it was coming at that angle. I obviously circled the mark. And Fergus came over. I said, It's this mark. He said, No, no, no it's not, it's the other one. And I thought the other mark was good, 'cause I'd looked at them. So when he said it was the other one, I turned around thinking like, Oh, I can't believe he's got the wrong mark. But he didn't say to me like, Andy, the ball's good. He put his finger up, and I obviously didn't see him doing that.
Q. Another huge test tomorrow. Can you talk us through your thoughts about tomorrow's match.
Yeah, obviously I'm going to look forward to it. You know, for me it will be a great learning experience. I'll have to obviously have a very solid game plan, you know, and try and execute it as well as possible. You know, it's been a long day today, so try and recover as best as possible for tomorrow, go out and give it my best shot. If things don't go as I would like, then, you know, it will be a good day to see where my game is at on clay, because Rafa will exploit, you know, the weaknesses that you have on this surface. You know, obviously plan on trying to win the match. But if not, it's obviously still been a very solid week for me. You know, hope I can continue that tomorro
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Posted: 20.04.09 08:21. Post subject: "It's been a..
"It's been a great week" ПК или мысли о Рафе
Q. The last few games should give you confidence because you played the same level with Nadal, or am I wrong?
No, I played very well at the end of the match. I didn't start particularly well. I mean, I think he's the greatest clay court player ever. At the start I made too many mistakes. I was trying to hit too many winners from the wrong position. Then at the end of the match I started to play properly. I played the ball, when I was out of position, very high over the net, gave myself time to recover and dictated a lot of points. In the tiebreak, got a little bit unlucky. We played two great points - he won both of them with great shots. I played very well at the end.
Q. Do you think if you'd done that all the way through, that is the key to beating him?
To beat him you have to play great for three, five sets because he's so solid. I didn't serve well in the first set. Then I picked it up a bit towards the end of the match. But if you want to beat Nadal, you've got to on clay play great, solid, serve well and concentrate the whole way through. If you give him one chance, he's one of the best probably the best at taking them and making you pay for lapses. I had a few too many early in the match. But it's been a great week for me. I didn't have huge expectations coming in. Look forward to the next tournament.
Q. His strength also is his mental strength. The way that tiebreak started, didn't give you any time to get ready for that.
Yeah, he is mentally strong obviously. He plays solid the whole way through. He hit a forehand right off the top of the net my first service point. Got myself back into it, 3- 2. Might even have been back to 4 All or 5 4, you know, on serve. But I think he won pretty much all the points on my serve in the tiebreak. But two of them were unbelievable points. So a bit unlucky with that. No, he is obviously very mentally strong.
Q. Given how you felt when you came into the tournament, do you now feel your expectations are going to be higher?
No, I just need to concentrate on every match and not thinking about making semis or finals of any of these tournament. I'm just going to play each match and learn. I've obviously learnt a lot this week. The way I played at the end will give me a great indication of how I need to play. At the start of the match, I knew what I wasn't doing wrong sorry, I knew what I was doing wrong. Just took me a little while to try to figure out how to change it. I managed to towards the end. But I'm not thinking about winning clay court tournaments or making finals and stuff. I just concentrate on each match. I'll do a lot more winning that way.
Q. Apart from the beginning, what do you think you would have done better? Anything you regret?
Maybe on the two really long points we had in the tiebreak, I could have come to net on a couple of shots. But anyone will tell you when you play him, it's tough to know exactly when to come forward because he passes incredibly well. On the faster service surfaces, it's a little easier to come to net against him. He doesn't have so much time. Those points could have gone either way. He played some great defense. Me, too. No, I wouldn't have changed a whole lot. I went for my shots, played aggressive. He just played a little bit better, which sometimes unfortunately you have to accept.
Q. Sometimes you were able to push him so much behind, and I had the impression you could have tried one or two more dropshots. Did you have that impression, too?
If I hit a dropshot and missed it, you would have said, You shouldn't have hit the dropshot. It's a tough one. So many times I finish matches and everyone says, 'Oh, you hit too many dropshots. Why did you try them? You get a bit tired explaining why. Like I say, against him it's tough to know when to come to net and when to try those shots because he's so fast. Especially when there's a lot of pressure, to hit a very delicate shot is hard, the closer you get to the end of the set or the bigger points.
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Posted: 20.04.09 08:31. Post subject: слова Рафы перед мат..
слова Рафы после матчем с поганкой
Q. What was your strategy coming to the net against Murray? Before the match, what did you think about Murray?RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I thought try to play with topspin, try to play long balls against his backhand, try to put him outside with my forehand and wait my moment to go inside. I know he play sometimes three meters behind the line, have some dropshots. When I have the chance, go to the net. But I think he play long. He play some high balls. So, yeah, was tough to attack because when the ball is coming soft and long and high, is really tough to have important shot, no? So I think I was waiting all the time my moment. But I did well, yeah. That's what I think before the match, what I thought, no?
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Posted: 20.04.09 08:38. Post subject: http://www.independe..
By Paul Newman in Monte Carlo Sunday, 19 April 2009
You are as likely to discover a pawn shop on the Monte Carlo harbour front as you are to find chinks in Rafael Nadal's clay-court armour, but Andy Murray came as close here yesterday as any of the Spaniard's recent opponents on terre battue. Although Nadal won their semi-final in the Monte Carlo Masters 6-2 7-6, he took more than two hours to subdue the 21-year-old Scot, who tested the game's best player to the limit with a splendid fightback at the end of the second set.
Nadal was leading 5-2 and heading for an emphatic victory when the world No 4 seemed to decide it was time to go for broke. Murray produced a series of fine attacking strokes and well-constructed rallies, saved a match point when Nadal served at 5-3 and took the set into a thrilling tie-break.
The world No 1 had to respond with his best clay-court tennis of the year, creating another match point at 6-4 with an extraordinary backhand cross-court winner before closing out the match when Murray put a backhand in the net. In today's final the Spaniard will meet Novak Djokovic, who beat Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6 6-1 6-3.
Murray, who will have to wait another fortnight for his next chance to claim Djokovic's world No 3 ranking, can take great encouragement from his efforts over the last week. He had never previously won more than two matches in a row on clay or reached even a quarter-final on his most challenging surface.
Nadal, nevertheless, remains a force of nature on clay. This was his 137th victory in his last 141 matches on the surface and his 26th successive win on these courts. Since dropping a set to Roger Federer in the 2006 final he has won 30 sets in a row at the Monte Carlo Country Club.
Having had to play two matches the previous day (as had Nadal) and with blisters affecting his right hand, Murray was hardly in the best shape to take on such a formidable opponent. Like all the other leading players, Nadal is still finding his way again on clay, but even at less than full power he seems to have more in the tank than anyone else.
Murray, who has reached the semi-finals or better of six of the last seven Masters tournaments, did as two of his supporters in the crowd implored - "Andy don't give up", their banner begged - but Nadal has an unrivalled ability to chase down the best shots his opponents can throw at him. The Scot doggedly attacked Nadal's backhand, but the Spaniard kept forcing him to play the extra shot.
From the moment Nadal took a 2-0 lead as Murray dropped serve with two successive forehand errors the British No 1 was up against it. Nadal promptly played his worst game of the match, four mistakes giving Murray the chance to break back immediately, but went on to break twice more to take the set in 44 minutes.
The crowd became as subdued as the increasingly grey skies as Nadal took control of the second set, but Murray's thrilling comeback quickly brought them back to life before the Scot eventually succumbed to only his third defeat of the year. His only other defeats were to Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round of the Australian Open and to Nadal in a windswept Masters final on a hard court in Indian Wells last month.
Although Murray has beaten Nadal twice in the last nine months, the Spaniard now leads 7-2 in their head-to-head record. He had won their only previous match on clay, but this was a much closer match, Murray having won only five games when they met in Hamburg last year.
Djokovic made a slow start against Wawrinka but raced through the second set and took control of the third despite losing the first two games. The Serb grew up playing on clay and has a fine record on the surface, having won last year's Rome Masters and twice reached the semi-finals of the French Open, losing to Nadal on both occasions.
