RESULT: Andy Murray Vs Andy Roddick - Semi-Final - Morgan Keegan Championships (Memphis) 2007

I had a really busy weekend so, although I found time to watch some tennis, I didn't get enough time to post the details.

Murray defeated Koubek in a convincing 6-3 6-2 performance (growing into the tournament as per San Jose) and setup a semi-final against Andy Roddick.

Before I get into a blow-by-blow of Murrays defeat, I have to say that the thing that struck me most about this match was how quiet Murray seemed. As far as I could tell, there was no shouting at Brad, no frustrated ourbursts. Even when Murray raised his game and then gifted the advantage back to Roddick, Murray seemed to just accept it.

Now I'm all for Murray getting control of his temper and frustrations and if this was a conscious effort to be more restrained, then credit to him. But I couldn't help wondering if there was something distracting Murray on Saturday. There was nothing in the post-match interviews about this so I'm left to wonder.

Murray certainly started slowly, losing his opening service game and making a handful of unforced errors. By contrast, Roddick looked really fired up and determined to reverse last weeks defeat.

No break points for Roddick to save at all in the first set and although Murray managed to hold his serve, Roddick served out a comfortable 6-3.

Murray still looked out of sorts hitting an amazing three double faults in the first game of the second set. Somehow he managed to hold his serve.

Then things began to turn. Murray started to turn on the style and Roddick started to look edgy. Looking and failing to find quick winners and starting to look harrassed on his own serve.

At 4-3 down, Roddick was broken and Murray had a chance to serve for the second set and take control of the match. Inexplicably, Murray was suddenly 0-40 down on his own serve and inevitably, Roddick broke back.

Just like that, the match was lost. Roddick got back all of his confidence and seemed to sense that victory was there for the taking.

At 5-5 in the second set, the match really took off with both players slugging it out with some great tennis. Murray held to go 6-5 up and Roddick allowed Murray one last chance to get back into the match. Roddick went 40-0 up, but Murray played some awesome tennis to get it back to deuce and then advantage.

A set-point to Murray... but gone in a flash as Roddick thundered down another ace (he managed 15 over the two sets).

The tie-break was on and Murray picked a point off Roddick serve to go 4-1 up.

Once again, Murray surrendered the advantage with some sloppy serving. Roddick went on to win the next six points in a row and took the tie-break 7-4.

Credit to Roddick to come up with the big serves when it was needed and he looked pretty solid for most of the match. But Murray must feel some disappointment at not squeezing Roddick a little more when he had the chance.

It could be my imagination, but I can't help feeling that Murray has a little bit too much respect for Roddick. After defeating him in San Jose - I can't lip-read - but it seemed like Murray was apologising to Roddick for something when they shook hands at the net.

There were times when Murray almost looked a touch embarrassed when he thundered a passing shot beyond Roddick.

Probably my imagination since it's hard to believe that Murray lacks ruthlessness on the court.

On a related but more positive note, it was pleasing to see Murray apologising in a gentlemanly manner on the couple of occasions when a net-cord fell to his advantage. No such apology was forthcoming from Roddick when he got the same good fortune.

So there we have it. A disappointing exit (it seems the more Murray wins, the more heart-breaking it is when he loses), but certainly much to be positive about.

1) Eight victories in a row. It was the Australian Open against Nadal when Murray was last defeated (seems like aaages ago).

2) After four tournaments in 2007, Murray has won one, been runner-up, reached the semi-finals in another and reached the fourth round in a Grand Slam. Great stuff!

3) Murray is looking harder and harder to beat. Even with a below-par performance, Roddick had to play to near his very best to achieve victory. But for one or two points, the match could easily have swung the other way.

4) This month last year was one of the high points and Murray had a lot of ranking points to defend. Impressively, Murray actually picked up some ranking points over the last couple of weeks to maintain his ranking of 13.

Murray will be taking a break next week to prepare for the Masters Series event in Indian Wells. Anything better than the second round and Murray will pick up more ranking points. A semi-final appearance would net an extra 200 ranking points!

On a seperate note - I try and avoid talking about other players too much so as not to dilute this blog, but I must just congratulate Andy's older brother Jamie who has now won back-to-back tournaments in the Doubles. Now at 44 in the Doubles rankings, Jamie is most definitely going places.

