MJAppleby
27-12-2011, 21:02
I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, so feel free to move it if needed. I wrote this article summarising Murray's year for Swinging Balls (http://swingingballs.co.uk/magazine/) at the start of December and due to some server problems it is yet to be posted, so I thought I'd post it here anyway. Any feedback, positive or negative, would be appreciated.
The tennis season has barely finished and players are already beginning their preparations for the 2012 season. For Andy Murray in particular, such preparations could be the difference between winning that elusive first Grand Slam and being labelled the greatest player never to win a Slam.
Three Slam finals have passed Murray by, with the British No.1 failing to claim a set in any of the meetings, most recently in Melbourne at the start of 2011. With Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal already out of the Australian Open, Murray was given the favourite's tag going into his final with Novak Djokovic. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, as Djokovic has gone on to produce some scintillating and remarkable tennis in capturing three of the four Slams this year.
The final itself was a disappointment, as Djokovic broke Murray’s serve at 5-4 in the First Set, and the outcome from that point seemed inevitable. Murray, who had played some sublime tennis to reach the final, was dismantled by Djokovic in a straight sets defeat. In the aftermath of that defeat, Murray endured a slump in form, losing his opening match in three separate tournaments.
The slump was ended in Monte Carlo, where the Scot gave a surprisingly good account of himself on his least favourite surface, clay. A Semi-Final defeat to Nadal was a sign of improvement, which was built on in Rome, where Murray pushed Djokovic all the way in one of the matches of the year, the Serb coming up trumps in a pulsating encounter.
Murray’s good clay-court form continued, as he reached the Semi-Finals at Roland Garros, despite playing with an ankle injury, eventually succumbing to a straight sets defeat to Nadal.
The British no.1 enjoyed his first taste of silverware of the 2011 season on home soil at Queen’s, fending off the threat of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. SW19 was the next destination and after a nervy start to the tournament, Murray breezed into another Semi-Final with Nadal and looked well placed for a first Wimbledon final after claiming the First Set.
It was not to be the case, Nadal capitalising on some near misses from Murray and rocketing into his fifth Wimbledon final, eventually losing out to Djokovic, who went on to claim the No.1 Ranking.
A shock defeat to Kevin Anderson in Montreal followed, which kicked Murray into gear in Cincinnati, with the Scot inflicting one of only 7 defeats for Djokovic in 2011. Onto Flushing Meadows for the US Open and a Second Round tie with Robin Haase proved to be a thriller, as Murray came back from 2 sets down to book his place in the next round. A Quarter-Final victory over John Isner meant a third Grand Slam Semi-Final with Nadal was in store, one which struggled to match the expectations.
Nadal appeared to be in Superman mode, as he flew across court and raced to a 2 set lead. Although Murray fought back to claim the Third Set, the damage had already been done and another year was to end without a Slam.
The disappointment of that defeat was countered by the 16 game unbeaten run that was to follow, with Murray winning in Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai as part of an Asian Swing hat-trick. As the season reached an end, Murray briefly overtook Federer to become No.3 in the world, the first time he had achieved a higher ranking than Federer in his career.
Aside from the obvious, a target for Murray in 2012 should be to regain the No.3 ranking, and if he continues his form from 2011, it wouldn’t be unrealistic. 2011 has seen Murray improve his consistency, particularly in the Slams, where he reached at least the Semi-Final on each occasion.
Murray also claimed 5 titles, only bettered by his collection of 6 in 2009, whilst his clay-court play has improved to a point where he is now in contention for titles during a period in the season where he had previously expected very little.
One major concern is the amount of tennis to be played in 2012, a packed schedule includes the Olympics and possibly a collection of Davis Cup matches. Last month's World Tour Finals should be a note of caution to the Murray camp going into the New Year, increasing the importance of a structured training programme to best prepare Murray for the 2012 season.
