TENNIS – Andy Murray will have to solve the problem of his patchy play quickly if he hopes to defend last year’s Miami ATP Masters title against a star-studded field. In his first match since an unexpected split with coach Ivan Lendl earlier in the week, Murray beat Ebden 3-6, 6-0, 6-1. Simone Kemler
Andy Murray will have to solve the problem of his patchy play quickly if he hopes to defend last year’s Miami ATP Masters title against a star-studded field. In 2013 Murray departed Miami ranked second in the world after a razor-thin victory over David Ferrer in the final gave him his second Sony Open title. After that he went on to claim an emotional second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, but the 26-year-old has yet to reach a final since having back surgery in September 2013 and is currently ranked sixth in the world.
Murray was at a loss to explain a third-set collapse against big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic in the fourth round at the Indian Wells Masters and admitted his confidence was at low ebb. However, in his first appearance in Miami he is into the third round of the Sony Open in Miami despite an early wobble against the world number 67, Matthew Ebden. After losing the first set 6-3 to the Australian, Andy Murray dominated the next two sets for the loss of just one game, securing victory as the clock approached midnight at Crandon Park.
In his first match since an unexpected split with coach Ivan Lendl earlier in the week, Murray got the contest off to an unsteady start when Ebden broke him at the first opportunity and then held serve to quickly jump in front 3-0 on his way to easily taking the opening set. However the sixth seed immediately broke back to get on level terms and raced through the next five games to clinch a convincing victory. “You do what you do to win a match,” said Murray. “It’s not always about how you play or how calm you are on the court, it’s about winning the tennis match. That’s what matters. I won the next six games after that so maybe it nothing to do with it, maybe it helped. I just got on with it and won the match.”
The Wimbledon champion was one of a parade of grand slam winners who made it through the second round, including world number two Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Murray will next face Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, against whom he has a 9-0 record
That tough win was Ebden’s first in five tournaments and will have gotten him used to the conditions in Miami. Conditions Murray is very used to. The Scot lives in Miami and spends two to three months practicing on the center court. He will need that familiarity. If he gets past Lopez, Murray could face, Tsonga after that, and then Indian Wells champion and old rival Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
Murray does not expect the first move he makes since splitting with Lendl to bring success in Miami. The Scot says he knows he is not match fit. And the transition from having a coach of Lendl’s stature to doing it alone again might have some psychological consequences in his first couple of outings. The results will be much talked about. Just as people wondered whether Murray would ever win a Major, they now wonder if he will win more after not just back surgery but losing a man who helped turned around his career.
Andre Agassi gives an interesting insight into his thoughts regarding Murray’s future
Agassi spoke to a small group of British reporters as part of World Tennis Day, in London, earlier this month, revealed his ideas on the kind of mental challenges that face Murray, having won Wimbledon: “You’ve seen it a lot in the past. When you win for the first time or become that person who is expected to do it, it’s not easy at first. I won Wimbledon in 1992 and I didn’t win again until August of 1994. Pete won in 1990 at the US Open and my recollection is he didn’t win again until 1993 Wimbledon. There’s that area you get into where mentally you have to recognise that people expect you to win, you’re not satisfied unless you do win and there’s a lot of pressure that goes along with that.Once you deal with that, in time you realise it’s not about winning, it’s about being the best (you) can be every single day. When you start pushing yourself on a fundamental level to be the best that you can, you start to separate yourself. I believe Andy is going to settle into the comfort of being the guy that is going to be standing there towards the end of these tournaments. Once he pushes himself to make himself a better player and not worry so much about holding up the trophy or hardware, I think you’ll see him win a lot more.”
With Lendl, Murray chose an Tennis-icon to be coached by
Lendl, an eight-time Grand Slam champion,was appointed Murray’s coach in December 2011 with the aim of bringing the “experience and knowledge that few others have, particularly in major tournaments”. Prior to his partnership with Lendl, Murray had worked with the likes of Leon Smith, Mark Petchey, Brad Gilbert, Miles Maclagan and Alex Corretja. The Scot had lost his first four Grand Slam finals before teaming up with the Czech. In their first year together, Murray beat Roger Federer in the Olympic final at London 2012 before defeating Novak Djokovic to win the 2012 US Open. Murray then ended a 77-year wait for a British men’s singles champion at Wimbledon the following year with another victory against Djokovic. The 54-year old Lendl, is rated as one of the world’s greatest players, having won 94 ATP Tour titles in a 16-year career. He remained as the world’s top ranked player for 156 consecutive weeks. With regards to his engagement with Murray he said: “It is time to concentrate on some of my own projects, including playing more events around the world. I will always be in Andy’s corner and wish him nothing but great success as he, too, goes into a new phase of his career.”
