Thread: 2008 Tennis thread

Andy Murray got the season off to a superb start by winning the Quatar masters in Doha, beating world number 3 and top seeded Nikolay Davydenko easily in the semi finals.
The result I think pushes him into the World's top 10.

In the week's other tournament Rafael Nadal got an absolute pasting in the final of the Chennai Open, losing 6-0 6-1 to Mikhael Youhzny of Russia.

Originally Posted by from BBC

New coaching team inspires Murray


Andy Murray's winning start to the year is due to technical changes made by his new coaching team, says his mother.

Murray won the fourth career title and the first since splitting from coach Brad Gilbert when he beat Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4 4-6 6-2 in the Qatar Open.

"He is quite confident in terms of his physical ability and one or two of the technical changes he has made," Judy Murray told BBC Radio Five Live.

"He's made changes on his forehand and serve. They make a big difference."




Murray, who will now turn his attention to the four-day Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, suffered an injury-plagued 2007 season.

And it ended with him splitting from Gilbert, and opting to work with a team of coaches, rather than one specific individual.

Miles Maclagan and Louis Cayer, his brother Jamie's coach, took care of Murray in Qatar and saw instant reward as he secured a confidence-boosting win in the build-up to the Australian Open.

"One of the things Andy really needed to improve with was first serve percentage and in doubles it's so important to serve well, and he certainly served well in Doha," said his mother.

She was also keen to clarify the roles of the new coaches.

"Louis is definitely Jamie's coach - he is more the guru guy to Andy, the consultant guy, and Miles Maclagan is the coach who does the travelling with him," she said.

"So far it has worked very well, they are all people he's comfortable with and has fun with off the court, so yes he's enjoying it."

The 20-year-old will face competition from Roger Federer and Andy Roddick in the invitational Kooyong Classic when the event starts on Wednesday.

good stuff by the young celt.

Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon

good stuff by the young celt.

I thought he was a Brit?

^
I think you are wrong.


he's a celt and therefore very nearly Welsh.

Does he come from Celtland?

All of us Celts did till you lot came and took the middle bit.

If Murray had stayed fit all of last season he would probably be a top 5 player by now as missing the French open and wimbledon cost him a shed load of ranking points, i think he will easily get into the top 5 by the middle of this year though, fitness permitting. IMO he still has a little bit to do to get to the standard of Federer, Nadal and Djorkovic but i can easily see his ranking getting up to 4th no problem.

^
agree.

I think he is already the 4th best player in the world.

quite a gap then to the top 3.

I expect murray and Djokovic to be contesting the bulk of the major finals within 2 or 3 years.

well this thread has got off to a better start then last years tennis thread

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

I thought he was a Brit?

Only when he wins.

So sad that Wawrinka lost this tournament. But I'm sure he will have some more opportunities to win again.

^
Stan is a top 10 player in the making.

Another guy that willbe in on the Murray - Djokovic party over the next 5 years.

Murray got whiped 6-1 6-4 by Saffin in the warm up event today

Australian Open seedings for the next fortnight.



Men's:

1. Roger Federer (SUI)
2. Rafael Nadal (ESP)
3. Novak Djokovic (SRB)
4. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)
5. David Ferrer (ESP)
6. Andy Roddick (USA)
7. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)
8. Richard Gasquet (FRA)
9. Andy Murray (GBR)
10. David Nalbandian (ARG)
11. Tommy Robredo (ESP)
12. James Blake (USA)
13. Tomas Berdych (CZE)
14. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
15. Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)
16. Carlos Moya (ESP)
17. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)
18. Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG)
19. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)
20. Ivo Karlovic (CRO)
21. Juan Monaco (ARG)
22. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)
23. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
24. Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)
25. Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
26. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)
27. Nicolas Almagro (ESP)
28. Gilles Simon (FRA)
29. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)
30. Radek Stepanek (CZE)
31. Igor Andreev (RUS)
32. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)

Women's:

1. Justine Henin (Bel)
2. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
3. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
4. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)
5. Maria Sharapova (RUS)
6. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)
7. Serena Williams (USA)
8. Venus Williams (USA)
9. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)
10. Marion Bartoli (FRA)
11. Elena Dementieva (RUS)
12. Nicole Vaidisova (CZE)
13. Tatiana Golovin (FRA)
14. Nadia Petrova (RUS)
15. Patty Schnyder (SUI)
16. Dinara Safina (RUS)
17. Shahar Peer (ISR)
18. Amelie Mauresmo (FRA)
19. Sybille Bammer (AUT)
20. Agnes Szavay (HUN)
21. Alona Bondarenko (UKR)
22. Lucie Safarova (CZE)
23. Vera Zvonareva (RUS)
24. Li Na (CHN)
25. Francesca Schiavone (ITA)
26. Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
27. Maria Kirilenko (RUS)
28. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)
29. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
30. Virginie Razzano (FRA)
31. Sania Mirza (IND)
32. Julia Vakulenko (UKR)

Oh, I quiet like tennis, but i prefer table tennis.

Murray crashes out in first round

BBC SPORT | Tennis | Murray crashes out of Aussie Open

Along with the rest of the Brits - next

^ Nice, not on steroid unless some US players.



Could play in the katoeys category.

Originally Posted by buriramboy

Murray crashes out in first round

Useless Scottish twat!

The Aussie Open is my favorite as proved by 3 sublime matches already.

Bagdhatis winning in 5

Roddick losing in 5

and Federer struggling to subdue Tipsarevic today.

The Henin v. Sharapove match is shaping up as a good one.

Rarely do I miss getting rid of UBC.
the tennis slams are some of the few times.

I especially like the Aussie Open as it's so early in the season upsets are guaranteed.

Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon

Rarely do I miss getting rid of UBC. the tennis slams are some of the few times.

Tennis is like cricket; much better on the wireless.