Andy Murray Reaches Queen's Semis and Raises Hopes for Wimbledon
Andy Murray beat the American Mardy Fish 7-5 6-3 to reach the semi-finals of the Aegon Championships
The "firsts" have been shimmering off Andy Murray's racket in an almost ceaseless flow over the past 12 months: the first British man to reach No3 in the world; his first grand slam final; his first win over the world No1, Rafael Nadal; his first semi‑final on clay. The list goes on and on. And now, after yesterday's 7–5, 6–3 win over Mardy Fish of the US, comes the possibility of his first grass court final, in the Aegon Championships at Queen's on Sunday .
Standing in his way is Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, who might ungenerously be described as the poor man's Rafa Nadal. Ferrero, 29, won the French Open in 2003 and appeared set for a long period of success. Briefly he reached No1 in the world that year, but thereafter his career drifted into a slow decline. He once possessed one of the world's most feared forehands until a combination of illness, injury, and a deep-rooted loss of confidence left him as almost the forgotten man of Spanish tennis, subsumed by the Nadal phenomenon.
"I saw a bit of his quarter-final and he was hitting very well. He has a very good return and I will need to make sure the rest of my game is solid," said Murray. Ferrero and Murray have never played each other, although it is hard to make out a case in the Spaniard's favor against the Murray big-guns, most notably his serve which he thudded beyond Fish time and again in their quarter-final, including 11 aces.
In the opening set the world No3 dropped only three points on his serve, applying the sort of pressure that was beyond the American to resist, and highlighting the gulf in class between them. Fish, ranked No25, is a better than average player on grass, and has the power to be a danger. He served nine aces, but the moment Murray broke him for a 6–5 lead in the opening set the match was as good as over, at least in terms of the result.
This was never the case of shooting Fish in a barrel, but such was the all-round excellence of Murray that the American's best was rarely good enough. The brilliance of Murray's shot-making is accentuated on grass where everything happens that little bit more quickly. In a blink of an eye he can switch defence into attack, though on this occasion there were few rallies. All the players are aware that they are never safe against Nadal even when 40-0 ahead, and Murray is acquiring a similar ability to keep his opponent on guard.
There were times when Fish, whose career has been blighted by injury, simply turned down his mouth in dismay, or flicked his eyebrows in surprise, as Murray conjured up shots, most particularly on the backhand, of vivid imagination and ingenuity. Even the Queen's centre-court crowd, who might have collectively invented the word somnolent (over-Pimm's-ed might be more pertinent), stirred themselves into applause, if not adulation. As yet they have not taken to Murray as they did Tim Henman, who reached three finals here, losing them all, to Pete Sampras and Lleyton Hewitt (twice).
Murray will doubtless grow in their affection, for here is a player who really can win the Wimbledon title, given the form he has displayed this week. The pressure will grow enormously once the All England gates swing open in nine days, and much may also depend on whether Nadal, the champion, is able to begin his defence. If Murray has to beat both him and Federer at Wimbledon it might still be a journey too far, as it was at last year's US Open, but providing he conserves his energy during the opening week he will be in with genuine chance of the grand slam win he craves.
His three matches to date here have lasted a total of 3hrs 18min. "Its always good to get off court as quickly as possible. I've been asked a lot of times about being more aggressive, but you get a lot of free points on your serve on grass." And serving like he did on this occasion, coupled with his outstanding return game, Murray will pose a threat at Wimbledon that only the best may be able to resist.
Standing in his way is Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, who might ungenerously be described as the poor man's Rafa Nadal. Ferrero, 29, won the French Open in 2003 and appeared set for a long period of success. Briefly he reached No1 in the world that year, but thereafter his career drifted into a slow decline. He once possessed one of the world's most feared forehands until a combination of illness, injury, and a deep-rooted loss of confidence left him as almost the forgotten man of Spanish tennis, subsumed by the Nadal phenomenon.
"I saw a bit of his quarter-final and he was hitting very well. He has a very good return and I will need to make sure the rest of my game is solid," said Murray. Ferrero and Murray have never played each other, although it is hard to make out a case in the Spaniard's favor against the Murray big-guns, most notably his serve which he thudded beyond Fish time and again in their quarter-final, including 11 aces.
In the opening set the world No3 dropped only three points on his serve, applying the sort of pressure that was beyond the American to resist, and highlighting the gulf in class between them. Fish, ranked No25, is a better than average player on grass, and has the power to be a danger. He served nine aces, but the moment Murray broke him for a 6–5 lead in the opening set the match was as good as over, at least in terms of the result.
This was never the case of shooting Fish in a barrel, but such was the all-round excellence of Murray that the American's best was rarely good enough. The brilliance of Murray's shot-making is accentuated on grass where everything happens that little bit more quickly. In a blink of an eye he can switch defence into attack, though on this occasion there were few rallies. All the players are aware that they are never safe against Nadal even when 40-0 ahead, and Murray is acquiring a similar ability to keep his opponent on guard.
There were times when Fish, whose career has been blighted by injury, simply turned down his mouth in dismay, or flicked his eyebrows in surprise, as Murray conjured up shots, most particularly on the backhand, of vivid imagination and ingenuity. Even the Queen's centre-court crowd, who might have collectively invented the word somnolent (over-Pimm's-ed might be more pertinent), stirred themselves into applause, if not adulation. As yet they have not taken to Murray as they did Tim Henman, who reached three finals here, losing them all, to Pete Sampras and Lleyton Hewitt (twice).
Murray will doubtless grow in their affection, for here is a player who really can win the Wimbledon title, given the form he has displayed this week. The pressure will grow enormously once the All England gates swing open in nine days, and much may also depend on whether Nadal, the champion, is able to begin his defence. If Murray has to beat both him and Federer at Wimbledon it might still be a journey too far, as it was at last year's US Open, but providing he conserves his energy during the opening week he will be in with genuine chance of the grand slam win he craves.
His three matches to date here have lasted a total of 3hrs 18min. "Its always good to get off court as quickly as possible. I've been asked a lot of times about being more aggressive, but you get a lot of free points on your serve on grass." And serving like he did on this occasion, coupled with his outstanding return game, Murray will pose a threat at Wimbledon that only the best may be able to resist.
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