Andy Murray Vs Marcos Baghdatis - 1st Rnd - Cincinnati Masters 2007

UPDATE: Play in Cincinnati starts at 4pm (UK time) and Murray and Baghdatis are third out on the Grandstand court. This makes a probable start of around 8pm, but it's impossible to be certain when matches can end after just a few minutes should an injury occur.

Keep an eye on LiveScore - when Ferrero Vs Rochus has finished, Murray will be on next.

You can't write Murray and Cincinnati in the same sentence without thinking of THAT match.

But it's a year later and while Murray is finally back in action after his injury lay-off, it's not quite the Murray we remember.

The doctors say that the injury has healed so if Murray is holding off on his forehand, is it because of pain or is the problem purely psychological now?

Some of the current media are already talking about Murray's mental game being damaged, but I think it's too soon for that kind of talk. Murray has shown great patience in not returning to action too quickly and, now that he is ready to play some matches, there's no reason why he shouldn't ease back in slowly.

I don't think it's too much of a stretch of the imagination to think that, right now, Murray's sights are firmly set on the US Open. Murray's ranking have dropped to 16th (only three better than a year ago), but he knows that a strong showing at Flushing Meadows in a couple of weeks time can catapult him back where he belongs.

Cincinnati is a big tournament, but EVERYTHING pales next to the grand slams. This next two weeks is not about results, it's about getting physically and mentally ready for the US Open.

Masters tennis is a tough point to return because the tough matches tend to start right from the 1st round. Cincinnati Masters 2007 is no exception with Murray drawn against Baghdatis (18), the player that dumped him out of Wimbledon 2006.

As with last weeks tournament, Murray could meet up with Federer in the third round. But first he'll have to find his way past the 'hit and miss' Cypriot and then either Henman or Chela in the 2nd round.

Baghdatis didn't have a happy 2006 in the Masters Series, only reaching the third round twice (one of them in Cincinnati). But there's no doubt that Murray will have to play somewhere near his best if he's going to progress.

There's no sign of Murray in today's order of play, so it looks like this match won't be played until tomorrow. I'll check tomorrow morning and post the start time then.

RESULT: Andy Murray Loses to Fabio Fognini - 2nd Rnd - Montreal Masters 2007

As we've seen lately, Murray rarely loses to a lower ranked players so, either Fognini is a rising star, or Murray was struggling with fitness when he lost 2-6 2-6.

According to media reports, it's probably a bit of both.

Fognini - by all accounts - played well and is only nine days younger than Murray. After the match Murray said that his wrist was ok, but that his body was stiff and sore.

This is hardly unexpected after such a long absence and it appears that Murray may still be holding back on some of his forehand shots. The stats show Murray's first serve percentage only just below 60%, but Fognini converted an impressive 5 break points from 8 opportunities.

By comparison, Murray won just 1 from 6.

It's a disappointing way to go out of the come-back tournament, but better now than at the US Open. Competitive matches are a world apart from training and Murray will want a few more before the US Open begins.

Murray is currently undecided on whether to move on to the Cincinnati tournament, or stay put and do some more training.

Looking on the positive side, Murray chalked up a win on Tuesday so is definitely on the way back to his best. Also, if Murray had defeated Fognini he would have faced Federer in the next round.

The result would likely have been Murray pushing himself too hard, or suffering a crushing (and confidence-sapping) defeat followed by a roasting in the cynical press.

Not a great week then, but nothing to get in a twist over and plenty of optimism remains for the US Open.

Sources:

BBC SPORT | Tennis | Murray plays down US Open chances
BBC SPORT | Tennis | Murray return comes to early end

RESULT: Andy Murray Defeats Robby Ginepri - 1st Rnd - Montreal Masters 2007

Running behind (again), so let's get up to date as quickly as possible.

Murray defeated Ginepri in straight sets 6-4 6-4 in just under and hour and a half which - for a comeback match - is very satisfying.

The first serve percentage was over 60%, with six aces in there. Ginepri managed to break Murray once in each set, but was also broken twice in each set, making for a tidy scoreline.

I only managed to catch brief highlights which showed some nice-looking shots from Murray. It looks like the genius is still present, but Murray admitted afterwards that he is still holding back - no doubt still a little nervous about an injury reocurrence.

Source:
BBC SPORT | Tennis | Murray eases to win on comeback

Andy Murray Vs Robby Ginepri - 1st Rnd - Montreal Masters (Rogers Cup) 2007

UPDATE: I don't know where I got Friday from :-S

Murray and Ginepri are due on court TODAY after the match between Haas and Calleri. Start time for the day is 4pm (UK time), so barring any withdrawal for injury (I mean for Haas or Calleri you cynic!), we could be looking at a start time of 5:30pm onwards.