So, Murray fans of the world have a chance to catch their collective breath. But next week the push to break into the top ten begins in earnest. Some are saying by the end of April. The more positive are saying by the end of March.

Whatever, the next couple of months are going to be very exciting indeed. I believe Murray is about to take another big step...

Andy Murray Vs Stefan Koubek - Qtr-Final - Morgan Keegan Championships (Memphis) 2007

Andy Murray & Stefan Koubek (73) are due to play no earlier than 9:30pm (UK time) today.

This is their first meeting and Koubek will be no pushover having been a pro for 13 years and with three ATP titles to his name (the last one was in 2003).

Lately, Murray seems to be in such control of his matches that I've almost forgotten what it's like for Murray to lose. Remember, Murray's only defeats this year were a well contested final against Ljubicic and a five-set epic against Nadal.

It's hard to see Murray losing here and if he wins it will take his winning streak to 8 (one better than last years streak - over the same two tournaments).

If all goes to plan then the likely semi-final match is yet another tussle with Roddick.

Source:
AndyMurray.com - Official Website

RESULT: Andy Murray Vs Kristian Pless - 2nd Round - Morgan Keegan Championships (Memphis) 2007

It makes a change to have a match that doesn't start after midnight and although I didn't have access to LiveScore, I was able to get updates by listening to BBC Radio FiveLive.

Not that they were giving much away with football dominating the news. At 11pm I learned that Murray was one set up and 4-4 in the second.

At 12pm I learned that Murray had won in straight sets. Nice to know the result, but a score would have been appreciated. I tuned in again this morning and I couldn't even find a mention.

Anyway, now I'm online I'm pleased to learn the result was 6-3 7-6 (7-4).

On balance this seems like an easier victory than their match last week, but the stats demonstrate that Murray is still below his best.

Again we come back to the first serve percentage: 48% in the first and a tragic 35% in the second. Even more tragic for Pless is that - despite the lack of form on the Murray serve - he only managed to carve out 1 break point. Which Murray defended.

By contrast Murray had 11 break points against Pless but, amazingly, only took one of them.

Of course, looking at the scoreboard, it's clear that Murray only needed one.

While I've no doubt that Murray will raise his game as the tournament progresses I think its worth noting that shorter matches against lesser opposition is a worthwhile goal as it allows energy to be conserved for the tough matches.

This match only lasted 1hr 33mins, but if even just half the break points were taken, then this match could have easily been below the hour mark.

In short then, Murray is still grinding out victory after victory and, although its hard to imagine, we're a long way from seeing Murray at his peak. Looking forward to it!

Source:
BBC SPORT | Tennis | Murray advances in straight sets

Andy Murray Vs Kristian Pless - 2nd Round - Morgan Keegan Championships (Memphis) 2007

Andy Murray and Kristian Pless (86) are due out on court not before 3:30pm (9:30pm UK Time) so this will be a little bit easier to follow. Still no tv coverage (Eurosport will be showing the Semi-finals and Final again on the weekend), but LiveScore is always available.

Murray and Pless met in the 2nd round last week and Murray needed three sets to see off the Dane. Murray will need to keep his concentration, but will be expected to come through and, consequently, at least equal last years Qtr-Final appearance.

On a seperate note, I must just comment on how much the official Andy Murray website has improved over the last couple of months. There is a little more detail in the posts than before and the forums really seem to be driving the content. Murray himself has been dipping into the forums and although some of the threads are a bit too diverse for my tastes, there are some gems to be found.

Well worth a visit.

www.andymurray.com

RESULT: Andy Murray Vs Frank Dancevic - 1st Round - Morgan Keegan Championships (Memphis) 2007

This was something of a scare for Murray fans and, of course, for Murray himself. At 0-3 down in the final set, Murray had to dig deep to recover.

The final score: 6-3 4-6 6-4

A first round exit after such an amazing show last week would be have been disastrous and would have had the pessimistic Murray critics up and down the country rubbing their hands in glee.

But of course, this is the new mentally tough Murray who seems to be able to come back from anything. Not that Murray hasn't always had a fighting spirit, but right now the confidence and belief is making a world of difference and takes Murray's record for the year to 13-2.