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Posted: 20.04.09 08:43. Post subject: Murray falls to Nada..
Murray falls to Nadal
Published Date: 19 April 2009 MONTE Carlo is a strange and foreign place. This is where the richest of the rich reside to show off their wealth in ostentatious displays of spending. The credit crunch shows no sign of biting here quite simply because anyone who needs to borrow money is not allowed in. This is also where the road to the French Open starts. The Monte Carlo Rolex Open is the traditional beginning of the clay court season where the very best of the best show off their talent in ostentatious displays of patience and power. In short, this is where Rafael Nadal reigns supreme.
The world No.1 was in devastating form yesterday to deny Andy Murray a place in the final, beating the Scot 6-2, 7-6. It was not that Murray did not play well, it was just that Nadal was better. This is Nadal's surface, this is Nadal's tournament (he has won it for the past four years and has only lost one match at the Monte Carlo Country Club) and this was Nadal's afternoon.
"If you want to beat Nadal, you've got to - on clay - play great, solid, serve well and concentrate the whole way through," said Murray. "If you give him one chance, he's one of the best - probably the best - at taking them and making you pay for lapses. I had a few too many early in the match.
"At the end of the match, I wouldn't have changed a whole lot. I went for my shots, played aggressive. He just played a little bit better, which sometimes unfortunately you have to accept. But it's been a great week for me. I didn't have huge expectations coming in and now I'm looking forward to the next tournament."
Murray's clay court game is still a work in progress and when he arrived in Monaco his one aim was to get used to the unreliable surface beneath his feet and bank a few ranking points along the way. He had never reached a quarter-final of a clay court event before so that would make a decent starting point – and then, in the space of one day, he achieved that goal and bettered it, beating Fabio Fognini in a rain-delayed third-round match on Friday morning and then doing for Nikolay Davydenko late on Friday evening in the quarter-final.
The win over Davydenko clearly meant the world to him. In the past, he had never managed to win three consecutive matches on the red dirt and even if he had played reasonably well against the regular clay-court specialists, he had always come up woefully short against the very best. Davydenko, the world No.9, is one of the very best, and clay is one of his favourite surfaces, yet the Scot finished him off in straight sets. That was another goal reached.
"Last year, I had some good wins on clay but I lost to the very good claycourt players," Murray had said before the tournament started. "I hope this year I can have the same sort of wins and maybe do better against the top guys."
The top guys are one thing; Nadal on the march to a final is entirely another. There were times when Murray had his rival on the ropes, bossing the rally from any quarter of the court he could find to call his own, but he could not make them last.
Chances against the Spaniard on this surface are as rare as hen's teeth so when the moment comes to put away the winner, the pressure is immense. Sure enough, Murray manoeuvred himself into position from time to time, getting there by dint of lung-bursting effort and careful planning, but when the final shot had to be inch-perfect, he could not quite pull it off. The howls of frustration from the Scot when an opportunity went begging could be heard as far as the Italian border.
The French newspapers describe Nadal as an "ogre". They may mean it in the nicest possible way, but the simple fact is that he is a monster on a clay court. He has now won 137 of his last 141 matches on the red stuff, a run that goes back to 2005. On any other surface Murray knows that he has a chance to beat the Spaniard – he has done it twice before – but on clay, everything works in Nadal's favour.
Only in the dying stages did Murray start to make any impression on the Spanish defences. With nothing to lose, he went for broke and attacked as Nadal was serving for the match. He saved one match point with a delicately-played drop-shot and he pushed and pulled the world No.1 around the court as he worked his way to three break points. That got the crowd, relatively subdued until this point, on their feet and cheering – they love Nadal but they love a good scrap just as much. As Murray broke back to 5-4 and then levelled the score for 5-5, there was a buzz around the stands. The possibility of an upset was still too outrageous to contemplate, but Scotland's finest was making Nadal work harder than anyone had dared to expect. Murray had claimed that he would need to play the match of his life to beat the Spaniard on clay and he did everything in his power to achieve that, especially in the last five games.
The bad news for Murray was that forcing Nadal into the tiebreak brought out the real ogre in the world No.1 as he clattered his forehand. The good news is that this is only the start of the clay-court season and the Scot is getting better with every match.
хруня
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Posted: 20.04.09 15:35. Post subject: Не знаю, куда более ..
Не знаю, куда более уместно постить эту цитату... Пусть будет здесь. Фрагмент блога Ксении Витряк. Ксению теннисным экспертом назвать сложно. Она просто облекает в красивые слова и фразы свои довольно-таки дилетантские впечатления. Причем авторы сайта часто черпают образы и идеи на нашем форуме. Вот и слово "вредность" в характеристике Маррея, похоже, прикочевало отсюда
Но тем не менее портрет Эндика получился интересный. Мне нравится
quote:
Мюррей побеждает из вредности. Это такая хорошая вредность, вредность ученого-исследователя, который стремится открыть тайное знание, преодолеть непреодолимое. Ему плевать, будет ли это красиво. Помните, он признался, что готов был против Федерера просто тащить все мячи, потому что только такой путь мог привести его к победе. Ему не надо доказывать и самоутверждаться, потому что он – вещь-в-себе. Я считаю, что такая психологическая модель наилучшим образом подходит для игры с Надалем.
Posted: 25.04.09 09:24. Post subject: Tennis' Big Ques..
Tennis' Big Questions Answered
What has been the biggest surprise on clay this season thus far?
Murray has been the biggest surprise. I know that all of the critics are chomping at the bit to tell me that he has had a stellar season thus far, so why would it not extend to the clay? The answer is that clay is a completely different animal. Murray had never enjoyed a successful run in a Masters clay court tournament up until last week. For that, he should be commended. He should also be commended for going out and hiring Alex Corretja, who has helped mold him into a grinder. Bravo, Andy. Bravo. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/161557-tennis-big-questions-answered
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Posted: 27.04.09 09:04. Post subject: Santana puts his ten..
Santana puts his tennis faith in Rafa
Spanish tennis godfather Manolo Santana says Roger Federer's era has been ended by son of Spain Rafael Nadal. And he addes that the Swiss has no chance of returing to the top of the game as long as Nadal's on court.
"Even though Federer is No. 2, he's going to turn 28 this summer", said the Madrid tournament director. "Rafa will only be 23 and then his tennis should get even better".
Santana insists that Rafa rules and said that winning the calendar-year Grand Slam is well within his possibilities. "I don't rule it out for this season. It's not easy but he could do it now or in the future. Rafa has no limits in his tennis".
Santana named Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray as the main threats to Nadal. "This year Rafa has already won Australia, Roland Garros - he owns the last four titles - is just like insurance. The toughest events are the US Open and Wimbledon".
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Posted: 27.04.09 21:22. Post subject: ПК Энди в Риме Q. C..
ПК Энди в Риме
Q. Could you just talk about the match against Monaco? Clearly you just had recent experience playing him on hard court. What do you think he offers different on clay that is a challenge for you? ANDY MURRAY: I mean, he plays well on hard and on clay. He had a bad illness last year, and before that he was ranked inside the top 20. You know, he plays well. He got to the fourth round of the US Open a couple years ago and, you know, pushed Djokovic really close. You know, on clay, he plays well in the, you know, South America clay court tournaments at the start of most years, and that's where he's had most of his success. He obviously likes this surface. But I'm feeling better on the clay this year than I was last.
Q. Are you aware of the sort of very complex calculations about Nos. 2, 3, and 4 in the rankings? Have you sat down and worked out yourself how things are the next few weeks? ANDY MURRAY: No, I mean, I'm a long way behind Federer. I need to win a lot of matches if I want to try and catch up to him. I know this week I'm pretty sure well, Novak has to win the tournament to stay 3, I think, you know. But looking at Federer, I haven't really thought about it. I've been asked about the No. 3 ranking a lot, and I'd be there if I didn't get penalized for withdrawing from one of the tournaments last year, which I didn't know what the rules were. You know, I've only get my best 17 tournaments instead of my best 18, so hopefully that's not going to come back to bite me.
