Andy's form suggests he could well be the first Briton to win a Grand Slam title soon
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Andy Murray returns to Germany's Phillip Petzschner during their Round Two match of the Qatar Open in Doha yesterday. pic/ap |
Andy's form suggests he could well be the first Briton to win a Grand Slam title soon
Andy Murray, who had not fully recovered from a career-threatening wrist injury only a year ago, is now being touted as a man, who could make tennis history.
The 21-year-old World No 4 from Scotland beat both Federer and Nadal in the same tournament for the first time in Abu Dhabi recently and is now looking good enough to become the first Briton in more than 70 years to win a Grand Slam title. Yesterday, he cruised past Phillipp Petzschner of Germany in the second round winning 6-2, 6-4.
Although Murray's big wins happened in an exhibition event, his manner and bearing while defending the Qatar Open title suggest that he too believes a history-making moment may not be too far away. "When you play against the the the first time you don't know really what to expect. But when you have done it a few times you get the sort of right mindset to play against them," he said.
A questioner then made the mistake of suggesting that he had got over his fear of playing two such great legends of the sport. "Oh, it's never fear playing against anyone. It's never fear in a tennis match," Murray contradicted. It seems he's no longer concerned about trying to win the Qatar Open again, for a greater aim is to ensure his body is feeling good, and his level of play remains high for the Australian Open starting in Melbourne in 12 days.
QATAR OPEN RESULTS
R Federer bt A Seppi 6-3, 6-3;
u00a0Gael Monfils bt N Devilder 7-5, 7-6;
u00a0V Hanescu bt M Youzhny 6-2, 6-4;
Rafael Nadal bt Karol Beck 6-1, 6-2;
u00a0S Stakhovsky bt A Peya 7-5, 6-3;
u00a0P K'schreiber bt K Vliegen 6-4, 6-7, 6-4
