With two days to prepare, the weight of expectation on the fifth seed to end Britain’s 74-year wait for a male grand slam champion is likely to build.
Murray, of course, is desperate to end that barren spell but admitted his motivation is for his family first.
“I want to win it for the people that I work with, for my parents who helped me when I was growing up,” said Murray, whose mother Judy has been a permanent fixture among his court-side entourage. (more…)
Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic have succumbed, one way or another, to the physical demands of the modern game as the Australian Open fillets the strong from the strongest – and now hard questions will be asked again of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The hugely entertaining Frenchman with the untapped talent came through the second five-setter of his career, as Djokovic succumbed to a mysterious stomach complaint in their marathon quarter-final, and he must steel himself for the ultimate challenge: Roger Federer. (more…)
With a day’s rest under his belt following his last eight win over Rafael Nadal, Murray needs no added incentive in his mission to win a first grand slam.
The British No 1’s limp exit at the US Open in September at the hands of the Croatian will give Murray all the motivation he needs to reach Sunday’s final.
The lop-sided 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 result which saw Cilic reach the last eight of a slam for the first time in his career still rankles with Murray who could become the first Briton to reach the Australian Open for the first time since John Lloyd in 1977.
Murray leads his head-to-head series 3-1, and while the 14th seed may not have the same aura or the fear-factor that came with facing Nadal in the last round, Cilic is a man not to be taken lightly.(source)
A deliciously unpredictable start to the tennis year has been summed up by the current unseasonal weather here in Sydney – all cloud and thundercracks – mixed with record temperatures down the coast in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open.
And on the courts of the east, in the first two weeks of the season, we’ve had a 15-year old Brit beating the world number 26, a Henin/Clijsters classic final to roll back the years, a title for a player facing suspension only days previously, and mutterings of a new tennis “World Cup” to keep the off-court motors chugging. Delicious indeed. (more…)