Sky Sports Extra have it, otherwise the ever dependable Live Score is available at:


http://www.rogerscupmen.com/1/en/home/


Will Murray play?

There's precious little talk about injury, which would usually be a bad sign. But I'm in a positive mood, so perhaps the injury that has kept Murray out of action for the last 12 weeks has, at last, fully healed.

The top 8 seeds in the Montreal Masters get a BYE to the 2nd round. Murray is seeded 13th so will have to slug it out from the 1st round (on Friday or Saturday Tuesday).

Robby Ginepri (58) is the opening opponent, the player that Murray has beaten twice before (Cincinnatti Masters 2006 and Thailand Open 2005) .

Not the easiest come-back match, but it could have been a lot worse. And in fact it might be, because Murray has been drawn in the same quarter as Federer (1) and could meet the player he defeated in Cincinnatti last year in round three.

Before that, the 2nd round opponent would be local wildcard Peter Polansky (326) or a qualifier.

Last year, Murray reached the semi-final of this tournament, his first in a Masters Series. It's hard to believe it was only a year ago but, of course, that particular achievement was soon eclipsed by beating Federer a week later.

I really want to get excited about this event, but it's hard when so many recent tournaments have fallen by the wayside after last minute withdrawals through injury. I'll be watching the news closely and I'll post any updates and the order of play as they come in.

Andy Murray Withdraws from Washington, Legg Mason Classic 2007

Just over five weeks ago, on June 24th, we were eagerly awaiting Andy Murray's first round match against Nicolas Lapentti at Wimbledon 2007.

With only 24 hours to go, Murray pulled out of the tournament to allow additional rehabilitation time for this wrist injury. He set his sights for a US tournament a couple of weeks later which, of course, never transpired.

Now, just two days before the start of the Legg Mason Classic 2007, the tournament in which he finished runner-up in 2006, Murray has again withdrawn to allow further rehabilitation time.

I had high hopes that this week would see the comeback match, especially after having stated on the official website, 11 days ago, that the doctors had given Murray the all-clear to "step things up".

If the doctors are happy that the injury has healed, this suggests to me that Murray still isn't 100% free of pain, perhaps mainly during recovery.

Murray is right to be cautious, but this means that all predictions are now off. Any statement to the effect that he will be making his comeback at any tournament can safely be assumed to be speculative until we see Murray walk out on to the court to face an opponent.

The waiting continues...

Sources:
AndyMurray.com - Andy's Blog
BBC SPORT Tennis Murray puts off planned comeback

63 Days Since Andy Murray's Last Tennis Match

UPDATE: Andy Murray has confirmed that his come-back tournament will be the Legg Mason Classic in Washington. You can read his message at:

http://andymurray.com/about/news/19-07/andys-blog/

But man, it feels a lot longer than that.

Since that fateful day in Hamburg, Murray has dropped to 14th in the world rankings and missed two Grand Slams in succession.

Before Wimbledon, Murray was aiming to play in Los Angeles, but has since pulled out to allow more recovery time.

I can't find any official word, but the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, USA, looks like a possibility for Murray's comeback match. In 2006, Murray reached the final in Washington, before losing to Arnaud Clement.

This means ranking points to defend. But it also means it's a tournament that Murray should feel comfortable and confident in.

Whenever Murray returns there will be a lot of fans waiting with bated breath to see if Murray comes out rusty or rested and raring to go.

I'm thinking it'll be the latter.

Andy Murray Pulls Out of Wimbledon 2007

Yesterday afternoon, Andy Murray released a statement to the effect that he was not 100% fit and so would not be taking part in the Wimbledon event that begins today.

On June 4th, I predicted that Murray would be watching rather than playing and, although the last few days had given everyone hope, that opinion proved to be the correct one.

Disappointing to say the least, but worse for Murray who had a real chance of reaching the Qtr-Finals or even the Semi-Finals in a Grand Slam for the first time. After Murray's previous record of trying to play injured, I really had started to think that, having got this close to the opening day, he would at least give it a try.

But, pleasingly, it looks like Murray has learned from previous experience and is unwillingly to risk further injury to his wrist; such a crucial part of the body for a tennis player.

In his statement, Murray said,

"The doctor has advised me not to play and that I probably need about ten days to be ready. Unfortunately, I don’t think it is going to rain for the next ten days."

So, looking ahead, Murray may be ready to defend his semi-final appearance at Newport in about two weeks time. He will however lose the 150 ranking points he earned at Wimbledon 2006. As things stand, that would move Murray back down to 13th place, depending - of course - on whether the players below him succesfully defend their Wimbledon ranking points.

