Why All The Fuss About Murray?

Just what exactly has poor old Andy Murray done? First he was at the receiving end of some rather prickly remarks from Roger Federer (or ‘the Great Roger Federer as he is now commonly prefixed) and now the Australian Open champion and third seed this year, Novak Djokovic has weighed in with some thoughts of his own.

‘Why Andy? What's his ranking and my ranking? With all respect, and I like him as a person and a player, you cannot put him as the favourite with Roger, Rafa and myself here,’ raged the Serb following his four set’s victory over Jeremy Chardy. It was a more aggressive verbal tirade than those of Federer’s, which have been a feature of his press conferences over the last few weeks, but then Djokovic is a more abrasive character than the serene Swiss.

Of course it is the press (and the title hungry British press in particular) who have been fuelling the agitation of the world’s top players. Murray himself has stayed respectfully within the bubble of ‘team Murray,’ the close group of coaches and friends he assembled last year and who have been credited with much of the Scot’s upsurge in form. Murray has merely expressed his belief that he is capable, both physically and mentally, to win a slam in the near future.

Djokovic and Federer do also have a point. It is slightly absurd to make Murray, a man with just one grand slam final behind him, favourite for a tournament when the world number 1, the title holder and a man with 13 grand slam titles are still in the draw. Yet is a testament not only to his unbeaten record this year, but most importantly his recent record against those players above him in the rankings, which has given Murray the right to be classed amongst the favourites.

Federer in particular has become increasingly agitated by his difficulty in overcoming Murray, especially in their three meetings since the US Open final last August. The Swiss is generally less collected on court over the last 12 months or so as his infallibility has begun to ebb away and his victory at Flushing Meadows was attained by lifting the intensity of his game from the very off and exposing Murray’s undoubted nerves; essentially playing out of his own comfort zone.

As for Nadal, the Wimbledon champion has kept quiet on all things Murray, although after their fantastic contest in Abu Dhabi earlier this year the Spaniard admitted ‘he has a good chance to win in Australia.’ But Nadal has less to prove down under than Federer or Djokovic, who are considered superior players on hard courts and the number 1 seed will be content with quiet and steady progress through the tournament.

None of the top four are of course assured a spot in the final and the first grad slam of the year traditionally produces some upsets. Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, a finalist last year, is in the Scots half of the draw and a match up with the Frenchman may prove Murray’s downfall. Assuming of course that he makes it that far.