2011 BNP Paribas Open: ATP Seeds Part V
World Number 5 Andy Murray
Andy Murray is currently the highest-ranked British player in the world and rounds off the first five seeds of the 2011 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells event as World Number five. The Scottish pro has been playing on a professional level for over
half a decade, having joined the ATP in 2005.
Andy Murray has participated consistently in the BNP Paribas Open since 2006, without missing the tournament even once. His first appearance at the event was at a time when he was ranked World Number 44 and he managed to move to the second round, where he
was ousted by then World Number five Nikolay Davydenko in three sets.
One fact which sets Murray apart from many other seeds at the event this year is the rate of his progress at the Indian Wells event. In his second year at the tournament, he was ranked World Number 14 and upset players such as Davydenko and Germany’s Tommy
Haas before being ousted by Serbian then-World Number 13 Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. Although his performance in 2008 was less satisfactory than his second showing, he still managed to defeat Jurgen Melzer and Ivo Karlovic before losing to Haas in the
fourth round.
However, Andy Murray’s best performance at the tournament came in 2009. He was ranked World Number four at the time and received a bye into the second round. He kicked off his campaign by defeating Spanish pro, Albert Montanes, after which he defeated players
Paul-Henri Mathieu, Tommy Robredo and Ian Ljubicic in straight sets in quick succession. He dropped his first set in the semi-finals of the event against Roger Federer but Murray still managed to oust the player and take on current World Number one Rafael
Nadal in the title match. Although Rafa thrashed Murray in straight sets to win the title, the entire tournament was a great achievement for Murray.
His most recent showing at the hard court tournament was in 2011, when he was ranked World Number four once again. He received a bye in the first round of the tournament as a seeded player, before setting up a second round match with Italian, Andreas Seppi.
His third round competitor was American Michael Russell, whom he ousted to take on Spaniard Nicolas Almagro. Murray made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament before losing to Swede Robin Soderling.
Andy Murray suffered a crushing blow at the beginning of the year, when he managed to demolish his competition and make it to the final of the Australian Open. Although it was a magnificent achievement for the Scot, his spirit seemed to be broken by his
loss against Serb Novak Djokovic in the title match. His last professional showing was at the Rotterdam event, where Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis undid him in straight sets. For the Indian Wells event, Andy Murray is a dark horse. He may be inspired to perform
very well, or he may be ousted in the first few sets of the event. It is may all dependent on his frame of mind.
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