As always, without the benefit of watching the match, it's hard to tell why this match ran so close. Murray himself put it down to:

- good play from his opponent
- some dodgy serving in the second set (only 42% first serves in)
- not enough warm-up time on a surface substantially different to San Jose

Hopefully the third item won't be an issue now as it took about an hour and three-quarters to complete the match. The serve still seems erratic, but this is much better than the days when it was down in the forties for almost the whole match. 55% overall doesn't sound amazing, but 67% in the first set and 59% in the third is a sign of the improvements that have been evident since the start of this season.

Game on!

Source:
Regions Morgan Keegan Tennis Championships - Official Website

Andy Murray Vs Frank Dancevic - 1st Round - Morgan Keegan Championships (Memphis) 2007

UPDATE: It looks like Murray's first round match will be on Wednesday now. On the one hand this is good because it gives Murray more recovery time after last weeks tournament. However, it does mean a match every day as long as he progresses. Let's hope for two set matches and a couple of bagels. Mmmm - time for breakfast I think.

It was in this tournament last year that Murray moved above Tim Henman in the rankings for the first time. He lost to Soderling in the Qtr-Final.

Murray returns to Memphis this week and should be in action on Tuesday this week. He will play Frank Dancevic (95) for the first time.

Murray is seeded three for this tournament and could face Ginepri in the Qtr-Finals, Roddick (again) in the Semis and Haas in the Final. Murray needs to reach at least the quarter-finals to keep his rankings points steady. Unless one of the players above him crashes out earlier in their tournament, Murray would probably need to win to have any chance of moving up the rankings.

It's the tournaments after this week where Murray has a lot of points available to pick up so his priority should be to consolidate and make sure he stays fit. Still, by my reckoning Murray has as much chance of winning this as he did of winning last week in San Jose. Especially when you add in the confidence factor.

Source:
Morgan Keegan Championships - Official Website

RESULT: Andy Murray Vs Ivo Karlovic - Final - SAP Open (San Jose) 2007

Murray retains his title: 6-7 6-4 7-6

I'm enthusiastic inside, but after a late night watching a 3-set epic, I'm too tired to inject sufficient enthusiasm into my post.

Suffice to say, it was tense and Murray showed unbelievable mental strength to cope with such an unusual opponent.

At 6'10, Karlovic smashes his serves from a height of about 10 feet with Roddick levels of power. And, on a hard court, this means that even if you can get to the serve, the ball is going to be bouncing up around your ears.

In the run-up to the final, Karlovic averaged two aces PER GAME and consequently, had only been broken once in this tournament.

To top it off, Karlovic has a loooong reach making him a very handy at volleying at the net.

There's a reason why Karlovic is outside of the top 100. The rest of his game is decidely average. But when you're playing on a fast court and you're almost impossible to break, what else do you need?

In the first set, Murray only managed one break point and, although the finish looked a cinch, Murray found the net. By the time it got to the inevitable tie-break, Murray seemed frustrated.

And who could blame him? Murray had only lost three points on his serve all set (even less than Karlovic), and yet he just couldn't get past Karlovic's immense serve. Karlovic got the edge in the tie-break and won it 7-3.

Murray seemed deflated and Karlovic pushed on to break Murray in the opening game of the second set. Things looked ominous. To get back into the match, Murray would have to break Karlovic (only happened once so far in this tournament, remember).

Murray broke him twice.

Karlovic's first serve percentage dipped to 41% and Murray started punishing the second serve. Murray got to 15-40 and had two break points. He only needed one, smashing a first serve back with a two-handed back-hand that dipped over the high part of the net at a, seemingly, impossible angle. At 5-4 up, Murray broke Karlovic for the second time to take the second set 6-4.

Credit to Karlovic; this was only his second final and you might have expected him to fade away. But he pushed his 1st serve percentage up to 76% for the third set (his highest of the match) and began pressuring Murray on his own serve.

But Murray showed incredible composure to save a small handful of break points during the final set - especially when the scores were locked at 5-5 and failure would have allowed Karlovic to serve for the match.

At 6-5 to Murray, Karlovic found himself a break point down and Murray had a match-point. Again Karlovic held his nerve. The entire tournament would come down to a single tie-break.

