2008 Tennis thread

[walrus]

^ Its a cracking match so far

[William]

^2nd set goes to the Serb and we have a game on here

[CharleyFarley]

Good final.

I'd hazard a guess here that there has never been two mens finalists with surnames that begin with two consonants...trivial pursuits

[ChiangMai noon]

Andy Murray quickly recovered from his Australian open disappointment where he lost to eventual finalist Tsonga by winning the Marseille Open.

Tsonga went out in round 1.

Murray claims Marseille final win

British number one Andy Murray will return to the top 10 in the world after beating Mario Ancic 6-3 6-4 in the Open 13 final in Marseille.

Murray, seeded fourth, broke in game eight and saved several break-points in the next as he took the opening set.

His serve came under pressure from unseeded Croat Ancic, a former world number seven, at the start of the second and he dropped it in game four.

But Murray hit back with breaks in games five and seven as he triumphed.

Victory came in 104 minutes, providing his second ATP title of 2008 and fifth overall.

It was just the response that the 20-year-old Scot needed in his first event after controversially missing Britain's Davis Cup tie against Argentina to protect his knee.

"I served well throughout and returned really well in the second set," Murray said.

"He started getting a bit tired in that second set and that was probably the key to the match.

"Being in the top 10 is one of my goals. I'll try to stay there the whole year."



Murray began with more of the fine returning which had swept him to the final in France, although Ancic did not let him have things all his own way.

The first set was tight until a superb forehand winner in the eighth game and the fifth of his 11 aces in the match put the Briton in the driving seat.

Ancic, who is ranked 135 after missing most of last year with glandular fever, showed signs of returning to his best on Saturday when he demolished Marcos Baghdatis in the semi-finals.

And as Murray's first-serve percentage dipped dramatically at the start of the second set, the 23-year-old pounced to take the initiative.

It merely provoked the Dunblane star into stepping up a gear and successive breaks were followed by some improved serving to set up a match point in the ninth game.

Ancic survived that with a dropshot but Murray served out to add to his success at the Qatar Open at the start of the year.

[Marmite the Dog]

Tsonga went out in round 1.

How did that happen? Is he a one-hit wonder?

[klongmaster]

Thought I'd post this before Nooners gets here bragging...

Andy Murray has produced a sizzling display from the baseline to hand world tennis No 1 Roger Federer his first opening-round defeat since 2004 with a 6-7 6-3 6-4 victory at the Dubai Open.
The 12-time Grand Slam champion was last beaten in the first round of a tournament at the Cincinnati Masters in August, 2004.
"I definitely could have played much better tennis but then again you've got to give credit to the guy who beat you and came up with shots," said defending champion Federer, who has now lost two of his three meetings against the Briton.

Federer was playing just his second tournament of the year, and his first match since losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open in January.
"Tough match, obviously. It was always going to be a tough draw," Federer said.
"He's played many matches already this season whereas obviously I come in a little bit cold.
"I knew it was important to get off to a good start but it wasn't enough tonight. He did well to hang in there and it was a tough match in the end.
"My expectations are not sky high at this point. Obviously I haven't played much so you don't go in with any expectations. You hope to get past the first round, no matter if it's a guy with no ranking or a guy ranked basically in the top 10.

[ChiangMai noon]

^
yes, saw that one a bit too late.

Federer didn't have a single break point.

terrible draw for both of them.
unlike most tournaments dubai only seeded the top eight leaving Andy Murray floating round the draw.

should have a nice run now though.


excellent win.

has beaten Fed 2 out of 3 times now.

not sure how many players have a winning record on federer.

[buriramboy]

Murray is having a bit of a strange season, this is only the 5th (i think) tournament he will have played in, and of the previous 4 he has won 2 and been knocked out in the first round in the other 2, i still think he will be in the top 5 though by the end of Wimbledon, as he missed the whole of the clay season and Wimbledon last year so he has no ranking points to lose, he can only gain.

Edit- almost forgot to add, was a great win for him last night.

[ChiangMai noon]

^
you are probably right.

interesting to see if he can make a go of it on clay.

not be one of the top 8 or so but at least be competitive enough to get to the third round or so.

[buriramboy]

He spent quite a few of his teenage years in Spain learning his trade on clay courts, so if he can keep his fitness levels up, which you need on clay due to the long rallies and stay clear of injuries, i think he is more than capable of having a good clay court season.

[ChiangMai noon]

^
I know he was brought up around clay and has always said that clay would be his best surface.

can't see it myself though.

[klongmaster]

Great stuff...

Murray upsets Nadal in US Open

Monday, 08 September 2008

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Reuters
GREAT SCOT: Andy Murray of Scotland reacts after beating world number one Rafael Nadal in the semifinal of the US Open tennis championships in New York.


