A Complete Murray Performance Sees Off Djokovic To Claim FirstWimbledon Title

From the sublimity of a straight sets victory over the world's best player to the ridiculousness of Alex Salmond's horrendous judgment of time and place, every superlative for Andy Murray's Wimbledon victory has been uttered over the last 24 hours.

The first Brit in 77 years, first Scot in over 110, Andy Murray's win is historic and doesn't deserve to be the subject of political oneupmanship, no matter what side of that particular debate you reside.

Talk of knighthoods, a notion that doesn't sit too well with Murray thankfully, however seems premature. I'm not necessarily against this form of recognition, but when it comes to sports stars, it seems odd to bestow an athlete with that high an accolade while their career has many years yet to run. It somehow slightly undermines any future success they may have, and it's generally recognised that at 26 Andy Murray has a good few career highlights yet to achieve.

That said, Murray's achievement in SW19 can't really be underestimated. In an era of tennis that has seen unprecedented domination by not one, not two but three of the best ever players over the last decade, Murray's resilience and determination to keep plugging away has been so admirable, anyone from any sporting background can appreciate his successes over the last year.

It has been a career year, a breakthrough for Murray following 2012's defeat in London, and the culmination of many years of hard work. And its exactly that which impresses me most. I'll confess, I'm an admirer of athletic prowess and any sportsman or woman that pushes themselves and dedicates their lives to be the best, and the last 4 or 5 years have seen Murray change a lot, especially physically. A move to Miami for winter training in each of those years has seen him get bigger, stronger and faster. Andy Murray is a real athlete.

Andy Murray's physicality saw him claim victory in the toughest of conditions

The BBC coverage revealed a statistic after the 3rd set in his quarter final 5 set win over Verdasco that Murray had covered over 2600m. That's over half a mile per set, covering the court in hundreds of short bursts. The requirement to sprint so often, change direction so quickly and to lunge and strike the ball over a match that can last 3, 4 or even 5 hours demands a huge and unique form of fitness. As all round athletic prowess goes, Murray must be close to being one of the fittest professional athletes in the UK.

Match all that physicality with the technical demands and speed of thought demanded by the likes of Novak Djokovic firing back balls as quickly as any player can, and Murray's achievements are all the more impressive. There was a lot of talk about the heat and the brutal conditions during yesterday's final - the referee's office were reporting court side temperatures nearing 50 degrees Celsius - and it reminded us all of Murray's comments after a win in the Miami Masters last year where he said it wasn't the physicality he struggled with in the heat, it's the decision making process. When you take that and see how he came back mid way through the second set from 4-1 down in those conditions, you can start to see how far he has come as the complete player.

Already many thoughts amongst the media fallout have turned to what he can achieve next. The answer, simply, is whatever he chooses.  At 26, he has half a dozen good years at least left in him. With realistic shots at 3 of the 4 grand slam events (the demands of the French Open clay don't really suit his style of play), there is no reason to think he can't bag at least one grand slam title in each of those years. 

7, 8, 9 grand slam titles? It seems hard to even imagine it, but given the events of the last year, who are we to doubt the possibility? Then we can start talking knighthoods.

SPOTY 2012: Who Will Win It?

by Dugald Skene

Who will win Sports Personality of the Year 2012?

This year, it's a tantalising choice and given my correct prediction of Mark Cavendish last year, I have a record to keep intact.

Firstly, it's important to acknowledge that in an iconic year for UK sport, the standard has been raised across the board, with all but one of the nominees (Rory McIlroy) taking part in the Olympics and succeeding in at least one aspect.

So it's with this in mind that in a historical year for UK sport, only a truly historic achievement should merit the award. This, for me, boils it down to two candidates.

I am not trying to downplay the achievements of any of the nominees. Winning one, two or even more Olympic medals is simply phenomenal and will see their names rightfully entered into the annals of triumphant sporting history. But for Bradley Wiggins and Andy Murray, they not only achieved that Olympic success, but did something that no Brit has done in either 7 decades or ever.

