Is 2011 going to be Murray’s breakthrough year? Murray’s Australian Open record
It seems as if tennis followers have been waiting decades for British tennis ace, Andy Murray, to register his name as a Grand Slam champion on the tour.
Almost every season, the bookmakers predict the Scott will finally make a breakthrough by picking up his first major title but sadly it never happens.
The Glasgow born, Murray, has so far not excelled in Australia, except for his runner-up finish against Swiss tennis maestro, Roger Federer, last year.
Federer got the better of Murray in the title battle in straight sets to pick up his sixteenth Grand Slam crown. It was Murray’s first Australian Open final appearance. He had previously reached the final of the United States Open back in 2008 on his debut
major title run.
The right hander played some impressive tennis and surprised many as he did not lose a single set until the final four round of the 2010 Australian Open. He lost a set during his semifinal match against Marin Cilic before eventually sealing a win in the
end.
Murray also surpassed current world number one Rafael Nadal in the quarters with Rafa pulling out of the match in the third set due to injury. In the finals against Federer, the Scott, before losing 3-6, 4-6, and 6-7 did put up a good fight, taking the first
set with the help of superb shots around the court.
In the tie break, the Scott showed some power, however, it was not enough to stop the Swiss from clinching a win in the end.
Murray, who made his debut on the ATP tour back in 2005, had an early exit from the competition in 2008 when the right hander was bundled out of the event in the first round. At the hands of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who later on went all the way to the finals
before losing to Serbian Novak Djokovic.
The following season the former world number two, however, did well to successfully make his way into the semifinal round where he finally lost in a five setter epic to Rafael Nadal.
As far as his current form is concerned, the highest ranked Brit finished the 2010 year on a positive note.
He appointed Alex Corretja as his new coach and is planning to work with him through the first few months of the season. Alex’s appointment is viewed by majority of the analysts as a good sign as he will definitely help the Scott reach new heights in the
game of tennis.
According to majority of the experts, hard surfaces are Murrays best bet for grabbing his debut major crown as winning on home soil at Wimbledon puts a lot of pressure on the 23-year-old Murray.
Fred Perry was the last player from Great Britain to win the Wimbledon title back in 1936 and since then no local player has been able to emerge victorious in London.
Does Murray have the best chance to lift his first major title at the upcoming Melbourne event?
The world number five also has the advantage of coming off a long break from the tour whereas Roger Federer as well as Rafael Nadal both had a lengthy season and afterwards also played in the Australian Open warm up tournaments.
Most of the analysts have rated Murray as the third favourite player to win the title. Therefore, will the next week turn out to be Murray’s best start to the season or is it going to further add to the disappointment of the British fans?
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