Recapping 2012 rivalries: Roger Federer vs. Andy Murray – Tennis Special
British number one, Andy Murray, is an emerging tennis star desperate to bag home the world number spot.
He enjoys a lead in the head-to-head series against the Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer, who is a living tennis legend.
In the past, the British challenger was unable to handle the pressure of his higher ranked rival. The Swiss professional always dominated over his rival at the US Open in 2008 and in 2010 at the Australian Open. Nonetheless, Murray displayed a dramatic improvement
in his world rankings after the arrival of new coach, Ivan Lendl. He helped him to mature a lot as tennis professional and germinate the winning spirit.
The two professionals faced each other for the first time in the start of the season at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship. The Swiss professional displayed a remarkable serve precision during the match as he suffered a defeat at the hands of the king
of clay, Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open. The Swiss professional defeated his rival in a straight set match, 7-5, 6-4 in nearly one hour and 36 minutes.
At the All-England-Club, the Swiss veteran faced the 25-year-old tennis professional. The local challenger struggled hard to sustain his lead and attained his 17th Grand Slam title and the seventh Wimbledon trophy. The British junior secured the lead in
the first set but later faced tough consequences when Federer picked momentum. Ferrer nudged forward to consolidated a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 victory to become the world number one.
In an interview, Murray said, “the biggest win of my life. This week's been absolutely incredible. I felt so fresh on the court today. I didn't feel nervous really at all, apart from at the beginning of the match. The support's been unbelievable."
Murray proved his potential at the London 2012 Olympics. He did not give his opponent a single chance to take over. He became the first British challenger in 104 years to clinch the gold medal. On the other hand, Federer simply bagged away a silver medal
after battling against the Argentinean challenger, Juan Martin del Potro.
The two top contenders faced each other at the semi-finals of the Shanghai Rolex Master a 1000-point ATP event. They waged a battle for nearly one hour and 38 minutes and lost in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Later the young Scot encountered the Serbian number
one, Novak Djokovic, in the final.
At the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals event, Federer penned down his straight sets win, 7-6(5), 6-2 in the semi-finals. Talking to the media, Federer commented, "Of course, I was looking at having lost the last two matches against him, so I thought it was
up to me to change things around really and come up with a game plan that maybe was different than at the Olympics or Shanghai. The pressure was really on me. I'm happy with what I chose with my coaching staff today.”
Despite of Murray’s fight, the Swiss professional still rests on a higher spot. The British challenger can surely over take his rival with a powerful campaign in 2013.
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