Murray and Karlovic stared each other down. And... Karlovic blinked.

Murray held his opening serve, as did Karlovic. But Murray played an exquisite lob over the Croatian giant and, although Karlovic got back in time to run round it, Murray had anticipated and had charged the net. A sweet volley and Murray had the mini break.

Murray held both his serves to take a 4-1 lead and Karlovic was beaten. He only managed one more point and Murray won the tie-break 7-2 with an ace down the middle to take only his second title - ironically at the place where he won his first exactly one year ago.

Looking back at the players who have won this tournament twice, back-to-back, and you see names like Roddick, Sampras and McEnroe. Good company to be in, to be sure.

So Murray keeps his ranking points level and retains 13th place. Next up is Memphis where Murray has fewer points to defend.

Some are mentioning the fact that Murray slumped last year after winning in San Jose but, to be fair, last years victory was a bolt out of the blue anyway. Murray winning this week was impressive, but nowhere nearer as unexpected. Murray has now reached two finals out of the first three tournaments of this year and, crucially, there is no sign of the player that could have an "off-day" without warning.

A slump of last years scale is unlikely.

Even when Murray has his back to the wall, he is finding a way to change his play, wear his opponent down. About Murray, Roddick said it best, "he makes you beat him".

His opponents are now under no illusion. To beat Murray you're going to have to play at your very best for at least two full sets. And, even then, there is no guarantee that that will be enough.

At the end of last year it was said that the second year would be harder than the first. After so much success in 2006, expectation would be higher and the presure to duplicate performances would be tough.

Earlier indications are that Murray is going to make us forget 2006 very quickly.

Source:
BBC SPORT | Tennis | Murray fights back to keep title

Andy Murray Vs Ivo Karlovic - Final - SAP Open (San Jose) 2007

Murray reckons it's fifty-fifty, but I reckon he's being modest.

Ivo Karlovic (103) may have a big serve but, right now, Murray's got a pretty good one of his own and unless two of the sets go to a tie-break, I can't imagine Karlovic getting the upper hand.

This is Karlovic's seventh year as a pro and he has yet to win a title. If he's going to break that duck today, he's going to have to find a way through Murrays defences.

Let's just say I'm feeling very confident about this. I might regret it, but I can't shake the feeling that this is going to go Murrays way.

11pm (UK time) on Eurosport 2. Don't miss it!

RESULT: Andy Murray Vs Andy Roddick - Semi-Final - SAP Open (San Jose) 2007

In 45 mins I have a dinner reservation at my favourite Mexican restaurant so I have to be quick.

I finished watching the match this afternoon and it was just awesome. Good match, very close and extremely satisfying to see Murray coming out on top over Roddick, yet again.

7-6 (10-8), 6-4 was the final score and it was as close as the score suggests.

Murray had to save two set points in the first set tie-break when Roddick took a 6-4 lead, but he held the advantage until at 9-8 to the good, he got a lucky net-cord.

Roddick could rightly feel a little a little unfortunate and he started the second set strongly. Nonetheless, Murray seemed to relax completely in the second set, mixing up his play well, serving much better and working Roddick hard on his returns.

The break-through came in the fifth game when Murray broke Roddick and then held to go 4-2 up. Murray had to save one break point in game 8, but he had no problems with the final service game. The final shot was another lucky net cord, but it didn't matter by that point.

Great match and Murray must be confident going into the final.

Murray never seemed at the absolute top of his game. There were the odd mistakes, but rarely two in a row. The only exception being the 9th game in the first set after breaking Roddick and serving for the first set. Murray seemed to lose concentration and went 0-40 down before being broken back.

But it was a minor blip and after the first set was in the bag, the second always seemed sure to follow. The clearest indication of that are the first serve percentages: 43% in the first and 63% in the second.

Incredibly, Murray hit 14 aces to Roddick's 9.

A great performance then and a chance to retain the SAP Open title and only his second ATP title.

Source:
BBC SPORT | Tennis | Murray sinks Roddick in San Jose

Andy Murray Vs Andy Roddick - Semi-Finals - SAP Open (San Jose) 2007

Andy Murray Vs Andy Roddick (4) is the real final.

