As I was watching the ESPN coverage of Wimbledon where No. 2 seed, Scotsman, Andy Murray moved past the No. 20 seeded, Mikhail Youzhny from Russia in straight sets. He will now face Spanish clay court specialist Fernando Verdasco, who has never made it past the 4th round at Wimbledon in the quarterfinals.
So, Murray is just three wins away from ending a 77 year drought for British tennis. As most tennis fans know, the last Englishman to win the Wimbledon Gentleman's Singles title was Fred Perry in 1939. All of the U.K. stops when Murray takes the court.
There may not be an athlete on the planet with more pressure to win a major sports championship than Murray. Wimbledon is one of the biggest events in sports and it is the single tennis major that every player who has ever owned a racket wants to win.
Murray's path to a Wimbledon title has opened up big time with the huge upset losses to Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, both losing in the first week of the championships. The very bright light is now on Murray’s chances to capture that Wimbledon title.
If Murray were to make it to the finals he would no doubt face top seeded Novak Djokovic,who has a Wimbledon title in 2011, under his belt. As good Djokovic is, the grass is not his best surface and so he is far from a lock in a battle against Murray.
Don't forget that Murray won the Olympic Gold Medal on this very court last year and then he went on to win the U.S. Open Championship. So Murray is poised to win another major and he knows he is under a great deal of pressure to win at Wimbledon.
On Monday he addressed the press about the pressure:
“There’s a lot more pressure on me now, with them [Federer and Nadal] being out. I don’t read the papers. But there are papers in the locker room,” Murray said with a chuckle, “so you see some of the headlines. It’s not that helpful.People are putting even more pressure on me because of the nature of how the draw’s worked out. I’ve just got to try and stay focused, not worry about that stuff. But it’s hard.”
Ivan Lendl, who serves as Murray’s coach, knows all about
The pressure that playing at Wimbledon can put on an elite player, let alone
one from the U.K. Lendl won eight major championships including the Australian, the French and the U.S.Open but
never captured a Wimbledon title despite making the finals twice. But more
importantly he understands the key issue of focus. Sure Murray’s route to the
finals looks easy but Lendl on Monday, talking to the press, both written and
electronic was very cautious:
“I don’t want to say it [reaching the final] is irrelevant, but it is like anything else,” Lendl responded. “Someone can say that Djokovic is the hot favourite, somebody can say that it will be the end of the world if Andy wins or he doesn’t win. One or the other, it is totally irrelevant what you guys say or write; it is whatever happens in the tournament. I understand that you guys need to sell papers and TV analysts need to get an audience and everyone needs to say something or write something. And once again, it does not matter until the final is finished and there is one guy holding the trophy.”
So, while the entire U.K. is in full "Murray Mania," and the there is no doubt that Murray has the talent to win at Wimbledon, the pressure remains on the Scotsman. The question remains - Can Andy bring home the first title in 77 years?
The key is in his head with the crowd behind him and the pressure being channeled into winning volley I would not bet against him.
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