Murray is a fine exponent of finding an opponent’s weakness, yet he often gifts his opponent insight into how he is feeling by hurling abuse at himself or his team. For someone who has the ability to outsmart many an opponent, channelling his own aggression would be a step in the right direction as Murray enters a crucial stage in his career.
Is it really now or never?
The tennis season has barely finished and players are already beginning their preparations for the 2012 season. For Andy Murray in particular, such preparations could be the difference between winning that elusive first Grand Slam and being labelled the greatest player never to win a Slam.
Three Slam finals have passed Murray by, with the British No.1 failing to claim a set in any of the meetings, most recently in Melbourne at the start of 2011. With Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal already out of the Australian Open, Murray was given the favourite's tag going into his final with Novak Djokovic. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, as Djokovic has gone on to produce some scintillating and remarkable tennis in capturing three of the four Slams this year.
The final itself was a disappointment, as Djokovic broke Murray’s serve at 5-4 in the First Set, and the outcome from that point seemed inevitable. Murray, who had played some sublime tennis to reach the final, was dismantled by Djokovic in a straight sets defeat. In the aftermath of that defeat, Murray endured a slump in form, losing his opening match in three separate tournaments.
The slump was ended in Monte Carlo, where the Scot gave a surprisingly good account of himself on his least favourite surface, clay. A Semi-Final defeat to Nadal was a sign of improvement, which was built on in Rome, where Murray pushed Djokovic all the way in one of the matches of the year, the Serb coming up trumps in a pulsating encounter.
Murray’s good clay-court form continued, as he reached the Semi-Finals at Roland Garros, despite playing with an ankle injury, eventually succumbing to a straight sets defeat to Nadal.
The British no.1 enjoyed his first taste of silverware of the 2011 season on home soil at Queen’s, fending off the threat of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. SW19 was the next destination and after a nervy start to the tournament, Murray breezed into another Semi-Final with Nadal and looked well placed for a first Wimbledon final after claiming the First Set.
It was not to be the case, Nadal capitalising on some near misses from Murray and rocketing into his fifth Wimbledon final, eventually losing out to Djokovic, who went on to claim the No.1 Ranking.
A shock defeat to Kevin Anderson in Montreal followed, which kicked Murray into gear in Cincinnati, with the Scot inflicting one of only 7 defeats for Djokovic in 2011. Onto Flushing Meadows for the US Open and a Second Round tie with Robin Haase proved to be a thriller, as Murray came back from 2 sets down to book his place in the next round. A Quarter-Final victory over John Isner meant a third Grand Slam Semi-Final with Nadal was in store, one which struggled to match the expectations.
Nadal appeared to be in Superman mode, as he flew across court and raced to a 2 set lead. Although Murray fought back to claim the Third Set, the damage had already been done and another year was to end without a Slam.
The disappointment of that defeat was countered by the 16 game unbeaten run that was to follow, with Murray winning in Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai as part of an Asian Swing hat-trick. As the season reached an end, Murray briefly overtook Federer to become No.3 in the world, the first time he had achieved a higher ranking than Federer in his career.
Aside from the obvious, a target for Murray in 2012 should be to regain the No.3 ranking, and if he continues his form from 2011, it wouldn’t be unrealistic. 2011 has seen Murray improve his consistency, particularly in the Slams, where he reached at least the Semi-Final on each occasion.
Murray also claimed 5 titles, only bettered by his collection of 6 in 2009, whilst his clay-court play has improved to a point where he is now in contention for titles during a period in the season where he had previously expected very little.
One major concern is the amount of tennis to be played in 2012, a packed schedule includes the Olympics and possibly a collection of Davis Cup matches. Last month's World Tour Finals should be a note of caution to the Murray camp going into the New Year, increasing the importance of a structured training programme to best prepare Murray for the 2012 season.
Murray is a fine exponent of finding an opponent’s weakness, yet he often gifts his opponent insight into how he is feeling by hurling abuse at himself or his team. For someone who has the ability to outsmart many an opponent, channelling his own aggression would be a step in the right direction as Murray enters a crucial stage in his career.
Is it really now or never?