World Tennis Magazine

Unique Tennis Perspectives

british men

Can Andy Murray be the Modern Day Perry or Doherty?

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It was 107 years ago on August 27, 1903 that Laurie Doherty became the first foreigner player – and the first man from Britain – to win the U.S. men’s singles title.

Since Doherty’s triumph, only one other British man has won the national singles championship of the United States. That man was, of course, the great Fred Perry.

Perry, the icon of British tennis and the three-time Wimbledon champion, actually won the first of his eight career major singles titles at the U.S. Championships in 1933, preventing the first-ever “Grand Slam” from being achieved by Jack Crawford, the Australian, French and Wimbledon champion that year who fell to Perry in five sets in the final 6-3, 11-13, 4-6, 6-0, 6-1.

In 2010, will Andy Murray make it a trio of British men to win the U.S. title?

The men’s singles draw, made and released Thursday by the USTA, proved favorable to the Scot. Seeded No. 4, he opens against Lukas Lacko of Slovakia and could face No. 20 seed Sam Querrey in the fourth round – a player who edged him earlier this summer in a tight final of Los Angeles. Should Murray get past a potential match with Querrey, he could face in the quarterfinals Tomas Berdych, who has had an unimpressive summer hard court season after reaching the Wimbledon final, or No. 12 seed Mikhail Youzhny or No. 18 John Isner, should his ankle injury heal in time.

Murray is in the half of the draw as No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal, whom many experts say can’t handle the fast hard courts and win the US Open. Murray beat Nadal in the semifinals of the 2008 US Open and took him out in the semifinals of Toronto three weeks ago 6-3, 6-4. Nadal faces a difficult road to the semifinals, possibly facing the tricky German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round, and the fast-serving Ivan Ljubicic, who beat Nadal on hard courts earlier this year in the semifinals of Indian Wells, in the fourth round. In the quarters, Nadal could potentially face off with the dangerous floater David Nalbandian, who won in Washington, D.C. earlier this summer, or David Ferrer, who defeated Nadal in the round of 16 of the U.S. Open in 2007, or Fernando Verdasco, who also excels on faster services and extended Nadal in a record five hour, 14 minute Australian Open semifinal in 2009. Should Nadal make it through that mine field, Murray could be waiting in the semifinals. Should Murray reach the final, Roger Federer would be a likely opponent, with all due respect to Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Nikolay Davydenko, Mardy Fish and Robin Soderling. Murray leads the head-to-head with Federer 7-5 (5-3 on outdoor hard courts), but losing both major finals to the Swiss maestro in Australia earlier this year and in Flushing in 2008. Would a third time be a charm?

I was speaking with Neil Harman, the esteemed tennis writer from The Times of London Thursday about their great hope. Murray has said publicly that he rates the US Open as his favorite tournament in tennis and Harman said this is likely due to the fact that Murray is not under the pressure microscope as he is at Wimbledon, where the scrutiny and pressure to win for the homeland can be overwhelming and unsettling. Fond memories of winning the junior title in Flushing in 2004 may also contribute to Murray’s good vibe around the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center.

Doherty, one of the great British tennis heroes of the turn of the century, was fresh off of wrestling the Davis Cup from American hands for the first time ever when he broke through to win the U.S. title in 1903. As documented in my book ON THIS DAY IN TENNIS HISTORY ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.TennisHistoryBook.com), Doherty defeated American Bill Larned 6-0, 6-3, 10-8 in the men’s singles final played at the Newport Casino – the current home to the International Tennis Hall of Fame – in Newport, R.I. The New York Times described the anticipated and excited pre-match atmosphere of the British-American clash, stating, “When the rivals appeared and began their preliminary working out, the interest reached a high pitch and the tension was as severe in the gallery as it was among the players.”

A SWEET SIXTEEN FOR FEDERER

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It’s a sweet sixteen for Roger Federer.

The Swiss maestro won his record-extending 16th major singles title Sunday, defeating Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (13-11) to win the 2010 Australian Open and further extend his legacy as the greatest tennis player of all-time. The win marked Federer’s fourth Australian Open title, tying him with Andre Agassi for the most Aussie Open men’s singles titles in the Open Era (since 1968). The win was Federer’s first Australian title since 2007, after losing in the semifinals in 2008 to Novak Djokovic and in last year’s final to Rafael Nadal.

Federer’s “greatest of all-time” tennis resume now includes;

  • Six Wimbledon titles (2003-2007, 2010)
  • Five U.S. Open titles (2004-2008)
  • Four Australian Open titles (2004, 2006-2007, 2010)
  • The 2009 French Open title
  • 2008 Olympic Gold Medal in men’s doubles
  • 62 career ATP singles titles
  • 268 weeks ranked No. 1 as of Monday, February 1, including a record 237 consecutive weeks
  • 22 major final appearances – an all-time record
  • 23 straight appearances in major semifinals – an all-time record

“I’m over the moon about winning this again,” said Federer. “I played some of the best tennis of my life over the last two weeks.”

Federer was able to dictate play against the Scotsman, surprisingly off his weaker backhand wing, in the two-hour, 41-minute final. Murray served for the third set at 5-3, but was unable to convert, and held five set points in the tie-breaker but was unable to force the fourth-set and extend the match.

