Can Andy Murray capture his maiden Grand Slam title at the 2012 US Open? – Tennis Special
Whenever a new Grand Slam is about to start, one thing that is on every tennis follower’s mind is that if Great Britain’s number one tennis player, Andy Murray, would be able to break his Major deadlock this time?
The 25-year-old has already lost four Grand Slams finals in his career. The problem with the current world number four is that he beats all of his opponents but fails against the top three in the semi-final or final. The Brit is
one of the most consistent players on the ATP World Tour during the last five years but he chokes in crunch matches. It’s not like that he does not have the potential to beat Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. He has already beaten them a number
of times at smaller tournaments but fails to do the same in the Grand Slams.
Interestingly, Murray advanced to his maiden Major title match at the US Open. He stunned the then world number one, Rafael Nadal of Spain, to reach the final in 2008. However, the British player was badly beaten by Roger Federer
in straight sets 2-6, 5-7, 2-6 in the title match.
Murray kept on winning smaller titles and rose to number two position in the ATP Singles Rankings in August 2009. However, he had to wait for one and a half year to reach his second Grand Slam final. Featuring at the 2010 Australian
Open, Murray thrashed his opponents in the first six matches to reach the title match but he lost to Federer once again. The Brit was extremely disappointed by the loss, as it was evident from his flowing tears at the closing ceremony.
The London, England resident reached his third Grand Slam after exactly one year at the 2011 Australian Open. This time there was no Federer on the other side of court but there was Djokovic, who is age-mate of Murray. However,
there was no difference in the result of the match, as he lost to the Serbian in straight sets 4-6, 2-6, 3-6 in the final.
It was not working for Murray, as Britain’s best talent in the recent times had failed to win even a single set in his three appearances in final of Majors. The right-hander lost to Nadal in the semi-finals of the following three
Grand Slams in 2011.
The Brit hired former great, Ivan Lendl, as a coach at the start of the 2012 season, with a hope that the eight-time Grand Slam champion will fill the missing touch in him.
It looked like Murray’s time had come, as he became the first British player in the last 74 years to reach the final of Wimbledon in this July. However, there was more disappointment, as he lost in four sets to Federer.
Murray could not stop his tears once again during the presentation ceremony, as he said, "I'm getting closer."
On the other hand, Federer said about Murray, "I see what he goes through on a daily basis and he handles it perfectly. I really do believe deep down that he will win grand slams and not just one."
The way things are going it does not look like Murray would be able to win his first Grand Slam at the 2012 US Open. He might reach the title match once more but looking at his past record, odds will be against him to break the
Major drought.
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