Ironically, of the 12 nominees, these two have perhaps the least publicly perceived 'personality' of the lot. Both quiet men, they look as uncomfortable in front of a camera as each other, but equally and clearly passionate about what they do, even if they can't convey particularly well through a TV set.

Take Andy Murray. For years he has been the 'almost but not quite' guy - the Colin Montgomerie of tennis. One member of the greatest quartet of players to be playing the game in the same era, until this summer he was the only one of the four never to have won a Grand Slam. 3 finals had been and gone and Murray was being tagged with the frustrating and frankly patronising labels assigned to not just losers, but British sporting losers - 'brave' and 'courageous'.  It was never 'winner' or 'heroic'.
 

Andy Murray winning the US Open

His success at the US Open this year not only merits recognition because he is the first British male in 76 years to win a major singles title, but because he has never stopped trying. Like all the very best sportsmen and women, he has a never say die attitude and has never openly doubted himself and his abilities while others around him and in the media may have. In a sport that relies so heavily on psychology as well as the fine combination of endurance and technical ability, Andy Murray has proved himself to be one of the greatest sportsman of his generation this country has produced.

Similarly, Bradley Wiggins' achievements in winning this years Tour de France have been borne out of disappointment in previous years. In 2011, he was tipped for the top before a crash and broken collarbone ruled him out of contention while he was sitting 3rd in the general classification.

This year, he came back fitter and stronger than ever, and with a team of the very best around him, led by coach Dave Brailsford. In the run up to the Tour, Wiggins and Team Sky had swept all before them, most notably the Paris-Nice and the Criterium de Dauphine, the winner of which is usually successful in the Tour later in the year.  The first Brit to ever win the Tour in it's 99 year history, he has achieved an even higher level legendary status in British cycling.

Wiggins became the first Brit to win the Tour de France

His gold medal in the Olympic road time trial less than 2 weeks after the conclusion of the Tour confirmed him as the world's best at that discipline, and as the best all round cyclist in the world this year.

These two men have achieved far more than just Olympic success this year, they have created British sporting history.  For me, it's a two horse race for the grand prize this weekend but I struggle to pick between them.  My Scottish bias errs me towards Murray, but my years of fondly watching the Tour since I was a boy on holiday in France (even going to see the famous Mont Ventoux stage of 1994 live) mean I have a soft spot for Wiggins.

If pushed, I would say Wiggins might just take it.  Of course, this all may be academic and neither one will take the glory.  We'll just have to tune in and see.

Sports Personality of the Year 2012 Nominees:

Nicola Adams
Ben Ainslie
Jessica Ennis
Mo Farah
Katherine Grainger
Sir Chris Hoy
Rory McIlroy
Andy Murray
Ellie Simmonds
Sarah Storey
David Weir
Bradley Wiggins

Andy Murray Clinches US Open Title

by Dugald Skene

Those in the know always said it would be more likely to happen at either the Australian or US Opens, and so it proved to be. Murray's prowess on the hard courts is only matched at the moment by his US Open Final opponent Novak Djokovic who hadn't lost on the surface in a grand slam in a couple of years.

Andy Murray clinches his first grand slam

title in New York at the 5th time of asking

 

Murray's game has been building up to this moment for a few years now, especially since reaching the same final 4 years ago, his first major final. He certainly seems to have an affinity for Flushing Meadows since winning the boys US Open title a few years before that. But 2012 has seen Murray Not only improve his game, particularly his forehand, but also his ability to stick it with the best in these highest profile showdowns.

Following an agonising 5 set defeat to Djokovic in the Australian Open semi final at the start of the year, it seemed despite the loss to show that he had the ability to mentally and physically match up. He should have won that game, up a break in the final set, but he has continued following the disappointment to build.

Last nights victory is the culmination of hard work over years, that has seen many a disappointment in the major tournaments. And yet it seemed inevitable that the fourth member of perhaps the greatest quartet of players to be active in the same period was going to get a slice of that victory pie.

Being Andy Murray, he didn't make it easy. The first set lasted as long as a football match, each player breaking each other's service games in tricky conditions. The resultant tie break was an epic match within a match, with Djokovic gaining early momentum before Murray came back to earn multiple set points, finally converting his sixth to win 12-10.