Q. Could you perhaps talk about the different elements? I mean, Monaco and now here and then Madrid, sort of three different types of clay and different conditions, et cetera, going into the French. Do you think it's tougher this year to prepare for the clay season with the different elements and conditions and the altitude and what have you? ANDY MURRAY: No. I think it's, you know, the altitude does affect the game a bit, that's for sure. I guess a lot of the guys that are ranked a bit higher are taking a week off in between, you know, each tournament, which gives enough time to get to the tournaments early to practice and prepare properly. I don't think it should take you more than, you know, five days to sort of get used to the conditions. You know, I got here on Friday. You know, before Monte Carlo I was there on the Friday and didn't play until Tuesday. Madrid will be the same thing, and Paris I'll probably be there a couple days earlier. Shouldn't really be a problem.
Q. You played a doubles match just now. Do you get a feel for the courts based on that, or is it not something you can do in a doubles match? ANDY MURRAY: No, I mean, the conditions out there today were terrible. It was so there was so much like from the trees and stuff blowing onto the court, like there's no clay on it at all. It was like really dusty. We all had to stop quite a few times to shield ourselves from the clay getting in our eyes. No, I mean, in conditions like that you don't really get used to a surface or whatever. I practiced a few days here, and, you know, I mean, it's a clay court. You play the same sort of way. You just adjust a little bit. It shouldn't be a problem.
Q. Those kind of conditions, have you seen those before, or is that a little bit abnormal? ANDY MURRAY: I've played in very windy conditions before, it's just on the clay it becomes a bit different just because of a lot of stopping, you know, in between points and sort of you got to delay the points a bit because of the, you know, the clay sort of blowing into your eyes. You only really get it here. I mean, I practice in Barcelona a lot and it can get windy there, as well. I've seen bad conditions, it's just it's different playing in windy conditions on grass or hard.
Q. Anything about 10 Downing Street take you by surprise? ANDY MURRAY: Not really. I mean, it was, I guess, kind of what you expected. Nice place. Obviously first time I had been there. You know, it was nice to meet the prime minister. He was very, very nice. You know, knew a lot about everything, you know, as you would expect. No, it was great. Really enjoyed it.
Posted: 27.04.09 23:26. Post subject: Andy Murray keeps ey..
Andy Murray keeps eye on vital statistics
It was the perfect day for pen-sucking and dreaming of sunny portents because play at the Rome Masters was spoilt by winds that whipped clay into the eyes and nostrils, and one match on the Foro Italico's temporary main court was completed in a torrential downpour that formed small puddles into which balls plopped and stopped. Work on the new Centre Court appears no more advanced than a year ago. A roof? That was still up for discussion.
Andy Murray lost a first-round doubles match yesterday with Ross Hutchins, his Davis Cup colleague, which is probably just as well because his second-round singles today against Juan Mуnaco, of Argentina, will require every bit of the British No1's powers of concentration.
Murray is a bit of a statistical nerd - the ATP does not need a computer to work out the rankings, he could do it using mental arithmetic - and is more aware than anyone how close he is to becoming the highest-ranked player from Britain since the authorities decided to use scientific methods rather than rely on the opinions of a journalistic cabal. If Novak Djokovic fails to defend his title here, Murray will leapfrog him to No3 and should Roger Federer's socks remain around his ankles for much longer, the Scot could be at No2 by the time Wimbledon swings into view.
Lest we be accused of getting ahead of ourselves, the player himself said that he could have been No3 before now had he fulfilled his tour commitments last year - he withdrew from the event in Indianapolis, unaware of a new rule that condemned him to a “zero-pointer” on his ranking record that could have been retrieved had he flown to Indiana and carried out promotional work on behalf of the tournament. That is a long way to go to shake a few hands.
He will not make the mistake of ignoring the fine print again. Murray, who has held the No4 spot for 32 consecutive weeks since September 8 last year, has made a career-best 29-3 start to the year to close quickly on Djokovic, who has been ranked No3 every week bar one since Wimbledon 2007. With last year's Monte Carlo points dropping off from the player's average next Monday, Federer loses 700 points, Djokovic 450 and Murray 150, which equates to a mere 110 points separating Serb from Scot as we start this championship.
At the very least, when the French Open begins next month, Murray, who reached the third round at Roland Garros last year, will be only 280 points adrift of Federer, who was the runner-up in Paris. Should Murray overhaul the Swiss - which is very much on the cards - Federer would have to hope the grass-court formula that Wimbledon figures into its seedings prevents him from being relegated at SW19 by virtue of the five-times former champion's record of excellence there. That would be hard to swallow.
How does Murray feel here after making such a resounding impact on his seasonal, clay-court debut in Monte Carlo, where he reached the semi-finals. “It has been windy, tough to play and tricky, but I feel confident,” he said. “Even if I don't start the matches well, I think I can get into a rhythm much quicker than I could even a couple of months ago.”
He has to continue to play with the courage and sheer excellence that he has demonstrated thus far in 2009 and Mуnaco, who rose to No14 last year before a bout of pneumonia and ankle problems knocked him back, is a spikey first challenge on wettened clay.
As something out of the ordinary, Murray visited 10 Downing Street last week with David Beckham, on behalf of Malaria No More, a charity of which they are patrons. One wondered if he had had the temerity to ask Gordon Brown, his fellow Scot, about the new 50 per cent tax rate? “No, unfortunately,” said the man who in 2009 has won $1,695,887 (about Ј1.1million) in prize money.
After crashing out 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 to qualifier Juan Monaco, Andy Murray was nevertheless in an upbeat mood as he looked to the rest of the clay season.
“Conditions changed a lot during the match,” said the No4 seed, who got off to a flying start before getting bogged down in the second set. “You look at the court during the first set and it was very heavy and very damp. At the end, it was really dry, quite slippy and much quicker conditions. That might explain a little bit why it was a bit of a different standard of tennis played. Maybe when the courts dried out he was able to dictate more of the points. I'm not saying the conditions were the reason I lost the match. It was just very different to what it was at the start. The last five or six days when we were practising, the weather had been damp and the courts were slow, and then it was obviously much quicker at the end. Maybe that's where I made a few more errors. I don't mind whether the clay is quicker or slower – it just changed a lot during the match.”
Despite going out at this early stage, Murray refused to be downhearted and took the positives from the match. “It wasn't my best but I was still very close to winning. I've found ways of coming through when I haven't been playing my best early in tournaments this year. On the clay, that's something that I need to try and work out a little bit more. But I’m not going to be too disappointed. I would have liked to have got my run going, but I've had a great eight months and haven't lost early for a long time. I knew it was going to happen sometime. I’ve just got to move on and realize that I've been playing much better this year than I was last year on clay and work hard for Madrid.”
Murray also mentioned some problems adjusting to a new racquet, though he refused to lay the blame on either his equipment or on the foot-fault call at 5-5 in the final set which led to his being broken to love. “I'm playing with new racquets this week - the same weight and balance but it's just always when you get new racquets it takes time,” he said. “You have to string them three or four times before they come out the right way because the grommets are new.”
“I don't move my left foot when I serve, so I don't get foot faulted very often,” he continued. “If I was foot faulting, I was foot faulting. It was just quite surprising that after two hours and forty minutes we'd been playing and I had one, and it came out of nowhere. I missed the next four first serves but that's bad concentration from me - something that I need to get better at.”
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Posted: 29.04.09 22:00. Post subject: Rome: Dubs reaction ..
Rome: Dubs reaction ПК после неудачного дубля 27 April, 2009 | 20:04
Could you just talk about the match against Monaco? Clearly you just had recent experience playing him on hard court. What do you think he offers different on clay that is a challenge for you?
