Sorry folks but here is another one coming up. Will try to be brief. I will probably fail.
If you go on message boards on any of the papers under an article about Andy Murray the level of abuse levelled at him is dreadful. Mainly because he is Scottish and a few years ago, when laughing and joking with Tim Henman and a journalist and responding 'anybody but England' when asked who he wanted to win the then World Cup, he has been dogged by this story. Even though St Tim of Henman has come out in his defence and put this story to rest as a joke they were having over a pint or two (even the journalist stuck up for AM), this has gone on and on and on. I always stick up for him, think he is the best tennis player we have produced in years, and St Tim thinks so too, and could only hope that AM does not bother reading these comments.
However, I am now wondering if it would a good thing for Lendl to stick him in front of a computer and make him read through them all to see how he is perceived. I have no doubt of Murray's will to win matches, his desire to get a Slam and shut everyone up, but and here is the but, he never ever gives that impression. Last night he was in full Kevin the Teenager mode slouching around the court, grimacing, faffing about, looking as if he would rather be at home watching Euro 2012. You could feel the crowd were puzzled and disappointed as well at what was before them. Most of them had been there since the crack of dawn and were keeling over with fatigue but they were behind him all the way trying to get him going.
It was a late night show and I can only assume that Wimbers had assumed that it would be a fairly quick match and that it would be over before the light failed. Well, this was a Brit playing so that would be a dangerous assumption and so it proved. I could not believe what I was watching. In the first round AM came out and destroyed Davydenko with some simply stunning tennis. In the second he played cannily and beat the Man Mountain, Karlovic (who has complained about the number of foot faults called in that match and said it was a conspiracy. Fact he has feet the size of a Yeti might just have something to do with it. Just stand back a bit to serve, it is quite easy) and then comes Baghdatis. Ranked No 42 in the world, great bloke, engaging personality and the contrast between the two was marked. Baghdatis looked as if he wanted to be there and was having a good time. The tennis from Andy was dreadful - playing pat a cake across the net, dinking and crossing, waiting for his opponent to make mistakes. Well, he didn't and soon had levelled the match at one set each.
The roof then had to be closed as it was getting dark. At this stage I then did something I thought I would never do during an exciting match at Wimbers. I turned the TV off and went to bed as I simply could not watch any more. I could only be grateful I was not there as I would have soon been ejected after shrieking 'FFS Andy get a bloody move on'. I'll find out in the morning thinks I. 11.20 my phone rings and I hurtle out of bed in a panic thinking A Call from Oz - something is wrong. It was my sister, another tennis fan, who rang to see what I had thought of the match and was surprised I was in bed asleep. I gather AM won in the fourth set 6-1. Just as well because at 11 pm Wimbers would have shut down and public transport were getting worried about the thousands of peeps who were about to descend on them.
She agreed with me about Murray and his attitude and, also like me, was amazed that his balls kept falling out of his pocket. And oh I have enjoyed writing that sentence! Totally unprofessional that his second tennis ball kept popping out during play - get back to whoever designs your clothes Andy and get it sorted or, as he finally did in a moment of brilliance, only take one ball a a time from the ball boy/girl.
I lurched back to bed, my sleep pattern broken and lay awake until 2 am. Hay fever did not help either.
My apologies for another Wimbers Rant and cannot guarantee there will not be another one. However, I have to end up with what must surely be the Quote of the Day if not the entire Tournament and it comes from John McEnroe. Judith told me that the camera zoomed in on Boris Becker who was sitting in the Royal Box watching the match with a bored look on his face. Says John 'I know what he is thinking. He is thinking if this is the current standard of tennis maybe I can make a comeback'
You gotta love this guy....
COME ON ANDY!!!