Suddenly, the swing of the match was in Murray's favour as he raced to a 4-0 lead in the second set, only to be broken twice and pegged back to 5-5. This one looked to be going to a tie break as well as Murray faced real pressure from a rejuvenated Djokovic to hold his serve before breaking the Serbian for the third time in the set. 7-5 to Murray.

This was epic tennis, both men really slogging it out. Nothing exemplified the effort more than a stunning 54 shot rally in the first set that eventually saw Murray force it wide. They were giving it their all.

And it seemed that Murray really had. After clutching his left hamstring towards the end of the second set, we feared the worst. And then Djokovic turned the heat up in the third, putting distance between himself and Murray to claim it 6-2.

The fourth was more of the same, Djokovic playing some sublime tennis to clinch it 6-3. After more than 4 hours of incredible tennis, it was down to a final set showdown.

Did Murray have enough? Would he learn from his defeat in Melbourne earlier in the year? Did he even have the energy?

As I mentioned before, if anything has improved in Murray, it's his capacity to never give up, and he certainly made Djokovic aware of that as he rallied himself in the fifth to take a 3-0 lead. He never looked back.

Tennis is a game of momentum, and Andy Murray is a confidence player. The belief he will have gained in Australia, at Wimbledon and after winning gold in the Olympics was all channelled into that final set.

A well deserved victory indeed, and a truly special sporting achievement for a man who has been knocking at the door for years now. One of the most consistent sportsmen the UK has ever produced in an incredibly demanding and often lonely sport, Andy Murray is a true champion. Congratulations.

Murray Misses Out As Federer Claims Seventh Title

by Dugald Skene

Andy Murray yesterday failed to claim his first Grand Slam win at Wimbledon, but gained many more fans as his first set assault on Roger Federer and his emotional speech at the match conclusion won him both respect and admiration in equal measure.

There is a lot that can be taken from this defeat, not least that he made the final at all, the first time for a Briton in 74 years and that he managed to claim a set for the first time in his 4 grand slam finals.  As he said himself after the match, “I’m getting closer”.

But it was Roger Federer who fulfilled what most people saw as the inevitable outcome, claiming his record equalling 7^th Wimbledon crown, and first since 2009, and 17^th overall grand slam singles title, extending his all time record.

Murray loses to Federer in Wimbledon Final

The match itself was a tense affair.  Andy Murray declared his intent immediately by breaking Federer in the first game and consolidating it with a confident first service game.  Roger seemed all at sea at times, racking up as many unforced errors in the first set alone that we would expect in an entire match.

Despite being broken back, Murray claimed the final game by once again taking Federer’s serve and claiming the first set 6-4.  It was hard fought, particularly on Murray’s service game where he spent an average of over 6 minutes serving to his opponent, saving multiple break points in the process.

First blood to Murray.

The second always looked to be leaning towards Murray as both players held serve for the first 11 games with Murray in particular settling into his game well, spending less time on his service game and taking Federer to deuce and facing break points far more regularly.  But in a cruel twist, Murray was broken in the 12^th game, with two sublime points from the Swiss that saw him claim the second set.  Not undeserved, but certainly against the run of play.

Play hadn’t made it to the end of the 3^rd game of the 3^rd set when the heavens opened and play was suspended, forcing the players out for 45 minutes as the roof was closed and the court reset.  Had the rain started to fall half an hour earlier, it would have been considered harsh on Murray who certainly held the momentum in the match, but following the disappointment of the second set, it may have been a blessing.

Upon their return, there was certainly a change in the match.  Federer, who could perhaps have considered himself fortunate to be level in sets, had clearly used the break well and came out all guns blazing, playing shots that deserve to be put in storage and on display for all time.  His sublime single handed backhand was graceful, and deceptively powerful at times, sending Murray slipping and sliding all over the court, landing heavily at one point and clutching his hamstring at another.  If Murray had Federer doing all the running in the first two sets, it was Murray covering the yards in the third and into the fourth.