He plays well on hard and on clay. He had a bad illness last year, and before that he was ranked inside the top 20. He got to the fourth round of the US Open a couple years ago and pushed Djokovic really close. He plays well in the South America clay court tournaments at the start of most years, and that's where he's had most of his success. He obviously likes this surface. But I'm feeling better on the clay this year than I was last.
Q. Are you aware of the sort of very complex calculations about Nos. 2, 3, and 4 in the rankings? Have you sat down and worked out yourself how things are the next few weeks?
No. I'm a long way behind Federer. I need to win a lot of matches if I want to try and catch up to him. I know this week I'm pretty sure well, Novak has to win the tournament to stay 3, I think, you know. But looking at Federer, I haven't really thought about it. I've been asked about the No. 3 ranking a lot, and I'd be there if I didn't get penalized for withdrawing from one of the tournaments last year, which I didn't know what the rules were. I've only get my best 17 tournaments instead of my best 18, so hopefully that's not going to come back to bite me.
Q. Could you perhaps talk about the different elements? I mean, Monaco and now here and then Madrid, sort of three different types of clay and different conditions, et cetera, going into the French. Do you think it's tougher this year to prepare for the clay season with the different elements and conditions and the altitude and what have you?
No. I think it's, you know, the altitude does affect the game a bit, that's for sure. I guess a lot of the guys that are ranked a bit higher are taking a week off in between, you know, each tournament, which gives enough time to get to the tournaments early to practice and prepare properly. I don't think it should take you more than, you know, five days to sort of get used to the conditions. You know, I got here on Friday. You know, before Monte Carlo I was there on the Friday and didn't play until Tuesday. Madrid will be the same thing, and Paris I'll probably be there a couple days earlier. Shouldn't really be a problem.
Q. You played a doubles match just now. Do you get a feel for the courts based on that, or is it not something you can do in a doubles match?
No, I mean, the conditions out there today were terrible. It was so there was so much like from the trees and stuff blowing onto the court, like there's no clay on it at all. It was like really dusty. We all had to stop quite a few times to shield ourselves from the clay getting in our eyes. In conditions like that you don't really get used to a surface or whatever. I practiced a few days here, and, you know, I mean, it's a clay court. You play the same sort of way. You just adjust a little bit. It shouldn't be a problem.
Q. Those kind of conditions, have you seen those before, or is that a little bit abnormal?
I've played in very windy conditions before, it's just on the clay it becomes a bit different just because of a lot of stopping, you know, in between points and sort of you got to delay the points a bit because of the, you know, the clay sort of blowing into your eyes. You only really get it here. I mean, I practice in Barcelona a lot and it can get windy there, as well. I've seen bad conditions, it's just it's different playing in windy conditions on grass or hard.
Q. Anything about 10 Downing Street take you by surprise?
Not really. I mean, it was, I guess, kind of what you expected. Nice place. Obviously first time I had been there. It was nice to meet the prime minister. He was very, very nice. He knew a lot about everything as you would expect. No, it was great. Really enjoyed it.
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Posted: 29.04.09 22:14. Post subject: Monaco stuns Murray ..
Monaco stuns Murray in Rome tennis epic
April 30, 2009 - 3:49AM Qualifier Juan Monaco dumped world number four Andy Murray out of the ATP Rome Masters on Wednesday following an epic three-set match that lasted two hours 40 minutes.
The Argentine clay specialist made a mockery of his number 58 world ranking to come through 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 against an out-of-sorts Murray, who has yet to win a match on court here on the Roman dirt in three attempts.
The Scot's only victory here came last year when Juan Del Potro retired with a back injury during the third set of their first round clash.
The fourth seed coasted to the first set as Monaco took his time to settle but once the Argentine found his range, both players dug into their trenches and went to war.
Monaco broke Murray in the second game of the second set but was broken back straight away before another break in the eighth game allowed him to square the match at a set all.
Murray paid for a pitiful first serve percentage of just 39 percent in that second set compared with Monaco's impressive 84 percent of first serves in.
The Briton looked lethargic during that set and things barely improved in the decider as he was broken in the third game following a horrible drop shot that allowed Monaco to race to the net and pass him easily.
However, the Argentine returned the favour on break point in the next game but Murray gave the advantage straight back as he went long on break point in the fifth game, making it three breaks in a row.
Just as Monaco looked to be heading to victory he played a woeful eighth game when he was broken to love after plopping successive forehands into the net.
Both players then held serve before Murray ominously began the 11th game with a double fault. He followed that up with a forehand error and a Monaco forehand winner gave the qualifier three break points, which he took at the first attempt after another terrible Murray drop shot left him hopelessly exposed.
Murray had a great chance at 15-15 in the next game but hit a dreadful sliced backhand that drifted wide when he had Monaco on the back foot.
Monaco set up match point with a successful drop shot and although Murray saved the first, he over-ran a forehand and chopped his awkward, cramped, sliced effort into the bottom of the net to hand his opponent an unlikely victory.
Monaco will play Marin Cilic of Croatia in the next round after the 15th seed desposed of Belgium's Christophe Rochus in three sets 6-0, 5-7, 6-2.
* World number four switches focus to Madrid Masters
(Recasts with quotes)
By Paul Virgo
ROME, April 29 (Reuters) - Andy Murray refused to get too disheartened after being knocked out of the Rome Masters in his opening match on Wednesday.
"I'm not going to be too disappointed. I would have liked to have got my run going but I've had a great eight months," the fourth seed, who had a bye into the second round, told reporters following his 1-6 6-3 7-5 defeat by Argentine qualifier Juan Monaco.
"I haven't lost early for a long time. I knew it was going to happen some time."
Murray has risen to fourth in the rankings thanks to his strong performance over the past year. Such has been his consistency, he had not lost his opening match at a tournament since the Beijing Olympics last August. After dominating the first set, the 21-year-old Scot blamed the changing conditions for losing serve six times.
Although the clay courts at Rome's Foro Italico dried out as the game went on, he struggled to make an impact on a surface made heavy by the rain that caused the clash to be postponed on Tuesday.
"He started playing much better. He made a lot of mistakes in the first set but conditions changed a lot during the match," Murray said. "It was obviously much quicker at the end. Maybe that's where I made a few more errors."
He said he was now looking to next month's Madrid Masters, where he'll be looking to repeat the progress he showed on his least favourite surface when reaching the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo tournament.
"I've just got to move on and realise that I've been playing much better this year than I was last year on clay and work hard for Madrid," he said.
Garry
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Posted: 30.04.09 09:42. Post subject: Энди Мюррей: «Не соб..
Энди Мюррей: «Не собираюсь расстраиваться из-за поражения от Монако»
Британец Энди Мюррей, закончивший свое выступление на турнире в Риме после поражения от аргентинца Хуана Монако во втором круге со счетом 6:1, 3:6, 5:7, прокомментировал матч.
«Я провел не самый лучший матч, но я был близок к победе. В последнее время я научился вытягивать матчи, когда не идет игра. На грунте есть еще вещи, над которыми мне надо поработать, поэтому я не собираюсь расстраиваться.
Последние несколько месяцев я здорово выступал, и раннее поражение должно было когда-нибудь случиться. Я понял, что в этом году играю на грунте лучше, чем в прошлом. Теперь буду готовиться к Мадриду», – приводит слова теннисиста AFP.
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Posted: 01.05.09 13:33. Post subject: J. MONACO/A. Murray ..
J. MONACO/A. Murray 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. It was a strange match. Very different types of sets. After you won the first one, in what way did your game go off? ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, to be fair, he started playing much better. He made a lot of mistakes in the first set, but conditions changed a lot during the match. You look at the court during the first set, and it was very heavy and very damp. At the end, it was, you know, really dry, quite slippy, and much quicker conditions. That might explain a little bit why it was a bit of a different standard of tennis played. You know, maybe when the courts dried out he was able to dictate more of the points.