Sixth-seeded Briton Andy Murray reached his first grand slam final in commanding style by upsetting world No 1 Rafael Nadal 6-2 7-6 4-6 6-4 at the US Open this morning (NZ time).
The shrewd Scot outplayed the Spanish left-hander in a semifinal contest that began yesterday (NZ time) on Louis Armstrong court and ended more than 24 hours later on Arthur Ashe Stadium after being interrupted by the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna.
Leading by two sets but trailing 2-3 in the third overnight, Murray lost the third set before breaking the Spaniard in the 10th game of the fourth, wrapping up the biggest victory of his career with a backhand winner.
The 21-year-old Briton will play four-times defending champion Roger Federer in tomorrow morning's (NZ time) final, the Swiss maestro having beaten Serb Novak Djokovic yesterday.
"Very relieved," an emotional Murray said in a courtside interview in a sun-splashed Arthur Ashe Stadium after ripping 65 winners past Nadal, including 21 aces.
"To come back after yesterday when I was two sets up was obviously tough to sleep on but I am so glad I came through in the end.
"The atmosphere in here was unbelievable today. They (the crowd) only got a set-and-a-half worth of tennis but I thought they were unbelievable. That really helped me through in the end."
Murray, who will attempt to become the first British male to win a grand slam title since Fred Perry at the 1936 US Open, has a 2-1 winning record against world No 2 Federer.
"He's probably the greatest player ever so to get the chance to play against him in a slam final is an honour," said the Scot, the first Briton since Greg Rusedski in 1997 to advance to the championship match at the US Open.
"But I have played well against him in the past so hopefully I can do the same again tomorrow."
Nadal, who broke Murray at the start of the third set before the match spilled over into a second day, survived one anxious moment in the 10th game but held serve to win the third set.
After hitting a forehand long, the Majorcan saved a break point with an ace before winning the next two points with crunching forehands to peg back Murray's lead.
Continually pressurised by Murray's clever variations from the baseline, Nadal was forced to save seven break points in a marathon second game in the fourth set before holding serve.
Murray, understandably demoralised after losing a 15-minute game totalling 22 points, was then broken in the third after making four successive unforced errors. The last of them, a wild forehand that sailed wide, gave Nadal a 2-1 lead.
However the Briton broke back in the sixth, when the Spaniard hit a forehand wide, to level at 3-3 and constructed a sequence of near-perfect rallies in the 10th to again break and secure victory in three hours 30 minutes.
Nadal, the French Open and Wimbledon champion who was playing his first grand slam as world No 1, had won 54 of his previous 56 matches along with eight ATP titles this year.
Win or lose tomorrow, Murray will rise to a career-high fourth when the world rankings are issued next week, a fitting move according to four-times US Open singles champion John McEnroe.
"He has an incredible return of serve and some of the best hands in the business," McEnroe said while commentating on the match for an American network.
"I have always believed he had the potential to go a very long way.
"At the start of the tournament, I said he was the fourth-best player in the world and now the rankings will back up the statement. Let's see if he can go higher – I think he can."
-Reuters

[ChiangMai noon]

thanks for digging this thread up, I'd forgotten about it.

was going to start a new threead.

that was a truly great win by murray.

I think the tournament is his now.

[buriramboy]

^Got to agree with that, i said if he can get past Nadal it's his for the taking as on current form on the hard courts he's the top man.

Murray to win in 4 sets, just a fokking shame it doesn't start til 4am Thai time.

[The Gentleman Scamp]

When will there be famous tennis players in Bangkok again?

[ChiangMai noon]

check out the ATP website for the 2009 schedule.

[The Gentleman Scamp]

^ Ok cheers, I'd green you but I just redded you for something else.

[ChiangMai noon]

I just redded you for something else.

not a cricket fan eh scamp?

[The Gentleman Scamp]

Is it Gladstone Small?

[Jesus Jones]

Talking tennis. If there are any decent players looking for a game around Sathorn/Satupradit let me know if you fancy a game. Seems to be quite difficult unless i join a club.

[klongmaster]

thanks for digging this thread up, I'd forgotten about it.

Yea...took a bit to find it...t'was well buried in the archives...

[Marmite the Dog]

It looks like Murray fekked that up.

[ChiangMai noon]

^
if you call getting to the final of the us open a fukk up, i suppose he did.

[Marmite the Dog]

if you call getting to the final of the us open a fukk up, i suppose he did.

I see your point, but he's beaten him before. And, no one remembers the runner-up.

[ChiangMai noon]

^
He's 21, he's world class.
we don't have many world class sportsmen outside of cycling and dart

he's the first Brit to get to a final of a grand slam in my lifetime, if you don't count Rusedski (not really a Brit).
I think he'd be remembered even if he doesn't go on to win a fair few slams (I'd put good money on him doing that within the next 2 years).

next few years will probably see Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Murray reaching most of the semis.