Murray is starting to live up to hype
Written by Writer on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008
Murray is starting to live up to hype
RAVIPAN PANASUTHIPAND
Bangkok Post
Wednesday October 22, 2008
As the season winds down, Andy Murray’s rise through the tennis ranks seems to have attracted a lot of attention.
The Scottish world number four won his second successive Masters Series title in Madrid by gaining sweet revenge over Roger Federer, who beat him in the US Open final, along the way.
What made this win all the more impressive was the fact that it was a victory over a Federer who was near to his best, not a Federer struggling to find his old self during mid-season crisis.
After their semi-final, Federer said: “I always knew from the first moment I saw him in Bangkok (in 2005) that if he didn’t screw it up, he’d be in the top 10 pretty soon. He was able to achieve that, for some, maybe six months too late, for some two years too late.
“People always like to have 15-year-olds winning grand slams but that is not going to happen in the men’s game. He has improved at his own pace. First he had to grow up a little bit, become a man; he’s taken that step well and he seems much more relaxed on the court.”
That was quite a statement from the Swiss maestro and Murray should take heart from that. After all, you don’t second guess the 13-time Grand Slam champion as far as spotting tennis talent is concerned, do you?
Murray is still far behind the top trio in terms of points in the world rankings. But you can’t play down the significance of his victories over both Rafael Nadal (at the US Open semi-finals) and Federer in the space of two months.
For Murray, this season has been a revelation. It was his first real introduction to the highest level of the sport, a place he had seemed destined to reach since his junior years.
Murray was obviously a fantastic player in his youth but sometimes fans can get too carried away and that places undue pressure on young players. That was the case with Murray early on in his career. Fans expected too much too soon and only a few players can live up to those kind of expectations.
This year was different however. This has been Murray’s best season since he turned professional in 2005. The 21-year-old has won a career-high four ATP titles and made his first Grand Slam final appearance at Flushing Meadows.
Despite being beaten by Federer in the final in straight sets, his overall performance and steady rise to the top seems to have won over a lot of admirers. It looks as though his future in the male tennis hierarchy is assured.
While Murray’s new-found maturity is obviously a key factor in his growing success this year, it is also a surprise for many as well. No-one who has followed Murray’s career so far and seen his various problems with the media and occasionally embarrassing displays of teenage angst, ever thought it would come to this, at least not this soon.
“When I first came on the scene at Wimbledon in 2005, I had done very few press conferences,” Murray said a while back.
“Then all of a sudden I was the centre of attention at the biggest tennis tournament in the world. It’s very different to what I was used to.
“I found it tough at the start because there were a lot of press requests. So I had a few problems early on in my career. I think I’m dealing with it a lot better now.”
So maybe Murray has finally found peace within himself and learned that energy is best used in the cause of crushing opponents rather than raging against circumstances. And Murray should have become even more used to receiving intense scrutiny from the media after his recent glorious performances.
His ascent to the summit will attract more attention than ever.Don King, the boxing promoter, who had been brought in to build up the Federer-Nadal rivalry at Flushing Meadows, paid tribute to Murray and his remarkable run in New York.
“This kid from Scotland, he’s the real deal,” King said.
The kid surely has enough talent to be the real deal.
But only time will tell whether he can improve and sustain that level of performance long enough to cement his place at the top of the sport for years to come.
Ravipan Pavasutthipand is Assistant Sports Editor, Bangkok Post. She can be reached by e-mail: ravipanp@bangkokpost.co.th