Q. In terms of your performances this year so far, how would you rate today, assess today? ANDY MURRAY: Well, it wasn't my best match, but, you know, I was still very close to winning. You know, I've found ways of coming through when I haven't been playing my best early in tournaments this year. You know, on the clay, that's something that I need to, you know, just maybe try and work out a little bit more. But, you know, not going to be too disappointed. I would have liked to have got my sort of run going, but I've had a great eight months. Haven't lost early for a long time. You know, I knew it was going to happen sometime. I just got to move on and, you know, realize that, you know, I've been playing much better this year than I was last year on clay can, and work hard for Madrid.
Q. Any particular lessons that you take from today? ANDY MURRAY: No, there's not one thing in particular. Came down to a few points here or there at the end. You know, I could have gone up a break early in the second set, and maybe that would have made a difference to his confidence. Once he held that game, he started to play a bit better. But it's not one thing in particular. I didn't feel like I hit the ball as clean as I did in Monte-Carlo. But then again, it's very different conditions.
Q. You talk about the different conditions. We thought that this kind of clay was more suitable to your game because it's a little faster. Instead it wasn't. ANDY MURRAY: No, I mean, I'm not saying the conditions were the reason I lost the match. It was just very different to what it was at the start. The last five or six days when we were practicing, the weather had been damp and the courts were slow, and then it was obviously much quicker at the end. Maybe that's where I made a few more errors. I don't mind whether the clay is quicker or slower. Just changed a lot during the match.
Q. What was the issue with the racquet? Seemed as though you were struggling to get the tension right. ANDY MURRAY: Yeah, it is tough. I mean, again, obviously it was much slower at the start, but I'm playing with new racquets this week. The same like weight and balance and stuff, but it's just always when you get new racquets it takes time for -- you have to string them three or four times before they come out the right way, because the grommets are new. So that's probably quite boring. But anyway, I was playing with new racquets, whatever. Just that the tensions were a little bit different.
Q. We were trying to remember the last time that you were foot faulted. Can you remember when? ANDY MURRAY: Not really. I mean, I don't move my left foot when I serve, so, yeah, I don't get foot faulted very often.
Q. When there's a lot of the clay on the line, don't you think that's a little bit of a harsh call at that stage of the match? ANDY MURRAY: I don't know. If I was foot faulting, I was foot faulting. I don't know. I obviously didn't see it. It was just, yeah, quite surprising that after two hours and forty minutes we'd been playing and I had one, and then it kind of came a bit out of nowhere. I missed the next four first serves, which could be -- maybe that's bad concentration from me. Maybe that's something that I need to get better at. But, yeah, I don't get called for that too often.
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Posted: 01.05.09 21:41. Post subject: Andy Murray to Build..
Andy Murray to Build Up Leg Strength for French Open Tennis: The world No4 Andy Murray has decided to recharge his batteries after defeat in Rome – and then focus on building leg strength for the clay of Madrid and the French Open
For Andy Murray everything is carefully calculated. His development since Wimbledon last year has been rapid, Murray achieving a level of consistency and excellence on hardcourts, and indoors, that has seen him dramatically close the gap on Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic. But as the French Open nears, he remains mindful that on clay he lags considerably behind the trio in terms of experience and success.
By reaching the semi-finals against Nadal in Monte Carlo, and for a few games rocking the undisputed King of Clay, he confirmed his potential, while the defeat here in Rome yesterday against Argentina's Juan Mуnaco, who has now reached the quarter-finals with a 6-4,6-4 victory over Croatia's Marin Cilic, underlined the fact that Murray, for the time being, is more vulnerable on clay than any other surface. But that will change.
"On hard courts it's a bit easier to find a player's weakness. On clay, because the ball sits up a lot more, it's tough to get through the court and apply pressure," said Murray. "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."
Murray admitted to being a little tired mentally at the moment, and in need of a break. "I didn't have that much time in between winning the title in Miami and the beginning of the clay-court season." He will have a few days clear of tennis and training this week, and then concentrate on building up his leg muscles prior to the start of the Madrid Masters a week this Sunday, the last major test before Roland Garros.
"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," the Scot explained.
Nadal has suggested that Murray may, ultimately, be in a position to challenge for the French Open title. However Murray will set his sights a little more conservatively this year, aiming to improve on last year's third-round defeat, and perhaps reach the second week.
Djokovic, who must retain his title here to prevent Murray claiming the world No3 spot, easily reached the last eight with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Spain's Tommy Robredo, and tomorrow plays the world No5 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, who beat the 2008 runner-up Stanislas Wawrinka, of Switzerland, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3.
Posted: 01.05.09 21:46. Post subject: Scotland planning Mu..
Scotland planning Murray swoop DOUG GILLON May 01 2009
Scotland will make every effort to persuade Andy and Jamie Murray to pull on a Scottish vest at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi next year.
Tennis is making its Games debut and the qualifying period for all sports opens today. Precise tennis details have yet to be thrashed out, but leading Scottish players have been told the dates, with a view to making themselves available.
Pete Nicolson, who has just been appointed tennis team manager, is currently on holiday. "When I return, we're hoping to finalise the criteria," he said last night. "We may not field a full team. The policy should be even across all sports, and the basic standard is top eight at the last Games. So we'd be looking for players able to make the top eight.
advertisement "It's too early to say about Andy and Jamie, but they know the event is on. I'd be disappointed if they wouldn't want to fit it into their schedule. If Andy was challenging for No.1 in the world, he wouldn't get any ranking points for the Commonwealth Games. That's the major downside.
"I know the guys would love to play if they possibly can, and it's a fantastic chance to showcase Scottish tennis if at all possible.
"They're waiting for us to go back and give them a lot more detail. Selection won't be an issue for them, but there are others like Colin Fleming, Jamie Baker, and Elena Baltacha who could be in the team, as well.
The Commonwealth event runs from October 4 to 10. This coincides with the China and Japan Opens, but the Shanghai Masters, which would be a must for Andy, starts on October 11. However, he could expect a first-round bye, which would give him two more days.
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Posted: 03.05.09 22:28. Post subject: Murray to move third..
Murray to move third in rankings
Andy Murray will become the first British man to reach number three in the world rankings on 11 May.
The 21-year-old Scot will overtake Novak Djokovic in the ATP World Tour standings after the Serb failed to defend his title at the Rome Masters.
Murray lost in round two but has been on a superb run since last summer and now has 11 career titles to his name.
He is next in action at the Madrid Masters from 10 May as he prepares for the French Open later this month. Murray is the defending champion in Madrid, although it is a vastly different event this year as it has changed from an indoor tournament in October to an outdoor clay event in May.
Since the computerised rankings were introduced in 1973, both Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski have made it to number four in the 52-week rolling standings.
But Murray has broken new ground in a year that has seen him suffer just five defeats so far and collect titles in Doha, Rotterdam and at the prestigious Miami Masters 1000.
He reached his first Grand Slam final at the US Open last September, losing to Roger Federer, and landing one of the game's four major prizes remains his primary target.
Andy will deserve it," world number two Federer told BBC Radio 5 Live earlier this week when asked about Murray's possible move to number three.
"He didn't win the big ones but he was very, very solid in Masters Series play and I think if he becomes number three in the world everybody will agree that he absolutely deserves it."
Asked about losing third spot to Murray following his defeat by Rafael Nadal in Rome, Djokovic said: "It's very close. I'm defending a lot of points, so it's not strange that it happened.
"He has been playing really well lately but it's still close. I can get it back. It's really up and down."
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Posted: 05.05.09 09:52. Post subject: From The Times May 4..
From The Times May 4, 2009
Andy Murray makes history with top-three spot, but get ready for more
Neil Harman He may have sheepishly raised a glass of sparkling mineral water at home while those of us in the Eternal City toasted him in Rosso Di Montalcino. Andy Murray is the world’s third-best tennis player, although, by the quirks with which these things are worked out, official confirmation will not come until next Monday. To hell with hanging around. This is something very special.
When computer rankings were introduced in 1973, the first three names on the list were Ilie Nastase, Manuel Orantes and Stan Smith. From next Monday, when the points that Novak Djokovic earned from winning in Rome last year are subtracted from his total, he slips down a spot and Murray moves in behind Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
It is a first for Britain and, for all we have seen of him and can skilfully project, better is to come. And it may not be too long before it happens.
