British No. 1 vs. World No. 1: Andy Murray to face Rafael Nadal
The Brits are ecstatic, and for a good reason. Andy Murray is not only participating in the semi-finals for the second time in a row, but Roger Federer was defeated today by Tomas Berdych.
The Scot won 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 against France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a match that lasted two hours and 49 minutes. This was his third victory over the French, including their most recent confrontation during the semi-finals of the Canadian Open last summer. Murray will be facing World’s No. 1 Rafael Nadal next.
The Scottish rugby player Thom Evans was present during Murray’s match to support him, returning the gesture of the Scottish tennis player. The 24 year-old rugby star was severely injured earlier this year, during Scotland’s Six Nations match against Wales, which came very close from being fatal. Several sporting stars, including Murray, appeared in a video following the event to wish him a good recovery. Evans obviously appreciated the supporting favour and said, “I hope to get a chance to meet him today and thank him for it.”
Murray might need to save some of that support for his next match in the semi-finals, which promises to be challenging. After all, Nadal is certainly a threat to Murray’s flawless matches so far.
Nadal attracted the media’s attention as well when he admitted to suffering from pain in his knees during some of his matches, which reminded his supporters of his withdrawal from last year’s Wimbledon Championships. Nadal made the decision to withdrawal after it was confirmed that he was suffering from tendinitis in both of his knees.
Nadal then participated at the Rogers Cup in Montreal last summer, and lost in the quarter-finals to Juan Martín del Potro. This defeat kicked Nadal out of the top 2, which had not happened since the 25th of July in 2005.
Nadal has struggled through pain since the beginning of this year’s Wimbledon, but he is determined to finish the tournament: “I take anti-inflammatories and I did a lot of treatment with the physio and with the doctor,” he revealed in a statement. Nadal’s strong determination might have been fueled by his desire to confront Murray during this year’s semi-finals and set straight last year’s records.
Earlier this year, during the 2010 Australian Open, Murray crushed Nadal 6-3, 7-6(2), 3-0, before the Spaniard retired due to a torn quadricep. Murray then became the first British man to reach more than one Grand Slam final in 72 years, after beating Croatia's Marin Čilić in the semi-finals. He unfortunately then lost against Federer in straight sets.
The young Scot also has a little trick up his sleeve when he finds himself stuck during a match, which he displayed in his quarter-final match against Tsonga. After finally taking a 2-0 lead in the second set against the Frenchman, Murray turned to the crowd and yelled “Come On!” Murray’s supporters seemed to have waited for this particular call and have all answered it with a yell of their own. Nadal also has numerous Wimbledon fans, but against Murray--who represents the possibility of a homegrown Briton champion--they might have a noisy competition.
The World No. 4 Murray--the highest ranked British male player since Fred Perry in 1936--is the British hope for this year’s Wimbledon win. This is, however, not his only motive to defeat Nadal. The Scot took part in two Grand Slam finals, the 2008 U.S. and the 2010 Australian Opens, losing both times to World No. 2 Roger Federer. Now that the Swiss champion is eliminated, Murray has a good chance to see his name written on the cup for his fifth Wimbledon.
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