Down Under: Andymonium?
Despite Laura Robson’s inability to actually win a match, Great Britain is closing in on the Hopman Cup final with some suspiciously good rapport between Murray and Robson.
As the tennis was undramatic all round, just a few thoughts on Toothface for the Australian Open:
Will Andy Murray win the Australian Open?
It’s a matter of taste. I prefer craft over power, aesthetics over physics. I’d take a steely mentality over brimming talent. As far as personality’s concerned, it’s not something I care a great deal about, nor is it a missing element in my opinions of a player.
All that leaves Andy Murray falling somewhere in limbo.
He’s crafty. He’s not the most graceful athlete out there, but you’ve got to appreciate the cat-like movement around court. As far as mentality’s concerned, he has probably equal amounts of dedication and talent. He’s never really overawed by the likes of Federer and Nadal. Personality-wise, 80% of the time I find him whiny, prepubescent and down-right miserable.
So let’s just say that he has a few boxes ticked and a few crossed.
My overall opinions of Murray has probably clouded my judgment of his chances at the slams over the past year. But unlike at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open last year, I find myself liking Mandy’s odds at this year in Melbourne.
Unlike last year, he’s not the talk of the town this time – the annointed “Fedal Challenger du jour”. That title, just like the No 4 ranking, will belong to del Poop once he shows his face in the new decade.
But I can’t help but feel that the almost low-key appearance by Murray in Perth will only help him in his preparation. Instead of heading into the Oz Open with a string of Mid-East victories and the full-weight of expectations and betting odds, Murray will now play in Melbourne with a smile and a pair of well-moisturised hands after a week of light-hearted teamwork with Robson. Forgive me for thinking that this might actually rejuvenate him.
On top of that, Murray’s records against Federer, del Potro and Djokovic speak for themselves. At the age of 22, he’ll surely realise that the time for him to step it up on the big stage is now. As his last and sole slam final came at the US Open of 2008, the tennis world is getting impatient for him to make a second splash.
One last thought – no extreme heat forecasted for the Australian Open this year. Make of that what you will.
18 responses to “Down Under: Andymonium?”
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Who the hell is dootsiez?
Melbournian lawyer. Blogger. Unapologetic Federer tragic.
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All I need is a picket fence ... 
Sorry D .. I just can’t bring myself to ever like this cat.. It’s funny Laura Robson has done more for Andy in the p.r. department in one week than he’s been able muster his entire career.. She’s been able to somehow transfer peoples goo goo gaga feeling for her over to him..(if her game matures as expected shell be an absolute star)….. When she’s back to the challengers in a few weeks evil toothface will reappear.. Trust..
ditto…just cant and just wont warm to this dour faced guy.As for the AO, id rather root for Elf or prefer Elf’s chances.Of course i would want nothing more than Fed to bring home the crown.Hehe.
no extreme heat…YAY
you know, robson really brings out the endearing quality in Mandy. He plays the awkward older brother character so well. Dour, yet protective of the younger siblings, but poke him enough and he may actually crack a smile.
I might actually cheer for him at the AO (unless he’s playing the Rog of course)
No extreme heat = good for Djokovic and Murray.
And apparently – you. LOL
You’ll cheer for Muzz at the AO? Err … I’ll believe it when I see it.
Awww..Doots, I think you’re a closet Muzz fan 😀
Nothing wrong with that. I suspected it when you were kinda pissed he didn’t get to the semis of the WTF and Elf did.
Closet Muzz fan? *splutters raspberry cordial*
I prefer Murray’s tennis to Elf, and Elf’s personality to Muzz. I prefer tennis over personality. So guess how those two rank on my scale of “like-ness”.
Maturity and age are only partially correlated. And 22 is only 22. And this is the guy whose ex had a problem with his ps3 habits (ridiculous, ps3 means at least he ain’t cheating). You’re just trying to Simon Reed him, aren’t you? Having said that I think he already made that maturity leap two years ago.
“You’re just trying to Simon Reed him, aren’t you?”
Am I that transparent?
‘Despite Laura Robson’s inability to actually win a match’
Hehe,in fairness she’s still only ranked 400 in the world 😛
Why I should be fair to a gal born in Melb and playing for the Brits is a whole other question. 😛
Hehe,ooh zing! 😛
In fairness to Murray (ok, I’m a declared fan) he grew out of his angsty teenage shit a few years back, and the dour, whiny stuff is his facing-the-press face. The media have assigned him this ‘dour’ slot because that’s what’s expected of Scots, so his funny side doesn’t get much airtime. But it’s there. On court I don’t see he’s any more peremptory than a slew of top players, but that’s a matter of taste. And I’d rather have Andy’s self-flagellation than Novak’s drama queen mime show to the crowd every time he screws up a point.
I wonder sometimes if it is a cultural thing. Andy’s droning monotone drives people nuts (Marat got away with his droning because he was Marat) but to my British ears he’s being deadpan. Meanwhile US fans seem to love Querrey for his ‘humorous tweets’ but I can’t shake the impression he’s an opinionated dullard jock. Perhaps cultural nuances are more important than we think.
I’m still not convinced his game is good enough to win a Slam. Yes, he has a lot of variety and is fairly quick around the court but sometimes he’s too passive. And he can mentally check out of games too at times.
Oh I dunno, his record against Fed, Djoko and Del Potro are too good to ignore. And he’s one of the few people with a record of beating Nadal in a best-of-5 set match. I think Mandy’s game is where it’s supposed to be, whether he can find the extra bits of guts and fight he needs is another matter.
i feel obliged (as a rafa fan) to point out that the “5-set” match murray won was not played in a single day (if you’re referring to the u s open)…so he hasn’t successfully outlasted rafa in 5 straight sets…okay, you can say nit-picking on my part — but there is a difference…
YAHOO on the “no extreme heat” — now i’ll just hope for some wind…
I know what you mean xta, what I was referring to was taking 3 sets off Rafa. 😉
Windy days in summer are bad – bushfires, wreaks havoc with a lot of players’ serves too.
He does have a good record against those guys but I think we all know from last year’s USO mens final, that head-to-head records can mean nothing sometimes.
I’m only dubious about his Slam chances because of his Slam losses last year. Even though two of them were against inspired opponents, it was the loss against Cilic at the USO that was a bit suprising. At times in that match, he looked like he had given up and didn’t care anymore. And if you have that mentality, you won’t be winning any Slams
well i sure don’t wish for bushfires…i was selfishly wanting wind because it generally favors rafa…but no fires…definitely no fires…