From a first look at Murray as a 16-year-old, it was clear that he had something rare in a British player: an absolute certainty of himself, fixed firmly to a technique and court appreciation that, once he had fully developed into his body, would likely propel him into the highest reaches of the game.
It would have been a brave man to state categorically that he would rise quite this high because, well, he is British player. But on the eve of his 22nd birthday, having matured and filled out, he is a very formidable athlete and one well aware of his status.
Tim Henman reached No 4, as did Greg Rusedski, but neither — if they were being honest — believed they would go higher.
It is tribute to Murray that, at a time when Nadal, two short of equalling Andre Agassi’s record 17 Masters Series titles, and Federer, one short of equalling Pete Sampras’s record 14 grand-slam titles, are ruling the roost, the Scot is right in there with them, ruffling feathers, promising much and not yet near his peak.
This is a moment for British tennis to celebrate a special talent. Now back to the practice court.
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Posted: 05.05.09 09:56. Post subject: Murray reaches all-t..
Murray reaches all-time high No.3 The next time Scotland's Andy Murray steps out to play a tennis match, he will be the world No.3.
Novak Djokovic's defeat by Rafael Nadal in the final of the Rome Masters yesterday ensures that Murray will overtake the Serb as the third-best player on the new rankings, which will be released next Monday.
Regardless of how Djokovic performs this week in the ATP event in his homeland - the Belgrade tournament is owned by the Djokovic family - Murray will pass him.
It is a huge achievement for the young Scot who also becomes the first British player to be ranked in the top three since the computerised rankings began in 1973.
While Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski both made it to No.4, neither man went higher. Murray has done just that, all before the age of 22, and things could get better for him because he has very few points to defend, either at the Madrid Masters, which begins next Monday, or in the French Open, which starts in three weeks' time.
Should Roger Federer fail to reach the final in Paris, the No.2 spot could even be his for the taking before Wimbledon.
Murray was beaten in the second round in Rome, by Argentine Juan Monaco, but showed he can compete on clay by reaching the semi-finals in Monte Carlo two weeks before that, when he pushed Nadal hard.
Djokovic admitted it had been almost inevitable. "It's very close, but I'm defending a lot of points, so it's not strange that it has happened," he said. "He has been playing really well lately."
Murray, meanwhile, has pledged to keep things in perspective. "I just need to make sure that I keep it going, don't get ahead of myself and just keep playing each match as it comes," he said."
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Posted: 10.05.09 13:08. Post subject: Roger Federer's ..
Roger Federer's No2 ranking is a close target for Andy Murray, says Tim Henman Serena Williams, although she is second in the women's rankings behind Dinara Safina, keeps on telling tennis: "I'm still No 1".
Roger Federer does not like it one bit when stadium announcers introduce him as the former men's world No 1. Rankings truly matter to the players, which is why Andy Murray will be delighted when the men's list is updated on Monday, as it will show that that he has become the first British man to be rated as the third best on the planet.
So far, no one has been suggesting an open-top bus ride down Dunblane High Street, or commemorative mugs and tea-towels. And yet it would be tricky to mount a counter-argument against Tim Henman's assessment that Murray's new ranking is a 'landmark' event. The official rankings came into being in 1973; it has taken 36 years for a British man to work his way up to third in the list; Murray going above Serbia's Novak Djokovic.
Henman, though, said that Murray would not spend too much time as the world No 3, as he believes that the Scot could move past Federer before the Wimbledon Championships start next month.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Andy was second in the world pretty soon. He could do it in the next few weeks," said Henman, whose highest position was fourth.
"It's a landmark, and it's a great achievement, but he is still so young and he is improving so quickly that he will achieve far bigger and better things. I think he'll be No 1 at some stage; I really do, because he's that good. Just look at the way he has played against Federer.
" I'd say that Federer is the best player of all time, and Andy has got an unbelievable record against him, and you don't do that by chance. He's won three Masters titles already, and 11 titles overall, it's phenomenal. I think he's better than Djokovic."
Of course, what Murray wants more than anything is a grand slam title, a prize that no British man has won since Fred Perry at the 1936 US Open. Henman noted that Murray, who turns 22 on Friday, is sharing his era with two of the greatest players to have swung a racket. "[Rafael] Nadal and Federer are once-in-a-lifetime players. This is Andy's era. So it's hard."
Henman's era came to an end with his retirement in 2007, but the 34-year-old, who remains an ambassador for Robinsons soft drinks, has been back in training for next Sunday's exhibition event at Wimbledon under the new retractable roof over Centre Court, which will also feature Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Kim Clijsters.
"I had lunch with Andy the other day, and watched him practise," said Henman. "He's in a good place."
This week, Murray is playing on the clay courts of Madrid, the last warm-up tournament before the French Open. A spokesman for the ATP said that Murray would be regarded as the defending champion at La Caja Magica, at the 'Magic Box' venue, even though he has never previously even reached a final on clay, let alone even won a title on the surface.
That is because Murray won last autumn's indoor hard-court tournament in the Spanish capital. This year, the Madrid event has changed venue, changed surface, and changed its place in the calendar.
If it seems a little ridiculous that Murray should be seen as the defending champion in Spain, it makes perfect sense that he is going to be the highest ranked British man in history. "The rankings don't lie," Henman said.
To Henman's mind, Murray should be thankful to Brad Gilbert, the coach he sacked, as well as to his current coach, Miles Maclagan. "Andy has made enormous improvements in every aspect. He is fitter and stronger, and you can see that visually.
His game has improved so much. I think that everyone reflects on Andy and Brad in a bad light, saying that they clashed, and, yeah, it wasn't a great mix of personalities, but a lot of what Brad was working on is what Andy does now.
''That's a reflection of how well Miles has done because he's been able to get the point across and deliver it better so they've been able to have a great relationship," Henman said.
"Andy's more aggressive. He's serving better. He's taking the ball on. He's more proactive. He understands the game better. He's matured – you can see that from his demeanour on the court. He's always going to be a bit fiery at times, and get frustrated, but that's him, that's just the way he is."
Already, thoughts are turning to Wimbledon, to a possible fortnight of grass-court 'Andy-monium'.
"Andy has been there, he's been in that environment," Henman said. "He understands it, and he has more confidence now because he's got the wins and the victories behind him. That all helps, all giving him the platform to give him his best chance at Wimbledon."
Fanka
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Posted: 10.05.09 13:10. Post subject: The arrival of a roo..
The arrival of a roof for Centre Court at Wimbledon is a life-changing event Simon Barnes
All great advances come at a price. With the rise of science came the decline of religion; with industrialisation came the despoiling of the planet; with the Centre Court roof comes the loss of the rain delay. Life will never be quite the same again.
The cover of a book called Watching the English, by Kate Fox, the anthropologist, shows a couple sitting in a completely empty Centre Court beneath an umbrella, bored out of their minds and — not entirely by coincidence — reading a damp Daily Telegraph. They are Not Giving Up. It is a quintessential image of Englishness.
Making the best of things. Drinking Pimm’s under dripping awnings. Waiting for the next announcement: “The news from the London Weather Centre is that there will be another shah — in about half an ah.” And the shah falls, as shahs do, but still they stay, ensnared by the hope of seeing a plucky British wild card get double bageled.
I think that this will be my 25th Wimbledon as a working journo. Every year, every time it has rained, the press room has shared the same joke: “Let’s write about putting a roof over Centre Court.” This ancient journalistic last resort was given a new twist one year in this very newspaper. We — I use the term loosely — came up with the still more desperate notion: why don’t they put a roof over the entire complex?
In the days when journalism was a more bibulous profession, we would naturally retire to the bar. Many were the drinkers who got caught out by a dramatic improvement in the weather after they had morally abandoned play for the day. And meanwhile, some poor sod has to do a story about how players cope with the rain delays.
