U.S. Open Day 3: Andy Murray vs. Lukas Lacko
The Fourth seeded, Andrew Murray of The Great Britain will face Lukas Lacko of Slovakia in the 3rd day of U.S. Open 2010 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York on Wednesday.
Experts are saying that this upcoming match will not be tough for the British No.1 Andrew Murray and hopefully he will perform exceptionally well. The Briton has reached two Grand Slam finals and was the runner-up to Roger Federer both times.
Andy Murray has fanned the fires of expectation from the public throughout the world after his impressive performances throughout 2010, where he seemed to get stronger and stronger as the tournaments progressed. Murray is confident that his journey to the final of U.S.Open 2010 will continue.
The most vital part of Murray’s game that has made people sit up and take notice is the form on his own serve although he has worked hard since 2008 on improving his game. Alex Corretja is currently his main coach.
The Scottish boy gave an impressive performance throughout the year 2010. This has resulted in an increase in his number of fans and investors. The world No.4 started with Hopman Cup where he progressed to the final but was beaten by Spain. He was seeded fifth in the Australian Open, where he defeated world No.2 Rafael Nadal in the semi final but was unfortunately lost to World No.1 Roger Federer in the final.
Similarly Murray’s performance was equally tremendous during the second Grand Slam of the French Open. In the 1st round he defeated Richard Gasquet; he fought from 2 sets down to win the final set. In the 2nd round it took 4 sets and 2 days to defeat Juan Ignacio Chela. In the 3rd round Murray could not make it and lost to Marcos Baghdatis, something which Murray was not familiar to in the last French Open quarter finals. Murray again lost to Tomas Berdych in straight sets in the 4th round.
In the 3rd Grand Slam of the year, Murray’s performance was viewed by Queen Elizabeth 2 in the second round where he defeated Jarkko Nieminen by a score line of 6-3 6-4 6-2. But once again lost to Rafael Nadal in the semi finals.
Andrew Murray is usually noted for his unique playing style. He is basically a defensive counter puncher. It was once said by Paul Annacone who is one of the world’s most famous coaches that, “May be the best counterpuncher on tour today.” His remarkable solid ground strokes with low errors are his strong point. His high and extra ordinary speed helps him to defend himself. Some call him a pusher as well because according to some experts he lacks offensive weapons and his playing style is quite passive. His return during the game and his ability to block back fast serves helps him to construct more points. Murray is considered as one of the most intelligent players on the court.
Murray prefers clay courts but his latest tour shows that hard courts are best for this Scottish player. He is working hard to improve his clay court game since 2008.
Comparatively Lukas Lacko’s tennis career is quite short. His current ranking is at No. 71. The Slovakian tennis player was defeated by Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open 2010. He played and won the longest match of his career in the first round at 2010 French Open. The 4 hour and 56 minutes match against American, Michael Yani broke the record for the most games played in the French Open till now.
Lacko played in the 2010 Atlanta Tennis Championships and defeated former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt while advancing to the quarterfinals.
The upcoming match is really a big round for both the players especially, for Lacko. The spectators from all over the world expect both the players to give their best in the tournament and are hoping that they will come out with good results. Nonetheless, the bar of expectations is a bit higher regarding Andy Murray’s performance.
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