Andy Believes

Thumbs up indeed.

Neutral Omes: 

One thing I’ve always admired about Andy Murray is the belief he has in himself. Don’t let the grimaces and growls, shoe-lace attacks and sole-smacks on the court fool you – he doesn’t genuinely believe he’s rubbish. That habitual self-deprecation ensues because for every unforced (or indeed forced error) he makes, Andy strongly believes he could have, and definitely should have done better, idiot!

And that’s why he’s one of those guys that relishes a challenge. Whether it’s zapping Novak Djokovic’s winning streak - few players would have been as audacious as he was in taking it to red hot Novak (who was on match no. 37 in the streak at that time) the way he did in the semifinals of Rome (we won’t speak of the losing-despite-being-two-points-away-from-victory malarkey); or boosting the number on his side of a losing head to head battle against Rafa Nadal, bagel and all, to capture the 2011 Tokyo title. Andy Murray isn’t scared of playing anyone. This attitude is why after any loss the first thing you hear Andy say is how fast he’ll be back in the gym - as if to say “there’s always a way, I’m up for the next one”. When he takes to the court, he’s one of those few players that always believes he will win - whether he does is a different matter - but the self assurance is there.

So then how can a guy who believes in himself as much as you claim struggle with aggressive play so much? I hear you say. Well kind fellow, lack of belief in your ability to pull out a win against any player on any given day is different from the lack of belief you have in a certain playing style that’s not necessarily your go-to one - Andy doesn’t suffer from the former. And sometimes, when you face the best defenders in the game, your just not allowed to be aggressive. While in these cases it may be more difficult to win playing defense, for Andy it’s never ever far fetched.

Andy Murray may believe in himself, but I'm not sure he believes that statue is himself.

Much like Federer, Andy has what I would call a ‘decent reserve of natural confidence’ which stems from this deep rooted self-belief, and is different from the sort of confidence that grows and shrinks with form. Other guys like Rafa, believe it or not, need to keep reminding themselves they’re the best with match-play - without which self-doubt can easily creep in. I’m not saying Andy is immune from self-doubt (or indeed that Rafa lacks self-belief), neither am I ignoring the fact that Andy does tune out sometimes and never fails to post those resident questionable losses. But they never make him feel like he’s only as good as the matches he wins, and even when the big loss of 2010 in Melbourne Park saw him lose it for a while, I still maintain it never affected the underlying belief he had in himself.   

It’s interesting, not to mention very revealing that the main reason Andy is happy with his new no. 3 ranking (surpassing Roger Federer for the first time) following a flawless Asian swing, is literally because that’s the best he can do this year due to Rafa and Novak’s stellar results. In his post finals interview with Sky Sports at Shanghai, he stated that he was always aiming for the no. 1 spot at the beginning of the year: 

“[The no.3] is not something that I aimed for at the start of the year – you want to try and finish no. 1 if you can - and after US Open that just wasn’t possible, so I just re-assessed my goals and wanted to try and finish the year no. 3.”

So he’ll take the no.3 but he’s hungry for better. Yes every top player aims for that no. 1 spot, but it just seems Andy genuinely can’t imagine it won’t happen for him. He’s king of the post-Slam season so far, and if he takes this form to 2012 there’s no reason why, much like Novak did this year, he won’t perform the way he believed he could all along. 

(Pics: Getty)

Sam Stosur: 2011 US Open Champ

Neutral Omes:

For me, Sunday's ladies' final was more about Samantha Stosur who played the best match of her life, and less about Serena Williams who didn't conduct herself in the best of manners. 

Stosur played a flawless match. Her movement was impeccable, she employed the glorious tactic of slicing Serena on the backhand to draw her to the net and pass her - and said backhand did not break down. Her winners from both wings were innumerable, and she remained mentally stubborn from start to finish.

I defy the entire tennis world to deny that they put their money (or at at least their mouth) on Stosur being dominated by her 13 time Slam winner opponent; but she felt something we all couldn't  - she knew could win. Even after all the commotion, save a momentary lull to lose a break, she kept her head - she was not about to let anything get in the way of her first Slam. When you look back at her tournament, she seems to have had one of those performances poised for such a moment. She's responded well to adversity - unintentionally undermined by the USTA and their scheduling difficulties on more than one occasion; not to mention the injustice of reaching the final without once having played on Ashe. She's broken US Open records including the longest women's tie-break with 32 points and the longest US Open women's match in the tie-break era which lasted for 3 hours 16 minutes. She's won tough, easy, come from a set down, a set up; and yesterday she found herself the underdog with no pressure and nothing to lose.

