Tsonga played very well today......Murray managed to up a gear when he needed to and played better. Good match to watch and hopefully a good omen for Wimbledon
Murray has certainly shown today that he has the ability to win tournaments. The question remains though, can he do it it one of the big ones such as Wimbledon which starts a week today. Back in 1985, a certain Boris Becker, aged just 17, won the Queen's tournament in June and then went on to become Wimbledon champion against all odds a few weeks later. It would be great if Murray could do the same this year, but good though he is, for me he isn't in Becker's class.
Murray won Queens in 2009 too, without dropping a set. He then got another burst of luck when Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon leaving Murray as the number 2 seed.
He lost in the Semis to Roddick...
I watched a bit of today's game and the shot selection and demeanour tells you it's an exhibition event. It wont be in a weeks time and I fully expect Murray to revert to type come the latter stages. Maybe he'll prove me wrong eventually.
It's a bit of a repetitive question about being on the big stage, but many a player would have folded after the disappointment of losing in the final of the Australian Open. In my view he's progressed enormously this year both with fitness and tennis skills, but more importantly with his attitude. This has been manifisted in his results on the clay court tournaments.
What I think we've seen both in the French Open and even more at Queen's, is player who's starting to feel more comfortable within himself........much easier to interview, frank and so much more relaxed. Every player on the tour is different and some need to express themselves more on court than others........Murray is one of those and if he doesn't he won't win anything IMO!
I've been hugely impressed with his vastly improved grass court skills, on court attitude at Queens and his willingness to engage the crowd and be frank and quite amusing in his post match interviews.
Can he win Wimbledon.........oh yes as long as he progresses to the semi's, because he'll be up against the players he really wants to beat
Back over to you David for your analysis
David, it's over to you
great win by Murray
but he has Djokovic, Nadal and Federer to beat
can he beat one of these over 5 sets - yes he can
but i cant see him beating all three in the same tournament to win Wimbledon
If the draw is kind - its well possible he can reach the Final - but cant see him winning it though coming up against one of the big three
I like Murray, I really do and find it hard to understand the hatred of him. However, he will have to beat 2 (two) of those players in reality to win a grand slam and I'm not sure if Murray can do that, he is so different in each match that's it's often impossible to get the same level from him in consecutive matches
I disagree completely. Murray has the ability and the mental strength.
The only problem he has is having to play in the same era as two - and now three - of the best men's tennis players ever to have played the game.
With Federer, Nadal and Djokovic in any tournament and likely to be the top three seeds he has to play one if not two of them to win a title.
However, if he plays the way he did in the Queens Club Semi-Final all things are possible.
This first round match looks interesting.
John Isner Vs Nicolas Mahut
I reckon if they really try, they can still be playing on finals day... just not in the final!
Regarding Murray, what I regard as by far his biggest problem is his unwillingness to change his game. If I think of a player with the perfect game to beat Murray it's Nadal, for the following reasons (disclaimer: I actually don't know a lot about tennis so this is probably bull):
i) Murray's natural game is defensive. He plays shots into awkward areas of the court, drags his opponent around and forces errors. He only occasionally goes for outright winners.
ii) Nadal is excellent in defense and stunning in attack, to the point that Murray is usually the one defending once they're settled into a rally.
iii) Murray therefore loses a lot of rallies against Nadal because Nadal can nullify Murray's defensive style.
iv) Crucially, Murray doesn't seem willing to step up and try and hit attacking shots/winners from any good position he finds himself in early in the rally, despite being perfectly capable of doing so.
Of course realistically he wants to play to his strengths, and to his credit he has improved on the above over the last couple of years... but will it be enough?
Drops his opening set of the tournament with all the usual signs that suggest he just hasn't got what it takes to win a slam.
Went on to absolutely thrash the bloke mind. However, how often do you see Nadal in a pickle in the first round of a slam? Hardly ever, whereas it seem to happen to Murray regularly.
Still, hazard negotiated. Onto the next
Can't you?
I think all 3 of them have stated that he is one of the top 4 and that Murray can beat them as often as the next. The only difference I see with Murray is that he is a little more likely to lose to someone lower down the top 10 or even outside it.....but that side of his game is improving too.
Lets see how R2 progresses...................no prediction from me yet
I look forward to my nightly report on here to find out whether Murray is still in the tournament, as I haven't actually watched lawn tennis - that's what it's called right? - for the best part of twenty years.
So far, so good, he got through the first round. It gets harder from here though.