I've been ill in bed for a couple of days and getting news on Andy Murray's weekend success has been tough. The last I heard was that Murray had beat Roddick to set up a final against Lleyton Hewitt.
This morning, I was amazed to find out that Murray had managed to defeat Hewitt in three sets to claim his first ATP tour title - a result that rockets Murray 13 places up the world rankings and will (maybe) silence his recent critics.
Allow me to catch you up on the matches I've haven't reported on yet.
Qtr-Final: Murray Vs SoderlingMurray completed his second victory against Soderling 4-6 7-5 6-4.
At a set down and a break down in the second, things were looking ominous, but Murray composed himself to break back and win the next two sets.
Afterwards Soderling had much to say about what he perceived to be a lack of manners on Murray's part. Soderling complained Murray was talking during the point and cheering points before the call had been made. Still, Soderling admitted:
"I think I played the same way the whole match. He was just starting to play a little better. He's a very good player, for sure."
Source:http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport...http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin...Semi-Final: Murray Vs RoddickPlaying the world number 3, even Murray gave himself little chance of success. But being the underdog is more familiar to Murray than his more recent matches of expectation.
Murray broke in the eleventh game of both sets to win 7-5 7-5 leaving Roddick frustrated.
The Time put it best when they said:
"British 18-year-olds are not expected to defeat the world No 3 and say “it was quite a good effort”. And say that getting to the top 50 is “a pretty decent achievement”. "
Sources:http://www.tennis-x.com/...http://www.timesonline.co.uk/...Final: Murray vs HewittHewitt may be ranked a few places below Roddick, but surely this was one step to far for 18 year old Andy Murray?
2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3) was the final score in a remarkable display of composed tennis.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news...http://www.tennis-x.com/story/2006-02-19/h.phphttp://www.journalnow.com/servlet...Now ranked 47 in the world and still the youngest player in top 100, Murray has had, undoubtedly, the finest week of tennis in his life.
It's been amazing to see the reaction of some to Murray's recent lack-lustre performances, branding him as over-hyped when, in truth, they'd probably never seen him play. This should surely quiet those nay-sayers for good.
When Murray is playing well, he is tough to play against and makes few mistakes, forcing his opponents to try and win the point outright. The BBC website has an excellent discussion on Murray's style and makes it easy to see why so many find Murray a tough opponent.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1...So where next for Murray?
Well, let's be clear, Andy Murray is a long way off the peak of his abilities but it's hard to imagine that this peak will take him anywhere but to the number one spot. Maybe I'm as guilty as anyone of getting over excited and having too many expectations... but surely it's just a matter of time.