For Serena - an American playing her home Slam final on the melancholic 10th year anniversary of 9/11 - there was all the pressure. Fatigue may have played a part in her final performance - she didn't arrive back at the hotel till 2.30 am after the men's semi-finals ran late - in fact for the first set her legs looked uncharacteristically heavy. With her first serve percentage finding itself in the 30s in the first set, she was in definite need of a lift, but especially considering 2009, no one would have guessed she'd find that lift in the way that she did at the start of the second. A loud "come on" on a heavy forehand before Stosur had a chance to get her racquet on her ball saw umpire Eva Asderaki invoke the hindrance rule. Serena was livid to say the least. Despite being in the rule book, arguments could be made on Serena's behalf- should the umpire have used discretion to replay the point, choosing to deem Serena's actions as 'unintentional'? It's hard to believe it would have been intentional. However no argument can be made in favour of her consequent offensive behaviour towards the Asderaki, who cannot be blamed for Serena's poor play. That being said (and it's certainly not an excuse but,) it was an extremely high pressure moment - it's not easy with all that expectation to feel the trophy slipping from your grasp partly due to you failing to bring out your best. 

The anger seemed to bring the American back to life and it looked as if we finally had a match on our hands. But Samantha. The way she didn't let it phase her. Even after Serena took that long pause, which saw some 22,500 members of the Arthur Ashe stadium let out a sustained roar, to gather herself, Stosur kept her composure and the level of her game beautifully. She isn't the most emotional or extroverted character on the tour and you got the feeling that this sort of event could have left her wanting to run away; but the exact opposite was true. In her mind there was no way anything but exceptional play from Williams was going to get in the way of her maiden Slam. And when she got the break she played with audacity and broke to close it out. This was a prime example of will to win taking over - Stosur had had a fantastic hard court season, but prior to that, her results certainly did not reflect her 9 in the world ranking. Not only that, but it should be pointed out that this US Open trophy is in fact her third title ever. Ergo it certainly can't be said that experience in finals led her to the win; and while confidence did play a huge part, as did ability - it was more of a case of the Australian just bringing out her best, not failing to make the most of the opportunity at hand.

It was gutsy but measured, calm but aggressive - finally Stosur played the sort of game that she, a few months back, didn't dream, but the rest of us knew, she was capable of. 

Congratulations to the deserving 2011 US Open champion.

(Pic: Getty)

The State of American Tennis

(Pic: AP)

Neutral Omes:

John McEnroe, Arthur Ashe, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Jim Courier, Andy Roddick - that's a mighty impressive tennis resume for the United States. Indeed America has enjoyed the view from the top of men's tennis for some decades now. Perhaps this extensive list of greats is the reason why a current top-tenner, two current top-twentiers and a few promising young things will not suffice for a nation who's used to excelling. 

There are plenty talented male American players at the moment but no champion of champions; and the land of the free is feeling that sting. The USTA has invested $1.3million into a youth programme, "10 and Under Tennis" to encourage more American youngsters to take up the sport, with legendary tennis couple Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf keenly lending a hand. The equally legendary John McEnroe describes the comparative lack of success as "frustrating" and cited that fact as fuel for the launching of his John McEnroe Tennis Academy with which he aims to "get the buzz back in tennis".

Perhaps that's why the U.S's recent defeat to Spain at their Davis Cup quarterfinal was that much more painful. Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish unfortunately failed to fly the flag despite all the promise they showed going in. Furthermore the event just highlighted the fact that the last of their greats - Roddick, is perhaps closer to the finish line than they'd like. What was highlighted more though, is the current Spanish/European dominance. And that's a part of the problem - Europe has stepped up over the years. In fact there are only three non-European tennis players in the top 20 - Mardy Fish, Andy Roddick and Juan Martin del Potro. 

But despite all this I'd like to reassure the U.S. (doubtful that it would be of any help,) that there's no need to panic. They're just having some down-time; and to be able to say that with Fish, Roddick and Isner in the mix is surely a privileged position for them to be in. Furthermore, they've got the explosive Ryan Harrison on which to pin future hopes. In the meantime, it’s Europe's turn to shine.