The frenzy surrounding Andy Murray’s emergence at Wimbledon earlier this year was overwhelming. You could hardly open a newspaper without seeing his face gurning back at you. The way most fans reacted, you would be forgiven for assuming he’d won the competition, rather than been knocked out in the first week.The hype surrounding young British sporting hopes such as Murray is immense, irrespective of his success. After all, Murray’s skills are still limited, as borne out by the straight-sets defeats he suffered at the racket of Federer.This is not to say that Murray lacks the potential to succeed. A year ago, he captured the US Open junior singles title while ranked 479th on the senior ladder. In March, he became the youngest ever British Davis Cup player and as a result, he went into Wimbledon in 317th place. After becoming the first Scotsman ever to reach the third round of Wimbledon he shot up to 213th. And after reaching an ATP final this month, the youngest player to achieve this since Andre Agassi, he rocketed up to 72nd. While this falls short of Federer’s performance at this age, or even fellow young gun Rafael Nadal, it is undoubtedly an impressive climb for someone who was unknown even in Britain a year ago.Murray’s rise coincided with British tennis’ previous golden boy Tim Henman’s slide to 28th in the world rankings: a sharp fall from grace for a man who once found himself inside the top ten. When Henman has underperformed at Wimbledon he has tended to blame to media for inciting ‘public pressure’. Indeed, Henman has been quick to urge Murray to ignore the ‘hype’ and has chastised the press for increasing the pressure on Murray unnecessarily. However, it’s exactly Murray’s appetite for pressure that feeds his game.When asked about the so-called ‘hype’ Britain’s Davis Cup captain Jeremy Bates said “Andy is not going to rest now: he has tremendous drive and fortitude and he will keep going for it”. Murray’s coach Mark Petchey likened him to Wayne Rooney, a noteworthy comparison, considering not only their talent, but their temperament. Last month Murray was asked what it is he likes best about playing tennis. His answer: “I just enjoy winning. Winning is the most amazing thing. I hate losing” therein summing up the difference between himself and the current British number 1: while Henman likes to do his best, for Murray, his best will never be good enough. This is the sign of a true champion.At the moment, the world of tennis seems dominated by one name – Federer. However, Murray is still only eighteen; this leaves him plenty of time to capitalise on the injuries or misfortune of others. And you can rest assured that Murray is not the kind of player to shy away from such opportunities. Despite his preference for clay, Murray’s sheer grit and determination can give the public hope that they may see a British champion again on Wimbledon soil.ARCHIVE: 2nd week MT 2005
