Andy Murray Breezes Past Tommy Robredo to Round Off Memorable Year
Andy Murray, 22 on Friday, cruised past Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-1 in Madrid
Andy Murray, 22 on Friday, spent part of his last birthday being crushed 6–3, 6–2 on clay in the third round of the now defunct Hamburg Masters by Rafael Nadal. It has been quite a 12 months since then, Murray reaching his first slam final at the US Open, beating Nadal in the semi-finals, winning three Masters series tournaments, and rising to a career high No3, while yesterday he reached his second Masters quarter-final on clay, beating Spain's Tommy Robredo 7–5, 6–1. And he firmly believes there is much more to come.
"I still think 22 is very, very young. I've got hopefully five or six more years of playing better tennis than I am now. The last year has been very good, pretty much since Wimbledon, so hopefully I can keep up what I've been doing so far and the ranking will keep going in the right direction."
On Friday Murray plays Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, the world No5, with Roger Federer looming in Saturday's semi-finals. Small wonder that Murray walked with a jaunty step.
"The more matches you play, the more you understand what things you do well in pressure situations. You learn the tactics to play against all the players you might not have met before," he said. "And then once I get to 26 or 27 there will be young guys coming through and you have to find out ways to beat them as well. I still think I'll get bigger and stronger in the next couple of years."
Robredo, three times a French Open quarter-finalist, had won more matches on clay than any other player this year coming into this encounter, including a couple of tournament wins in South America, although for some reason best known to himself he ditched his coach after the Rome Masters. Not that this affected his performance here. Murray was simply too good, and Robredo knew it: "If you don't take your chances he will kill you." And Murray did.
It was not a classic, with too many unforced errors in windy conditions. Murray knew he should probably have attacked more in the opening set when Robredo was frequently struggling with his serve but then Alex Corretja, who is working alongside Miles Maclagan on the coaching front, has urged Murray to be patient on clay.
It is a tricky balance, and one to which Murray is still adjusting. "I was just a little bit tense when I had my chances, I had a lot of them in the first set when I played a little bit too passively. In the second set it was much better, I started to dictate a lot of the points."
His mum, Judy, and his grandmother, Shirley, are due to arrive for his birthday, complete with a supply of shortbread. At the Hamburg Masters last year they celebrated the occasion with a visit to a sushi bar, to enjoy Andy's favorite food, even if it was not to the liking of his gran. "She's against eating anything that's not cooked by herself, pretty much."
Novak Djokovic, who Murray overtook for the No3 spot and who also reached the quarter-finals with a 6–4, 6–4 victory over Italy's Andreas Seppi, has been a little sour about his demotion, though the ranking system, of which he has complained this week, has remained substantially the same since its inception in 1973.
"It's never been a problem up until now, and I don't see why all of a sudden it's become an issue," said Murray. The issue, as well he knows, is the chip on Djokovic's shoulder concerning just about anything and everything.
At least it makes for a little spark at the top of the men's game that is as buoyant as the women's game is flat. "Men's tennis is in a very good place right now. You've two of the best players of all time at the top and a bunch of young guys coming through," said Murray. "And in terms of the rankings system, it's totally fair."
Murray has won all his three previous matches against the 20-year-old Del Potro, the youngest player in the top 10, though they have generally been tight: "He's starting to play better on clay even though he was obviously brought up on it," Murray said. "Because of his height [6ft 6in] and because of his game style, he's played better on hard courts but he's a tough player on all surfaces."
"I still think 22 is very, very young. I've got hopefully five or six more years of playing better tennis than I am now. The last year has been very good, pretty much since Wimbledon, so hopefully I can keep up what I've been doing so far and the ranking will keep going in the right direction."
On Friday Murray plays Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, the world No5, with Roger Federer looming in Saturday's semi-finals. Small wonder that Murray walked with a jaunty step.
"The more matches you play, the more you understand what things you do well in pressure situations. You learn the tactics to play against all the players you might not have met before," he said. "And then once I get to 26 or 27 there will be young guys coming through and you have to find out ways to beat them as well. I still think I'll get bigger and stronger in the next couple of years."
Robredo, three times a French Open quarter-finalist, had won more matches on clay than any other player this year coming into this encounter, including a couple of tournament wins in South America, although for some reason best known to himself he ditched his coach after the Rome Masters. Not that this affected his performance here. Murray was simply too good, and Robredo knew it: "If you don't take your chances he will kill you." And Murray did.
It was not a classic, with too many unforced errors in windy conditions. Murray knew he should probably have attacked more in the opening set when Robredo was frequently struggling with his serve but then Alex Corretja, who is working alongside Miles Maclagan on the coaching front, has urged Murray to be patient on clay.
It is a tricky balance, and one to which Murray is still adjusting. "I was just a little bit tense when I had my chances, I had a lot of them in the first set when I played a little bit too passively. In the second set it was much better, I started to dictate a lot of the points."
His mum, Judy, and his grandmother, Shirley, are due to arrive for his birthday, complete with a supply of shortbread. At the Hamburg Masters last year they celebrated the occasion with a visit to a sushi bar, to enjoy Andy's favorite food, even if it was not to the liking of his gran. "She's against eating anything that's not cooked by herself, pretty much."
Novak Djokovic, who Murray overtook for the No3 spot and who also reached the quarter-finals with a 6–4, 6–4 victory over Italy's Andreas Seppi, has been a little sour about his demotion, though the ranking system, of which he has complained this week, has remained substantially the same since its inception in 1973.
"It's never been a problem up until now, and I don't see why all of a sudden it's become an issue," said Murray. The issue, as well he knows, is the chip on Djokovic's shoulder concerning just about anything and everything.
At least it makes for a little spark at the top of the men's game that is as buoyant as the women's game is flat. "Men's tennis is in a very good place right now. You've two of the best players of all time at the top and a bunch of young guys coming through," said Murray. "And in terms of the rankings system, it's totally fair."
Murray has won all his three previous matches against the 20-year-old Del Potro, the youngest player in the top 10, though they have generally been tight: "He's starting to play better on clay even though he was obviously brought up on it," Murray said. "Because of his height [6ft 6in] and because of his game style, he's played better on hard courts but he's a tough player on all surfaces."
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