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
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
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