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.