Federer went on to claim the set to go 2-1 up, winning it 6-3.  There was a certain sense of inevitability in the reconditioned air under the roof on centre court, and it didn’t look favourable for Murray.

However, as we’ve come to expect from him, he didn’t make it easy for the 6 time champion, playing the sort of tennis that on another day or another era, would have surely helped him clinch the title.  Federer’s game just got better though, and he pushed Murray on every service game, often returning to deuce on at least 5 or 6 occasions in each game.  Murray held on as long as he could but finally succumbed to Federer’s seemingly perpetual class as he claimed the fourth and final set 6-4.

Murray will rue the chances he had, particularly in the second set, to break Federer when the Swiss was relatively under par.  He’ll also be kicking himself if and when he chooses to watch the game back at the number of games he struggled to kill off after being 40-0 or 40-15 up.  As much as Federer made it hard for him, he also struggled, particularly on his first serve in the second half of the match.

He is getting closer, of that there is no doubt and as many have said, most notably Andre Agassi of late, if Murray existed in another era of tennis, he would be comfortably winning his fair share of grand slam titles.  He still has time on his side.  At 25, he has 5 years on Roger Federer, he’s a year younger than Nadal and the same age as Djokovic.   

He also has Ivan Lendl in his corner, who must see Murray’s record in grand slams starting to mirror his own.  After 4 grand slam final defeats, he went on to win 8, his first against John McEnroe.  He knows what it takes to win in an era of greats and after multiple disappointments.  He strikes me as the perfect role model for Murray.

The season isn’t over, and Murray can now look forward to the Olympics and then the US open on his favoured hard court surface.  He should walk away from Wimbledon with great hope after breaking a 7 decade stigma in British men’s tennis.  With one monkey off his back, he can continue to strive for the biggest prize of all – that grand slam title.

Murray Victory Over Djokovic Scant Consolation For Open Loss

by Dugald Skene

Andy Murray suggested in the run up to his Dubai Masters semi-final with Novak Djokovic that victory would go some way to getting over any hangover pain following the epic semi-final loss in the Australian Open a few weeks ago.

As it turned out, Murray beat Djokovic as he so often does when he plays the other three quarters of the top 4 in the second tier of tennis tournaments.  As much consolation as Murray may have got from this, he would have wanted it to actually mean something and that would have been to follow it up by beating Roger Federer in the final.

Murray has been here so many times before and we are starting to see it more often in the grand slam tournaments through each year.  It’s all very well beating one of the big boys, but he will realistically have to do it twice in quick order if he has aspirations of winning a major tournament.

Sunday’s match with Federer was the classic example.  Having reasonably comfortably dispatched Djokovic in straight sets, it was thought that Murray would have adequate reserves to give Federer a run for his money and for many, myself included, he entered the final as favourite.

As much as he played very well however, it was Federer than came out on top winning 7-5  6-4.

Andy Murray came up second best in Dubai against Federer

Ok, it wasn’t a major final, but it was symptomatic of how Murray has been performing in those larger tournaments. Murray has now made it to 4 grand slam finals and each time has come unstuck to other members of the all-powerful quartet.

Physically, he seems stronger and fitter than he has ever been and looks to be right up there in that respect.  Technically, he is extremely gifted and has all of the shots in his locker.  That only leaves the psychological element and it’s here that we all seem to question his ability.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Murray is playing tennis in an unprecedented era.  At no other time in the game has there been three other players at a level higher than a player of his calibre for such a long period of time.  I firmly believe that in any other era, say up until 2005 or 2006, a player of his current quality would have won a major by now.  It must be incredibly frustrating to play against these guys and lose consistently on the biggest of stages.  Just as Federer’s star appears to be fading slightly and Rafael Nadal’s form isn’t quite what it was, Novak Djokovic steps up a level to start sweeping the board.  It must affect him mentally.

He will win a major, of that I am sure.  How he does that is yet to be seen, but many predict that if he does, it will be a tarnished victory because it will come down to an injury to an opponent or rival, or he didn’t have to beat one of the other 3 top players.

