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Andy Murray

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Andy Murray
File:Andrewmurraytennisplayer.jpg
Country (sports)United Kingdom Great Britain
ResidenceDunblane, Scotland
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Turned pro2005
RetiredActive
PlaysRight
Prize money$442,761 (US$)
Singles
Career record28 - 25
Career titles1
Highest ranking41 (March 20, 2006)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open1st (2006)
French Open1st (2006)
Wimbledon4th (2006)
US Open2nd (2005)
Doubles
Career record5 - 11
Career titles0
Highest ranking221 (June 19, 2006)
Last updated on: June 26, 2006.

Andrew "Andy" Murray (born 15 May 1987 in Dunblane, Stirling), is a Scottish tennis player. He prefers to play on clay courts, but has had most impact on hard courts. Murray is 185 cm tall and generally uses a double-handed backhand. In December 2005, he won the BBC Scottish Sports Personality of the Year Award. He became the United Kingdom's best ranked tennis player on 27 February 2006, until overtaken by Greg Rusedski on the 15 May 2006. As of after Wimbledon Andy will be the United Kingdom's best ranked player once again and reach a new career high ranking.

Early life

In 1996, age 8, Murray survived the Dunblane Massacre, during which 16 children and their teacher were killed at his primary school. He hid under his headmaster's desk as the massacre occurred. Murray, however, says he does not remember any of it.

Early career

He won the Orange Bowl in Florida at the age of 12. In September 2004, aged 17, he won the prestigious U.S. Open tennis Boys' title. Two weeks later, he found himself a member of Great Britain's squad for the Davis Cup match versus Austria, but he didn't play in the team's 3-2 loss. In December he was named the Young Sports Personality of the Year at a BBC awards ceremony.

Into the limelight

In March 2005, he was called up to play doubles for Great Britain's Davis Cup team to play against Israel, and became Britain's youngest ever Davis Cup player in doing so. Murray and David Sherwood produced a surprise win over the Israeli doubles team, who at the time were the World number eight pairing and had reached the Wimbledon semi-final in 2003. This helped Britain to a 3-2 victory.

The Scots reached the semi-finals of the Boys' tournament at the French Open, losing to Croatian Marin Cilic, and this would prove to be his last foray into the Junior events at the Grand Slams.

2005 - the breakthrough year

Stepping up to the seniors

In April, just prior to the Junior French Open (where he played well, but not spectacularly), Murray turned professional and played his first senior tournament when he was given a wild card to an ATP International Series Gold clay-court event in Barcelona, his adopted home town. He lost in the first round to Jan Hernych. In May, he played a Challenger in Dresden, winning his first round in straight sets 6-3 6-3, and losing his second to an almost identical scoreline, 6-4 6-3. Neither matches were against notable opposition.

The Barcelona Tournament gave Murray his first senior ranking point, and he was soon handed a second wild card for the Stella Artois championship at Queens. There he beat Santiago Ventura and highly-rated American Taylor Dent first and second round. In the third round, he lost to sixth seed Thomas Johansson in three sets after picking up an injury sustained while collapsing with cramp just two points away from victory. This ankle injury forced him to withdraw from another grass warm-up for Wimbledon, the Nottingham Open.

Wimbledon 2005

Andrew Murray's performance in tournaments such as the French Open and the Queen's Club Championships was rewarded with a Wimbledon wildcard. He went into his first senior grand slam match at Wimbledon 2005 ranked 374th in the world, comfortably beating George Bastl - ranked over 150 places above him - in straight sets. In his second round match he beat the fourteenth seed Radek Štěpánek, also in straight sets, a match he had been widely expected to lose. He was the first Scottish person in the Open era to reach round three at Wimbledon, and was the only Briton remaining in the men's or ladies' singles championship. Murray's run in Wimbledon 2005 came to an end when he was beaten by David Nalbandian after Murray led by two sets to love, but as Murray showed visible signs of fatigue in the fourth and fifth set, Nalbandian was victorious by three sets to two. This match was one of several incidents that led to comments about his physical condition and ability to last long matches, something predicted to improve with age and training.