Murray’s loss prevented him from ending the 74-year drought by British men in Grand Slam tournaments. The last Brit to win a major singles title was Fred Perry, who last won the 1936 U.S. Championships.

Said Federer to Murray in the post-match ceremony, “You are too good a player not to win a Grand Slam so don’t worry about it.”

Murray was emotional in his post-match speech, choking up and on the verge of tears in disappointment. He quipped of Federer’s tearful speech after losing to Rafael Nadal in last year’s Australian Open final, “I can cry like Roger, it’s a shame I can’t play like him.”

Federer was also competing in his record-extending 22nd major final. Murray was the first British man to reach the Australian Open men’s final since John Lloyd, who lost the 1977 Australian final to Vitas Gerulaitis in five sets. Murray’s first and only other Grand Slam tournament final came at the 2008 U.S. Open, where he lost to Federer 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.

Despite the loss, Murray still leads the head-to-head with Federer 6-5 — Federer’s 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 win in the final of the 2008 US Open being the only previous match the two have played in a major tournament and their only other best-of-five set match meeting.

FEDERER vs. MURRAY – WHAT IS ON THE LINE

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By Bob Stockton

It will be Roger Federer versus Andy Murray in the men’s singles final at the 2010 Australian Open, after Federer thumped a not-in-form Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in sulky semifinal Friday night in Melbourne.

Will this final serve as a changing of the guard in men’s tennis? Or will Federer’s reign of terror over men’s tennis continue?

Federer will be seeking his 16th major singles title and will play in his 22nd career major final – both all-time men’s records – and will look to further cement his legacy as the greatest tennis player of all time. Federer will be seeking his fourth Australian title that will tie him with Andre Agassi for the most Aussie men’s singles titles in the Open era.

Murray will look to break through and win his first major title and end the 74-year absence for British men on major event champion scrolls. Fred Perry was the last British man to win a major title when he last won the 1936 U.S. title. He is the last Brit to win the Australian title when he won Down Under in 1934. Murray is the first British man to reach the Australian Open men’s final since John Lloyd, who lost the 1977 Australian final to Vitas Gerulaitis in five sets. Murray’s first and only other Grand Slam tournament final came at the 2008 U.S. Open, where he lost to Federer 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.

Tennis pundits have tried to predict when the Federer era would start to end – and the chatter will continue heading into this final. In 2008, when Federer lost his No. 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal and “only” managed to win one major title during the year, experts predicted that his eventual downfall had begun. Federer re-bounded in 2009 to reach all four major finals and won his elusive first French title – earning Federer a career Grand Slam – while also winning his sixth Wimbledon title. However, Federer faltered in the 2009 US Open final, falling to rising Argentine star Juan Martin del Potro, in another match that could have signified the start of the changing of the guard.

“If Murray wins, there will be legitimate talk about him being No 1 in the world,” said Patrick McEnroe on ESPN2. “I am so excited for this final. It has the making of being an absolute classic.”

Murray leads the head-to-head with Federer 6-4 — Federer winning the last meeting between the two at the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. Federer’s 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 win in the final of the 2008 US Open is the only match the two have played in a major tournament and their only best-of-five set match meeting.

Brad Gilbert, Murray’s former coach, now with ESPN2, said on air that Murray has been gunning for Federer and wants to take out the world No. 1 in a major final even more after watching del Potro beat the Swiss maestro in last September’s US Open final. Gilbert said that Murray expected that he would be the first of the next generation of players to knock off Federer in a major final. Now in Australia, Murray has his chance. Gilbert also pointed out that Federer won his first major title at age 22 at Wimbledon in 2003, playing in his 17th career major tournament and that Murray is now 22 and the 2010 Australian Open is his 17th career major.

Against Tsonga, Federer said used very little energy in winning in one hour, 28 minutes. He lost only 15 points in 13 service games in the rout. Tsonga could not muster the same performance from his 2008 Australian Open semifinal appearance when he destroyed world No. 2 Rafael Nadal in straight sets Quipped McEnroe, “Talk about a stress free semifinal,” Said Gilbert, “This was blow out city, really disappointing. Murray’s practice was harder than that match today.”

The 88-minute semifinal benefitted Federer heading into Sunday’s final as Murray enters the championship match with 24 hours more rest than Federer, having won his semifinal Thursday night against Marin Cilic. Murray, however, needed four sets to subdue the Croatian, after losing the first set.

In his post-match interview with ESPN2’s Darren Cahill, Federer said he thinks the first set will be key against Murray, saying “The first set is more crucial for him than me, because he has never won a Grand Slam before.”

“I am not surprised he made it to the final,” Federer continued about Murray. “He has loads of expectations, but he has handled it well. He will go out there believing he can beat me.”

McEnroe analyzed the Federer-Murray final to be played between the two best movers in men’s tennis and two of the best defenders on this court surface. The forecast in Melbourne for Sunday is for temperatures in the high 90s, creating hot and fast conditions, which according to Gilbert, will help Murray, who likes the faster conditions more than Federer. Gilbert predicted Murray to win the final in five sets. McEnroe gave Federer the slight edge. Said McEnroe of Federer and Murray, “They both want a piece of each other.”