The other semi is between Benjamin Becker (49) - the sixth seed - and Ivo Karlovic (103) who is unseeded for this tournament.

Whichever Andy wins will be the clear favourite to win on Sunday night. But this semi-final is less clear.

In fact I'm really struggling to pick a winner (even with my Murray bias). Their record against each other is 2-2. Roddick has the last two victories, but the last one was an exhibition and the one before that was against a tired Murray who'd just defeated Federer and then struggled through a 3-set against Ginepri.

By that standard you'd have to fancy Roddick who has really improved his game under Connors and is brimming with confidence. Whereas Murray has looked a little shakey in the last two matches and has had to play one more set than Roddick.

Still, Roddick had to push for his victory against Spadea (64) so he's far from invincible. And he may have in the back of his mind last years semi-final (he lost to Murray 7-5 7-5). Self-doubt or hungry for revenge?

Forget it. This is too close to call.

If, unlike me, you don't have to be out of bed at 7:00am tomorrow morning, stay up till 3am and you should be able to catch the match live on Eurosport 2. But please check the listings yourself - I don't want you to stay up only to find that they're showing a different match and then blame me :-P

I will be TIVOing however, so don't spoil the result for me.

If Murray wins I will try my hardest to post the result on Sunday afternoon. But just in case I don't make it and Murray wins - the final should be at 11pm (UK time), Sunday evening, on Eurosport 2.

RESULT: Andy Murray Vs Hyung-Taik Lee - Qtr-Finals - SAP Open (San Jose) 2007

Murray wins in three sets, so it was by no means a one-sided contest.

Murray started slowly losing the first set 4-6, but recovered well in the second set, winning 6-3. In the final set, Murray broke Lee in the 11th game and had a chance to serve out the match. But Lee broke back to set up a tense tie-break which Murray took 7-4.

The final score then: 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

It's not easy to tell from the match reports whether this match was close because Murray was below his best or because Lee had a particularly good match.

Probably a bit of both.

The telling statistic for me is Murray's first serve percentage - 46% overall (compared to Lee's 67%). Not always, but it often seems when the 1st percentage is up, Murray is flying. When it's down, Murray has to really work hard for the win.

Of course, either way, a win is a win, but a 2-hour match 24hrs before facing Roddick in the semi-finals is not ideal. The only consolation is that Roddick also took three sets and two hours to see off Spadea.

Frustrating again not to be able to even see highlights of the match - a few stats and a couple of lines in the press don't really give you the flavour of the match. In fact I was so frustrated last night I dug out Murray Vs Chela from this years Australian Open.

I'd forgotten what a comical match that was with Murray going from sloppy (by his standards) to genius and then back and again. And all the while making Chela (a former top 20 player) look ridiculously average. That was only two days before Murray seemed to find yet another gear in his match against Nadal.

Murray seems to be a few percentage points below that level at the moment, but he's still finding ways to win and that's what counts.

Source:
BBC SPORT | Tennis | Murray battles into semi-finals

Andy Murray Vs Hyung-Taik Lee - Qtr-Finals - SAP Open (San Jose) 2007

Grrr. Yet another evening match for Murray (2nd on court after 7pm local time) which means another circa 3am start (UK time).

And to add insult to injury, there are still no UK sports channels covering the tournament. Hopefully this will change for the semi-finals and the final so, providing Murray does the business early Saturday morning, we could get a bit of action over the weekend.

The semi-finals are at 9pm (UK time) Saturday night or 3am (UK time) on Sunday morning.

Let's hope Murray is drawn for the earlier match.

The final is less of a problem, starting at 11pm (UK time) Sunday evening.

Again, this all assumes Murray does the job against Lee (54). These two players have yet to meet, but Lee looks to be on form having yet to drop a set in this tournament. Murray will have to raise his game a notch from the last match, but I'm confident that he'll do it.

It's worth noting that the first seeded player, James Blake has been knocked out by Ivo Karlovic.

If Murray gets past Lee today and Roddick in the semis, then I think a clash with Safin seems the most likely at this stage.

Source:
BBC SPORT | Tennis | Blake suffers early San Jose loss

Andy Murray - ATP World Ranking Explanation

You may have noticed that Murray reached a career high of 13 in the world rankings this week, without actually playing any tennis.