After the match against Štěpánek, Murray showed typical teenage embarrassment in his mum with this quote:

"I was pretty happy with the way I played and you could see that by the celebrations and my mum making an idiot of herself".

While the British media and public bemoaned the fact that this was the first Wimbledon for many years without any home representation in the second week, this was not technically correct - Murray and his mixed doubles partner Shahar Peer of Israel played in their first round match the following Monday. The match, which was postponed to the second week due to rain delays, was somewhat of an anticlimax with Murray and Peer losing in two sets.

During the tournament he also managed to get Henman Hill christened as Murray Mound/Mount and Murrayfield (in reference to Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh) due to his performances, and Henmania became Andymonium - but whether these names will stick is unknown.

Mark Petchey, who had been coaching Murray through the early part of that grass court season was then confirmed as the player's full time coach, Murray stating:

"I'm so pleased to have Mark as my coach, I respect him a great deal. He has helped me massively over the last few weeks and I am excited to work with him moving forward."

US Hardcourts

Murray set off to another grass court tournament, the Hall of Fame Championships, Rhode Island - a title currently held by Murray's Davis Cup teammate Greg Rusedski. The promising youngster got a wild card to this event. He reached the last 16 before being defeated by Anthony Dupuis. He then went on to win the Aptos, California Challenger Series hardcourt event without dropping a set, beating American Rajeev Ram in the final. He followed up claiming his first title by competing in the RCA Championship International Series event where he gained a wild card entry. He defeated American Jesse Witten 6-4 6-2 in the first round and lost to seeded American Mardy Fish in the second round. He continued to perform well in Challengers, with quarter-final appearances at Granby and Vancouver before taking his second title at Binghamton.

A wildcard afforded him entry to the Cincinnati ATP Master Series event where he again caused an upset by defeating the big-serving American, Taylor Dent. However, in his first match against a top-10 ranked opponent, Marat Safin proved too strong and beat Andy 6-4 1-6 6-1. Still, an improved ranking of 122 was his reward. His goal was to enter the world top 100 by the end of the year.

US Open 2005

Andrew Murray did not receive a Wildcard entry for the 2005 US Open, therefore he had to go through the qualifiers. He succeeded and played his first match in the US Open 2005 on Tuesday 30th August. His opponent was Andrei Pavel, the Romanian and formerly seeded 13th. It was a close match, with Murray winning the first set, then Pavel winning the second and third, with Murray then going on to win a fourth. In the early stages of the fifth set, Murray complained of being in pain and he suddenly vomited on the court, to the surprise of the audience. There was a 21 minute break as Murray left the court and the court was made suitable for play. Murray then returned and it began to look like Pavel was creeping back into the game after Murray's illness. However, Murray quickly regained his stride and won the final set. He played the second round on Friday, 2nd September against the Frenchman, Arnaud Clement. Many predicted Murray would win, but at first it seemed very unlikely, as he was 2 sets down. Murray later went on to win the 3rd and 4th set. But again, injury affected him and he received a slight injury in his leg. He went on to lose the 5th set 6-0. This was a blow to Murray, as he would have ascended into the top 100 rankings for the first time in his life if he had won that match. However, he still increased his ranking greatly from its previous number.

Thailand Open

On the 29th September he finally reached the top 100, when he beat Robin Soderling in the Thailand Open. He then defeated Robby Ginepri, recent semi-finalist at Flushing Meadows. He reached his first ATP final by beating home favourite Paradorn Srichaphan in the semi-finals. He lost to World no.1 Roger Federer in the final, but was by no means overwhelmed, at one point leading in the second set. Nevertheless he received his first piece of silverware in an adult tournament for being runner-up and also received a cheque for 45,000 US Dollars. His world ranking after the Thailand Open was 72.

Ethias Trophy

Murray then flew back from Asia to fulfill a commitment made to the Ethias Trophy, an indoor Challenger event in Mons, Belgium, where he was given 7th seeding in a 32-man event (Had points won in the previous week's tournaments counted, he would have been 4th). After good straight-sets wins over Ivo Heuberger of Switzerland and Gregory Carraz of France (during which the match suffered a 49 minute delay due to lighting failure), he met top-50 ranked Belgian Xavier Malisse in the third round.