Looking on the bright side, there is far less chance of any long term injury to Murray's wrist and, hey, Wimbledon will begin today anyway, even without GB's star player. We can look forward to hours of...

Solid rain until Thursday...

Source:
AndyMurray.com - Breaking news: Andy pulls out…
BBC SPORT | Tennis | Injured Murray out of Wimbledon
BBC - Weather Centre - 5 Day Forecast for Wimbledon

Wimbledon Draw 2007 - Andy Murray plays Nicolas Lapentti in 1st Round

The draw is out and the unlucky sap who drew Federer in the first round is Teimuraz Gabashvili from Russia.

More importantly, Andy Murray has drawn Nicolas Lapentti (63) whose ranking has been on the decline since 2000 and has only won four matches so far this season compared to Murray's 24.

So, on paper, this is an easy opening round - assuming of course that Murray elects to play.

As for the rest of the draw...

Second Round:
Benneteau (57): Murray defeated Benneteau at the same stage last year.
or
Tsonga (113)

Third Round:
Tim Henman (78) is a possibility, but Carlos Moya (22) is more likely.

Fourth Round:
Richard Gasquet (12) is the highest seed in this section and would be a tough encounter.

Qtr-Final:
Unless something bizarre happens, Andy Roddick (3) will be the opponent. This would be further than Murray has ever gone in a Grand Slam so the pressure would be on. The memory of last years straight sets victory would give him comfort.

Semi-Final:
Roger Federer (1). I want to see this match sooo badly.

Final:
Nadal (2) is probable, assuming he gets by Djokovic (5) first.

You're going to see Lapentti disected in the press over the next few days (not literally) so I'll keep you posted.

Source:
Official Wimbledon Site - Printable Draw

Andy Murray & Wimbledon - Draw Coming Soon

With just five days before day one of Wimbledon, it's still unclear whether or not Andy Murray will play.

Murray has already said that he will make a decision on the morning of his first match which could come on Monday, or later in the week depending on the draw and the weather.

A performance at the Boodles exhibition tournament would have been encouraging, but it's yet to happen aside from a friendly game with a young competition winner.

Murray is seeded 8th for Wimbledon, his highest ever for a grand slam, so I'm keenly anticipating a favourable draw. As you may recall, the last few master series events has seem some very tough line-ups for Murray, but with the larger field of Wimbledon and seeding that places him to the Qtr-Finals I'd expect, at the very least, a couple of relatively easy rounds.

If Murray is fit to play, it will be important not to have the added pressure of facing a top 20 player before he's had a chance to regain some match fitness.

The draw will be made tomorrow morning at 10am (UK Time), so I'll post full details tomorrow.

Andy Murray - New World Ranking: 8

As predicted last week, Andy Murray has moved up again to a career-high of 8 - his target position for the end of the 2007 tennis season. Maintaining that position until the Shanghai Masters comes round will be tough, but definitely achievable.

The change in ranking occurred because James Blake didn't enter the Stella Artois (Queens) tournament and so failed to defend the points he picked up by reaching the final back in 2006.

This places Murray 10 points above James Blake - enough to secure 8th place. Andy Murray is now just 115 points behind Tommy Robredo who lies in seventh position.

It may seem strange to some that Murray can move up the rankings without playing, but it's worth noting that the ranking position is a snapshot of the last 12 months - a long time in tennis. For that reason, the rankings usually take a while to catch up with the current form of the players.

Murray didn't move up the rankings because he was injured. He moved up the rankings because of a strong showing at the Australian Open, two semi-final apearances in Masters Series tournaments and a victory in San Jose.

Combine that with players above him dipping in form and the rankings are now showing a more accurate picture of where players are at.

But Murray is now on the cusp of a series of tournaments that provided a lot of rankings points in 2006. Wimbledon, the US Open and Washington all provided big numbers that Murray will be keen to defend.

The good news is that Murray has claimed to be feeling much more confident about his wrist:

"I was able to put far more pressure on the wrist. I’m serving at full power and also hitting my backhand with full power — although I’m still being a bit careful with my forehand as I put more pressure on the wrist when I’m hitting the ball.

"Hopefully within the next couple of days, I’ll be able to increase my strength and power just that little bit more.

And even more pleasingly:

"On Monday, I went to see my specialist, and he gave me an ultrasound on my right wrist and said I wouldn’t be risking anything if I stepped up my practice, so that’s what I have done."

Murray has already said that he will wait until the morning of his first round match at Wimbledon to make his decision on whether or not to play. But, between now and then, we should start to get a stronger picture of how likely it is that Murray will play.

Source:
The Sun Online - Sport: Murray: I'm back and buzzing