Although he didn’t win on Sunday, he has proved over the last few years that he can beat these guys.  If he does it again to win a major, all the better, but he would deserve that victory regardless.

Djokovic Shows What It Takes

For anyone that may have had doubts about Novak Djokovic’s credentials as world number 1 player, surely they were dispelled following epic semi-final and final victories in the Australian Open. 

Between the two games, Djokovic played 10 sets of tennis and for over 10 hours as he took on and beat a spirited and quite unlucky Andy Murray before competing in the longest Grand Slam final of all time in a colossal contest with world number two Rafael Nadal.  

The semi-final was very much down to who could take their chances.  With 3 break points at 5-5 in the deciding set, it was Murray that looked to be holding the advantage and possibly knocking out the Serbian in what would have been the greatest victory of Murray’s career.  But ultimately, it was Djokovic that showed the resolve to save each break point and go on to hold serve before breaking Murray to take the match clinching game.

Djokovic in full flow

In the aftermath of the semi-final, Murray was upbeat about his performance and stated that he was definitely closing the gap on the top 3 players.  Certainly, his performance in the semi was a marked improvement from the final a year ago where Djokovic dispatched him in straight sets.  I’ve always believed that Murray’s best chance of winning a Grand Slam will come on hard courts, which implies either the Australian or US Open.  With a winter break, it may even be more likely that the Australian Open is his very best chance of the year.  Recent results in the tournament (2 finals and a semi in his 3 last appearances) show that Murray comes out of the blocks very strong after winter training.  Physically, he is close but not perfect.  It was clear in the fifth set on Friday that Murray was starting to struggle with cramp.  Had he gone on to win that game, I’m not convinced he could have gone the distance with Nadal in the final.

And that may be the most impressive part of Djokovic’s victory this week.  This will go down as his greatest Grand Slam victory to date because of the way he did it.  He was pushed all the way in two matches against two very good competitors and came through the other side with flying colours.  Not only were the physical demands extraordinary, but the mental toughness to see out both of those games was astonishing.

Last year was one of the most remarkable for any tennis player in any era for Djokovic.  This year, he has to cement that success.  Getting to number one in the world is the easy bit.  Holding on to it is the tough part.  As everyone around him improves, it is a true sign of a champion that he can see off these ever-changing and ever-increasing challenges with consistent success.  His victory on Sunday certainly showed everyone that he is every bit the number one in the world.

Lendl Experience A Source Of Inspiration For Murray

Tennis ace Andy Murray this week confirmed the appointment of 51 year-old Czech Ivan Lendl, an 8 time grand slam winner and all-round legend of the game as his new full-time coach.  After a couple of weeks of negotiations, Lendl becomes the first full-time coach for Murray since the dismissal of Miles Maclagan in July 2010.

What's interesting about about the appointment is how similar Murray's playing career is at this stage compared to Lendl's at the same time almost 30 years ago.

Before Lendl won his first grand slam tournament, the 1984 French Open after an amazing comeback from 2 sets down against John McEnroe, he had been at the wrong end of the result on four previous occasions in grand slam finals.

By the time that first win came Lendl was 24 years old, the same age that Murray is now.  Once the duck had been broken, Lendl then went on to win a further 7 grand slams.

Andy Murray - looking for his first grand slam in 2012

Ivan Lendl was one of the most consistent players in tennis history with a career spanning 16 years, and during a time when he competed with some of the greats of the game - McEnroe, Becker, Edberg amongst others.

This is all reflective of the situation Murray finds himself in.  The Scotsman is one quarter of the 'big four' with Nadal, Djokovic and Federer, and finds himself in that esteemed group despite not having a grand slam win.  That is down to the fact he is so consistent and has come up short on so many occasions in the big tournaments but has regularly beaten the other three in relatively lesser competitions.

It's the common held belief that it's only a matter of time before Murray wins a grand slam.  I buy into that theory, but it will take the advice and encouragement of someone who has been there and done it on his side to help him through, which makes Lendl an excellent addition to his team going forward into 2012.