In the match itself, Murray lost a close first set 7-5, before he pulled his left hamstring, and while the injury was not serious (his physio later said that he expected it to keep him out for no more than a fortnight), Murray decided there was no need to gamble on a relatively unimportant event, and withdrew from the match.

Davidoff Swiss Indoors, Basel

Murray returned from a short injury layoff to play at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel. Murray was drawn in the first round against British No.1, Tim Henman, who was seeded sixth for the tournament, a match that attracted a great deal of media attention in the UK as it was the first time the two had met in professional competition and was seen as a changing of eras for British tennis. Murray won a tight match 6-2 5-7 7-6 (7-4), the match being screened live on BBC Two television in the UK, which would never normally have occurred for such a comparatively minor tournament. He then followed this up by winning his second round match against eventual Paris TMS champion, Tomáš Berdych (CZE), the match again going to 3 sets, the score being 6-4 2-6 6-4. This moved him in to the quarter finals where he was defeated by fourth seed Fernando González (CHI), 4-6 6-3 1-6.

2006

Adelaide International

Murray started 2006 playing at the Adelaide International, winning his first round match against Italian qualifier Paolo Lorenzi. He lost the first set but hit back to win 3-6 6-0 6-2. However, Murray lost 7-6 4-6 6-1 to world number 24 Tomáš Berdych in the second round.

Heineken Open, Auckland, New Zealand

Murray won his first round match 7-5 6-2 against Dane Kenneth Carlsen before losing 6-3 7-6 to Mario Ancic in the second round.

Australian Open

Murray lost 6-1 6-3 6-3 in the first round to Juan Ignacio Chela, who went on to beat home favorite Lleyton Hewitt in the next round. Frustration got the better of Murray in this match as he was warned several times for racquet abuse.

After the match Murray criticized the British media for expecting too much from him at such an early age.

SAP Open, San Jose

Murray won his first round match against Mardy Fish with ease, 6-2 6-2. He followed this up with another straight sets victory in the second round, defeating Taipei's Yeu-Tzuoo Wang 6-4 6-2. Murray then defeated Sweden's Robin Söderling in the quarter-finals, 4-6 7-5 6-4. He then beat Andy Roddick in the semi-finals 7-5 7-5, before beating Lleyton Hewitt in the final 2-6 6-1 7-6 in a thrilling match to take his first ATP Tour title. These were probably his two highest profile wins to date.

Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, Memphis

Murray won his first round match against Rainer Schuettler in three sets, 1-6 7-5 6-2. He followed this up with another three set victory in the second round, defeating South Africa's Rik de Voest 7-6(4) 3-6 7-5. Murray then met Sweden's Robin Söderling in the quarter-finals, and the Swede exacted revenge for the San Jose encounter winning in straight sets 6-1 6-4.

Tennis Channel Open, Las Vegas

Murray lost his first round match against Tommy Robredo in straight sets, 6-2 6-2.

Pacific Life Open, Indian Wells

In only his second ATP Masters Series event Murray won his first round match against Vasilis Mazarakis from Greece in straight sets, 6-2 6-1. He then took his second round opponent, 5th seed Nikolay Davydenko to three sets, losing 6-1 3-6 6-3.

NASDAQ-100 Open, Miami

Murray lost his first round match against Stanislas Wawrinka from Switzerland in three sets, 7-5 3-6 6-4.

Davis Cup Euro-Asia Group One, vs Serbia and Montenegro

Murray played his first match in the doubles rubber after being ruled out of the opening days singles through injury. He partnered Greg Rusedski as Great Britain lost 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 to go 2-1 down in the tie. This turned out to be Murray's only appearance in the tie after Rusedski lost the first return singles rubber to end the tie as a contest, Murray being replaced by Arvind Parmar in the remaining dead rubber.