How indeed? If there had been a roof over Centre Court in 2001, Tim Henman would have won the tournament. But alas, he lost momentum during a match that lasted over three desperate rain-lashed days. For the want of a roof, a championship was lost.
Cliff Richard sang only once on Centre Court, 13 years ago, but it was enough. Enough to establish a legend for all time. For once we cast modesty aside and positively flaunted our modesty of expectations before the world.
But now, when it rains, life will go on untroubled, at least for those with Centre Court tickets. Never again will we see that strange tent above the grass. The legend of SW19 states that the groundsmen once rolled back that famous wet green canvas tent to discover a still life: two glasses, an empty champagne bottle and an equally empty pair of knickers. This year they’ll have to watch the tennis
Mela
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Posted: 11.05.09 16:37. Post subject: Энди Мюррей: «Я бы г..
Энди Мюррей: «Я бы гордился еще больше, если бы мое имя в рейтинге было между Надалем и Федерером»
Британец Энди Мюррей, поднявшийся на третью строчку в рейтинге АТР, накануне своего старта на турнире в Мадриде заявил, что гордится этим достижением, но нацелен на большее.
«Я бы гордился еще больше, если бы мое имя в рейтинге было между Надалем и Федерером. Я совершил серьезный рывок за последние восемь или девять месяцев, и рейтинг это отражает. Приблизиться к этим двоим или вклиниться между ними – трудная задача. Они занимают первую-вторую позицию уже пять или шесть лет. Это невероятное достижение.
Я знаю, что, для того, чтобы у меня был шанс обойти Федерера, я должен показать свою лучшую игру в течение следующих двух месяцев. И самое важное, что для этого нужно – это концентрация на игре, а не на рейтинге», – цитирует Мюррея AFP.
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Posted: 11.05.09 19:26. Post subject: Энди хорош - занимае..
Энди хорош - занимает почетное третье место и недоволен еще
Ну, так надо достигнуть большего, чтобы этим гордиться, no? Усе, как говорится, в твоих руках.
Mela
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Posted: 12.05.09 15:25. Post subject: Энди Мюррей: «Турнир..
Энди Мюррей: «Турнир в Мадриде имеет хороший потенциал для развития»
Новоиспеченный третий номер мирового рейтинга шотландец Энди Мюррей в преддверии своего старта на турнире в Мадриде рассказал, что для него сейчас важно поступательно двигаться от матча к матчу и от турнира к турниру.
«Очень сложно каждую неделю находить правильный баланс между тем, что приходится играть слишком много, или слишком мало. На этой неделе я потратил на тренировки больше времени, чем за время участия в двух последних турнирах.
Я прибыл сюда в среду, и у меня была пара выходных дней после поражения в Риме. Работа на тренировках над некоторыми элементами игры придаст мне уверенности на корте, и это действительно лучшее, что сейчас можно сделать.
Сейчас моя задача – выиграть на этом турнире первый матч. После него – второй матч. И так дальше каждый следующий матч. У меня достаточно сложная сетка, да и условия здесь другие. Поэтому, мне кажется, неправильно думать о полуфинале или финале. Я имею ввиду, что сейчас я играю недостаточно хорошо на грунтовом покрытии, а первый матч мне предстоит с победителем пары хороших грунтовиков.
Турнир проходит на новом стадионе с крышей, и это отлично для зрителей. У них всегда есть возможность без проблем смотреть теннис. Это создает большой потенциал для развития турнира в Мадриде», – приводит слова Мюррея официальный сайт турнира.
Posted: 12.05.09 15:25. Post subject: Андре Агасси: «Мюрре..
Андре Агасси: «Мюррей может выиграть несколько турниров «Большого шлема»
Легендарный американский теннисист Андре Агасси, который должен приехать в Англию для проведения выставочного турнира под раздвижной крышей на Центральном корте «Уимблдона» в воскресенье, ответил на вопрос о перспективах британской надежды Энди Мюррея на выигрыш турнира «Большого шлема».
«Думаю, наибольшие шансы у Энди выиграть первым Открытый чемпионат США. Там самое быстрое покрытие, оно ему лучше всего подходит. Он отлично двигается, может прекрасно распорядиться быстрым отскоком, отлично подходит к мячу. Но я думаю, он может выиграть больше, чем один турнир «Большого шлема», стать мультичемпионом. Он постоянно совершенствуется, учится контролировать себя, оставаться собранным. Он еще молод, но у него уже сейчас есть все – движение, атлетизм, скорость, прекрасные удары. Все это он уже демонстрировал в матчах против трудных соперников», – приводит слова Агасси BBC SPORT.
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Posted: 13.05.09 10:27. Post subject: Энди Мюррей: «По ход..
Энди Мюррей: «По ходу матча я играл все ближе к задней линии»
Третья ракетка мира британец Энди Мюррей, обыгравший во втором круге турнира в Мадриде итальянца Симоне Болелли со счетом 7:6, 6:4, прокомментировал матч, а также своего следующего соперника испанца Томми Робредо.
«Я достаточно хорошо чувствовал себя на корте, по-моему, не упустил ни мяча на протяжении всего матча. Первый сет был очень сложным. Я сыграл несколько хороших розыгрышей, и в целом, доволен матчем.
Болелли бьет по мячу сильнее, чем большинство ребят. К тому же, в условиях непривычного корта мне было сложно с самого начала матча играть прямо на задней линии. Но по ходу матча я подходил к ней все ближе и ближе.
Если вы посмотрите, как, например, Рафа играет на грунте, вы увидите, что в начале матча он много мячей встречает далеко за задней линией. Он пытается играть надежно и получать больше уверенности. А когда он ее получает, он играет все ближе и ближе к задней линии. Так же и я действовал сегодня.
Без сомнения, Робредо входит в десятку лучших грунтовиков. Он выиграл несколько турниров на грунте в Южной Америке, он будет играть дома, так что поддержка ему обеспечена. Этот матч станет хорошей проверкой для меня. Надеюсь, что смогу сыграть так же, как сегодня, и у меня будет шанс», – приводит слова теннисиста официальный сайт АТР.
Fanka
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Posted: 13.05.09 18:13. Post subject: Henman tips Murray t..
Henman tips Murray to be number one 22 hours ago
Tim Henman says there is no doubt in his mind Andy Murray is a future world number one.
Murray moved ahead of Novak Djokovic into the world's top three on Monday following the Serbian's loss to Rafael Nadal in the Internationale BNL d'Italia final which means the 21-year-old has become the first Briton to reach number three in the world rankings.
Henman, who preceded the Scot as British number one, feels confident Murray's ascent to third in the world is only the beginning, and said: "I think it's fantastic but I think it's a reflection of his results. The rankings don't lie and he's played so well since Wimbledon last year - there's no doubt in my mind that he's going to go higher and higher."
Murray has beaten Roger Federer and Nadal - the two players ahead of him - since last year's All-England Championship and reached the final of the US Open last September.
He is still yet to claim his first grand slam title though and next month's Wimbledon provides him with a realistic chance of breaking his duck in front of his own fans.
Federer and Nadal will start as favourites but Henman thinks its only a matter of time before Murray overhauls them at the top table.
"There's only two more spots to go but I really believe that he can be number one in the world one day," continued the 34-year-old. I think he's got every opportunity of winning slams because his game is developing so quickly and he's still so young."
Two years after retiring from tennis, Henman will be making a Wimbledon appearance himself on Sunday as the former darling of SW19 returns for an exhibition doubles match to test out the new retractable roof on Centre Court.
Henman is due to play alongside Kim Clijsters against married couple Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf and admits he is feeling a little rusty.
He said: "I've been getting ready for the test event for the new roof and its been a bit of a shock to the system. I really haven't played any tennis for about 17, nearly 18 months so the last three or four weeks I've been having to dust down the racquet."
Fanka
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Posted: 13.05.09 18:14. Post subject: Andy will Slam it sa..
Andy will Slam it says Henman
By MARK IRWIN
Published: Today
WIMBLEDON legend Tim Henman insists Andy Murray WILL become the first Brit since Fred Perry to win a Grand Slam. And he believes the 73-year wait for a home champion could even end this summer.