If you're wondering why this happened and how the world rankings are calculated... keep reading.

I've been studying the complicated description of how the ranking system works in tennis on the official ATP website and I will do my best to break it down as simply as possible. I'm not an expert on this though, so if I make a mistake or miss something important, please post a comment.

OK. Here we go...

- Each tournament offers ranking points.
- The further you go in the competition, the more ranking points you win.
- The more important the tournament, the more ranking points on offer.
- The four grand slams offer the most ranking points, followed by the Masters Series, followed by ATP tour tournaments, followed by Challenger tournaments.

OK so far?

A players ranking score is calculated by adding up all the ranking points they gained during the last 365 days. So a players ranking score is a snapshot of how well they've performed during the last year.

The ranking scores are constantly updated, so there is no start or end date. To rank well, you have to perform well, consistently, for a whole year. This is what makes becoming number one, or even getting into the top ten, so tough.

And remember, once a tournament achievement is more than a year old, it no longer counts to your score. So if you won Wimbledon 13 months ago, this will have NO effect on your ranking score (although you will probably still feel good inside).

But there's one other quirk to this system.

Not ALL tournaments are countable. You can't get to the top simply by playing in more tournaments than anyone else.

Here's how it works...

- The 4 grand slams are countable (1000 points to the winner of each)
- The 9 Masters Series are countable (500 points to the winner of each)
- Then (here's the fun bit), your best five results from any other countable tournament.

In other words, if player one has won ten ATP tournaments (not Grand Slam or Masters Series) and player two has won five ATP tournaments, their ranking points from these will be the roughly the same because the can both only count the BEST five results. Although not all ATP tournaments carry the same amount of ranking points.

So how does this apply to Andy Murray and his world ranking.

Well, it means he got to 13 because the ranking points of one of the players went down to an amount that is less than Murray's current score.

Of course it's also possible to drop in the rankings without playing if someone below Murray boosts their ranking score to a number higher.

Now you can start to see why it's important to make a strong defence of a title or to try to at least match last years performance. Anything less and your score could (but not always) go down.

Let's look at Murray's current ranking points earned over the last 12 months as an example:

- From Grand Slams: 455 points
- From Master Series: 570 points

The best five results from other tournaments in the last 12 months are:

Doha - 175
San Jose - 175
Washington - 140
Newport - 75
Memphis - 60
Total - 625

Combine the three totals and Murrays current score is: 1650

But look again.

Murray has 175 points for San Jose, but that was a year ago this week. Next week that score will no longer count and Murray will lose 175 points.

When that happens, his fifth best result from the last year will take its place. Currently, that's Nottingham, at which he earned 40 points.

So Murray will lose 175 pts for last years San Jose victory and then gain 40 points from his qtr-final appearance in Nottingham last June.

This means a net loss of 135 points. Erk!

Of course, what's more likely to happen is that Murray will gain at least 40 points from THIS YEARS tournament in San Jose and so that score will be used when the ranking scores are updated next week.

If Murray wins on Sunday, he will get 175 pts and his ranking score will stay the same. Anything less and his score will go down. Whether or not this affects his place in the league table will depend on what the players around him do this week.

Djokovic is ranked 14 at the moment, but has only 25 ranking points less than Murray. Djokovic was knocked out in the first round of the Marseille tournament this week, but Djokovic didn't earn any points during this week last year, so his score will stay the same. Next week however, Djokovic has 70 pts to defend in Rotterdam.

Ok, this is going on a bit. Suffice to say, predicting how the rankings will change overall is tough. Working out what a player needs to do to boost his ranking points is a little easier.

For example, between now and May, Murray has five Masters Series events he can enter in which he failed to get to the last sixteen in 2006. His combined haul of points from these five tournaments is a measly 70.

So, if Murray gets to the last sixteen, or the Qtr-Finals in these five tournaments THIS year, then he could pick up 400-500 points. As things stand, this would move Murray into 9th position.

Tough? Yes. Achievable? Very.

Also look out for the French Open in May. Murray only got five points from his first round exit last year. Murray could easily add another 150 points to his ranking on this one tournament alone.

Combined with the above, this could take him to eighth place in the world rankings.