Masters Series Monte Carlo, Monte Carlo

Murray lost his first clay court match against Jean-Rene Lisnard from Monaco in three sets, 4-6 7-6(5) 7-5. This was despite being a set and a break up, as his cramping problems resurfaced again.

Open Seat 2006, Barcelona

Murray won his first round match 4-6 6-4 6-2 against Marcel Granollers-Pujol from Spain before losing 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 to David Ferrer in the second round.

Internazionali d'Italia, Rome

Murray lost in his first round match in straight sets, 6-4 6-4 to Filippo Volandri.

Masters Series Hamburg, Hamburg

Murray won his first round match in straight sets, 6-4 6-1 to Gaël Monfils. Murray ended up losing in the next round in straight sets, 6-3 6-3 to James Blake.

Roland Garros

Murray lost his first round match in five sets to Gaël Monfils 4-6 7-6(2) 6-1 2-6 1-6. Injuries bothered Murray in this match.

London/Queen's Club

Murray crashed out of the first round against Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia in 3 sets 6-7(3) 6-3 2-6. Frustration got to Murray in this match.

Nottingham Open

Murray reached the Quarter finals, having beaten two strong opponents, Tursunov and Mirnyi in straight sets in rounds 1 & 2. He was knocked out by Andreas Seppi. After a tight first two sets, he lost the final set to 1.

Wimbledon 2006

Murray started Wimbledon on a high note, thrashing Nicolas Massu (who had extended Roger Federer four sets in France weeks earlier) 6-1 6-4 6-4 to set up a second round tie with Julien Benneteau.[1], a match he managed to win easily.[2] Murray's third round opponent was Andy Roddick, Wimbledon finallist the previous two years, and whom he had defeated earlier in the year on hardcourts. Murray proved himself again, this time on grass, with a score of 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 6-4.[3].

In the fourth round, Murray was beaten by Marcos Baghdatis, as the 21 year old Greek Cypriot took a 3-0 set victory, 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-2). [4]

Titles (1)

Legend
Grand Slam (0)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
ATP Masters Series (0)
ATP Tour (1)
Titles by Surface
Hard (1)
Clay (0)
Grass (0)
Carpet (0)

Singles (1)

No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. 19 February, 2006 San Jose, United States Hard Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) 2-6 6-1 7-6

Singles Finalist (1)


Miscellaneous

  • Before all his first four major matches on the senior tour (v. Dent - which he won, Johansson - where he was two points away from winning, Štěpánek - which he won and Nalbandian - which he lost from 2-0 up) he has predicted/expected to lose, stating this publicly, showing mental shrewdness - some say.
  • Murray has vowed to sign all autographs he is asked for - having been ignored by his idol Andre Agassi after a Wimbledon match as a child.
  • Having been born and bred in Scotland, he becomes hugely annoyed when ignorant - often American - journalists refer to him as English. He has made it clear however that he has no issue with being cited as British and should not be seen as a Scottish nationalist. However, during the 2006 Wimbledon Championships he notably sported a wristband depicting the Scottish flag in all his matches. In a press conference prior to their meeting at the same tournament, American player Andy Roddick mistakenly referred to Murray as being from Ireland.
  • Murray is a big football fan, supports Hibernian F.C. and has an interest in FC Barcelona. He appeared on Saturday morning programme Soccer AM wearing an FC Barcelona shirt.
  • Murray is currently dating Kim Sears, the daughter of Daniela Hantuchova's former coach Nigel Sears.

References

  1. ^ "Murray shines in Wimbledon opener", BBC Sport, 27 June 2006. URL accessed on 1 July 2006.
  2. ^ "Murray wraps up Benneteau victory", BBC Sport, 30 June 2006. URL accessed on 1 July 2006.
  3. ^ "Brilliant Murray shocks Roddick", BBC Sport, 1 July 2006. URL accessed on 1 July 2006.
  4. ^ "Tame Murray beaten by Baghdatis", BBC Sport, 3 July 2006. URL accessed on 3 July 2006.

Official

Fansites

Reference

  • Murray Mound - Macmillan English Dictionary Word of the Week (30th June 2006)
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