Henman, who lost four Wimbledon semi-finals, declared: “Andy Murray is still only 21, yet will go on to far bigger and better things than I achieved.
“He has become the world No 3, he has won three Masters Series and been to a Grand Slam final. There is no doubt in my mind he will go on to win multiple Grand Slams, including Wimbledon.
“Andy’s progress and development over the last three years have been phenomenal. He’s stronger, fitter and a much better all-round player.
“What really encourages me, though, is the fact there are so many areas of his game he can, and will, improve on.”
Henman will return to Wimbledon on Sunday to play in the first match under the new Centre Court roof.
All 15,000 tickets for the mixed doubles involving Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Kim Clijsters sold out within five minutes.
Meanwhile, Murray had a tougher fight on his hands than expected before making it through to the third round of the Madrid Open.
Simone Bolelli of Italy took him to an 11-9 tie-break in the first set of their second-round clash.
But Murray won the second set more comfortably to go through 7-6 6-4.
Tim Henman was speaking at the launch of Slazenger’s White Ball Promotion celebrating their ongoing sponsorship of Wimbledon. Slazenger are offering tennis fans the chance to win Debenture tickets for Wimbledon 2010 by finding one of only three white balls in packs of four Slazenger balls. Visit slazenger.com for more information.
Fanka
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Posted: 13.05.09 18:17. Post subject: Тим в посл. месяцы Э..
Тим в посл. месяцы Энди нахваливает, раздает авансы и самые радужные предсказания из его уст льются
хруня
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Posted: 13.05.09 20:59. Post subject: Наши люди в Мэдриде ..
Наши люди в Мэдриде дорвалися до Маррея
Маррей: на грунте можно скользить
Новая третья ракетка планеты и действующий чемпион турнира серии "Мастерс" в Мадриде Энди Маррей (правда, в прошлый раз это соревнование проходило не на грунте) одержал свою первую победу в розыгрыше-2009 над итальянцем Симоне Болелли – 7:6 (11:9), 6:4. Внимание к шотландцу сейчас повышенное, и среди тех, кто выслушал признания нового игрока топ-3, были и корреспонденты "Чемпионат.ру".
— Учитывая ту работу, которую вы проделали в первом сете, можно ли сказать, что вы удовлетворены победой в матче? — Мне было комфортно играть, я едва ли пропустил хотя бы один мяч. Первый сет был тяжёлым, особенно мне было трудно, когда не засчитали подачу, которая точно попала в корт. Я даже пошёл проверить след и убедился, что подача попала.
— Может, это тот случай, когда бы на грунте не помешала система Hawk eye? — Нет, судейских ошибок на грунте не так много. Иногда случается, что на корте остаются две отметки близко друг от друга, причём совершенно непонятно, какая из них правильная. Тогда решение принимает судья. Но ещё раз повторю: это не частое явление. Если на установку системы нужны деньги, я не думаю, что она нужна, тем более что по телевидению показывают повторы. Если они есть на ТВ, можно использовать их и для игроков на корте.
— В начале матча вы больше играли на задней линии, вернее сказать, Болелли оттеснил вас далеко и постоянно атаковал. Вы нормально себя чувствуете, находясь так далеко, или это была вынужденная мера? — Этот парень очень сильно бьёт по мячу, возможно, он один из самых мощно бьющих в туре. Входить в корт при такой игре соперника невозможно. Но если вы заметили, с самого начала матча я старался с каждым геймом подходить всё ближе. Например, Рафаэль Надаль, если вы вспомните его игру на грунте, также начинает далеко от задней линии, но в процессе матча он продвигается вперёд. Сегодня я делал то же самое.
— Следующий ваш соперник – Робредо. Что можете сказать о нём? Как будете готовиться к матчу? — Потренируюсь час-полтора. Сегодня у меня был тяжёлый матч, который поздно закончился, поэтому мне нужно правильно восстановить силы. Робредо – один из топовых игроков на грунте, он выиграл пару грунтовых турниров в Южной Америке, поддержка мадридских трибун ему гарантирована. Для меня это будет хорошая проверка. Надеюсь, буду играть так же, как сегодня, и у меня будут шансы.
— Как ваше колено? Вы налетели на табличку с именем в первом сете, и казалось, что берегли его во втором сете? — У меня проблемы с коленом с рождения, раздвоенная коленная чашечка, я не могу согнуть ногу до 90 градусов. Если я резко и сильно сгибаю ногу, налетая на что-либо или нет, я чувствую боль. На грунте это не так опасно, как на других покрытиях, потому что есть возможность скользить. Но играя на песке, приходится подсаживаться под мяч, особенно под удар справа, поэтому я буду испытывать немного больше боли, чем на других покрытиях.
— Некоторые отскоки мяча на корте были довольно странными? Это из-за того что корты новые? — Да, думаю, именно поэтому. Вообще отскок на грунте не очень высокий от линий, но здесь он вообще экстремальный. Я играл на приёме такие мячи, они были кручёные и, наоборот, имели высокий отскок. Думаю, корты новые, и из-за этого линии не идеальны. Но у турнира есть огромный потенциал, он проводится первый раз, и нужно просто немного времени, чтобы всё пришло в норму, не только корты, но и другие мелочи.
— Что скажете про теннисный комплекс? — Корты имеют раздвижные крыши, и её можно закрыть во время дождя. Это прекрасная возможность в первую очередь для болельщиков, которые собираются посмотреть теннис. У этого турнира большой потенциал.
— Вы довольны тем, что стали первым британцем, который вошёл в первую тройку мировой классификации? — Дело в том, что если вы будете фокусировать своё внимание на рейтинге или том, что делают другие игроки, то перестанете концентрировать своё внимание на мяче. Нужно сосредоточиться на собственных матчах и постараться выигрывать их как можно больше. Важна концентрация и хорошая игра, а не рейтинг.
— Раньше из британцев только Тиму Хенмену и Грэгу Руседски удавалось занимать 4-ю позицию в рейтинге, а сегодня перед вами остались только Федерер и Надаль. Но у них на двоих – 19 титулов "Большого шлема", а у вас только выход в финал US Open в прошлом году. Сможете ли вы их обойти? — Чтобы приблизиться к этим двоим игрокам или вклиниться между Роджером и Рафой, нужно решить непростую задачу. Они, вероятно, являются двумя лучшими игроками за всю историю, но я не буду удивлён, если они когда-нибудь подвинутся вниз.
— Что для этого нужно предпринять лично вам? — Необходимо найти тот баланс, который бы позволил найти правильное решение – тренироваться не слишком много и не слишком мало. Его надо правильно находить каждую неделю, а это сложно. Например, на неделе перед Мадридом мы провели на тренировочном корте гораздо больше времени, чем перед предыдущими двумя турнирами. У меня была пара выходных дней после Рима, а потом пришлось работать кое над чем на тренировках, чтобы вернуть чувство уверенности в своей игре. А это лучшее из того, что можно сделать. Поначалу у меня была задача выиграть свой первый матч, а затем уже можно думать о последующих матчах, шаг за шагом. Приехав сюда, я получил сложную сетку. Здесь совсем другие условия, и пока нет никакого смысла говорить о финале или полуфинале. Думаю, что пока я не играю достаточно хорошо на этом покрытии, чтобы заглядывать дальше ближайшего матча.
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, я вот ждала-ждала, да не дождалась - прим. мое) 
так что я тоже за Бодо, он рулит 
А что делать?
) a lot to me to win a tournament at home," said the Scot. "All the guys that have played well at Queen's tend to have gone on to do well at Wimbledon so it's a good marker to see where your game is at. 
and so do a lot of folk. On present form, he is second only to Nadal, with Roger Federer straining and Novak Djokovic waning. One prominent commentator was moved to say over the weekend at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, that he considered Murray was now a better player than Federer. 
Eloquent praise indeed for the British No.1. 
обошлось с моно 
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