Want more? A couple of final appearances in other ATP tournaments would count to his total and could squeeze him into seventh.

To get into the top five? Murray would likely need a Masters Series or Grand Slam victory.

To replace Nadal? Murray would need a massive 3000 more points. Multiple tournament wins would be required.

To replace Federer? Ahem. Murray would need about 6,500 more points. This would mean winning... well, pretty much everything.

Phew! Longest post ever!

This went on way longer than I inteneded. Mainly because I enjoy looking over stats way too much.

Please post some comments on whether you found this useful/interesting.

I'll try and keep a closer eye on Murray's ranking points in the future so I can make some reasonable predictions about how important a tournament is to Murrays overall ranking score.

RESULT: Andy Murray Vs Kristian Pless - 2nd Round - SAP Open (San Jose) 2007

Kristian Pless (83) proved a tougher opponent than the result of the first set suggested.

Murray won the opening set 6-0, but Pless picked up his game and won the second set on a tie break (7-5).

The third set offered one anxious moment for Murray fans as he had two break points against him while 2-3 down. Murray recovered to hold his serve and then broke Pless immediately before serving out the final set 6-4.

So far in this tournament we've seen Murray show his ability to cruise through against a weaker opponent and his ability to get himself out of a hole when under pressure. What next?

In the Qtr-Finals, Murray will play either Simon Greul (81) or Hyung-Taik Lee (54)

Source:
BBC SPORT | Tennis | Murray battles to overcome Pless

RESULT: Andy Murray Vs Kevin Kim - 1st Round - SAP Open (San Jose) 2007

6-3 6-1 to Murray sounds pretty convincing.

BBC News reports that Murray served eleven aces with a new personal best of 145mph (although other reports suggest the speed gun may be a bit over sensitive).

I think this is the kind of result we can expect to see more and more when Murray plays lower ranked players. This is important because the more matches that finish in short, straight sets, the more energy Murray reserves for the later stages of tournaments.

No surprises in the tournament so far with all the seeded players progressing.

Source:
BBC SPORT | Tennis | Murray cruises into second round

Andy Murray Vs Kevin Kim - 1st Round - SAP Open (San Jose) 2007

I've had a weeks holiday which I chose carefully to ensure it didn't coincide with any Murray matches (ahem).

Murray is in action today (or early tommorrow morning if you're in the UK) in the first round of the SAP Open in San Jose, California. This is the first time Andy Murray has started an ATP tournament as the holder so there are a lot of ranking points to defend.

The BBC website mentions that Andy could drop in the rankings if he goes out early. While this is true, it should be noted that a couple of decent runs during the next few tournaments would make up the difference fairly easily. As mentioned before, Murray was about to go through a dry spell this time last year so there are lots of chances to pick up points.

Murray is seeded 3 in this tournament behind Andy Roddick and James Blake. As with last year, Murray could meet Roddick in the semi-finals. Murray has yet to play Blake and could do this week in what would be a mouth-watering final.

First up though is Kevin Kim (125). Kim is an experienced hand but on paper this should be a cert for Murray. I think it should be acknowledged that Murray's recent successes have put him into a bracket that means any defeat from a player out of the top 40 would cause a mini inquest in the British press.

It sucks, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Anyway, Murray's form in 2007 has been superb and he's shown a new ability and confidence against lower ranked players. Barring any rustiness after a blister-enforced break, this should be Murray in straight sets.

Murray isn't due to meet another seeded player until the Qtr-Finals when he could meet Hyung-Taik Lee (54) so he and his fans will expect at least a semi-final appearance.

For me, Murray is still a confidence player and he will start this tournament with stacks of it. I predict Murray will get to the final and meet either Blake or Safin. I think Murray can beat either player, but experience could go against him.

Andy Murray vs Kevin Kim are second out on court after play starts at 7pm (3am UK time). This means the earliest start is likely around 8:30pm (4:30am UK time).

Eurosport are not showing any tennis from this tournament until later in the week and I can't find anything for Sky Sports. You can watch the match live on the offical website if you don't mind paying for the privilege and have a high-speed connection.

Otherwise you'll have to make do with LiveScore. Links below:

SAP Open - Official Website
SAP Open - Pay Per View