Biggest upsets of 2011 ATP season: Part Two – Tennis Special
It is rarely witnessed that an underdog beat all the odds to overwhelm a contestant far superior to him in both ranking and skills but you never know how a couple of crucial points might entirely alter the results in a game of tennis. It has been also observed
that after losing to a competitor, who is inferior in ranking, some players try to string their defeat with their lack of fitness in the game and only some openly accept their own deficiencies to own their defeat. That’s where the sportsmanship comes into
play, depicting the character of the top class player.
Continuing our series of unfortunate outcomes for the top class contestants in 2011 ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) season, we shall be reviewing another enthralling encounter which stunned everyone with its surprising result.
Alex Bogomolov vs. Andy Murray – Miami Masters; second round
Reigning world number four, Andy Murray of the Great Britain, had another pretty successful season this year. Despite of carrying on his drought at the Grand Slams, the British number one clinched five ATP World Tour championship titles in the season to
remain in the Top-5 in the men’s rankings. Murray took part in 69 singles encounters this season, winning 56 of them and suffering defeats on 13 occurrences.
The belligerent Scott had his third shot at a Grand Slam trophy in January, when he took the reigning world number one, Novak Djokovic, in the final of the Australian Open but lost in straight sets to continue his convention of choking in big matches at
the Major tournaments. Murray registered a hat-trick of titles in October (winning at Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai) to claim the world number three spot, toppling the Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer. The Briton made it to the circuit ending grand finale, the Barclays
ATP World Tour Finals, but was stung by an agonizing groin injury to pull out of the mega event in an undesirable fashion. Federer clinched the coveted title to reclaim his third spot in the South African Airways ATP World Rankings, pushing Murray to the fourth
spot to finish the season.
On the other hand, 34th ranked Alex Bogomolov of Russia remained labouring extremely hard in 2011 ATP season as well to claim his maiden championship title, eventually failing in the end. He finished off the year with 27-21 winning record but
his victory over Murray at the Miami Masters will always remain his one of the best-played matches in 2011.
Ranked at number 118 at that time, Bogomolov was thought to have no chance to withstand the furry of the then fifth ranked Briton but proved everyone wrong with his amazing game play. The Russian absolutely manhandled the fifth ranked Murray, outplaying
him every segment of the game to register a straight sets victory over him. Murray was dumped 1-6, 5-7, in the contest to suffer the humiliating defeat at the hand of Bogomolov who was making a comeback from a career-threatening wrist injury.
“Coming back from injuries, from my surgery [two years ago], was definitely something special, as well, because I didn't think I was going to play tennis again,” said Bogomolov after his emphatic victory over Murray. “So to get the first win after that was
big”
Bogomolov earned the ATP World Tour Most Improved Player of the Year Award for his performances with the racquet in 2011 ATP season and hopes to bring further improvement in his game in the coming season.
Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in the article are the writer’s own personal views and have nothing to do with bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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