Andy Murray is the Aussie No. 3 seed behind Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. (Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

When you see a headline that reads “Andy Murray is as fast as Usain Bolt,” you know something sounds a little fishy.

That’s part of the headline that ran in The Telegraph, which interviewed Murray’s long-time fitness trainer, Jez Green. Speaking on Murray’s increased fitness, which he attributed to yet another grueling offseason, Green said Murray’s “lazy speed” belies his Usain Bolt quickness.

“Andy has lazy speed — by which I mean that he doesn’t look as if he’s moving that fast, but it’s actually deceptive. He’s been clocked at moving at 10 metres per second over very short intervals, maybe even as short as a single step, which is as fast as Usain Bolt. I’m not saying that he is that fast over 100 metres but he has great acceleration when he is chasing down a drop shot.”

In other words, in a footrace the length of “a single step”, Andy Murray is as fast as Usain Bolt. Got it.

In all seriousness, it’s interesting to read that Murray has put on three pounds of muscle over the offseason. In an era when players are actually looking to reduce their weight in order to manage the wear and tear on their bodies, Murray is still focused on getting stronger. Green says while Novak Djokovic’s strength comes from his wiry frame and extraordinary flexibility, Murray has to rely on his anticipation and agility, the latter of which requires increased leg strength.

Read More…

Novak Djokovic improved to 4-3 this year against Andy Murray. (Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images)

LONDON — The slimmest of margins have decided most of this year’s matches between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. And you can add another one to the list after Wednesday’s clash at the ATP World Tour Finals.

Djokovic rallied to defeat Murray 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the second round of pool play at the eight-player, season-ending championships. The Serb improved to 2-0 and closed in on a semifinal berth, while the Scot fell to 1-1 with one match remaining in Group A.

Read More…

(London Evening Standard)

You see that bill? You see the 2 bottles of Roederer, the 17 “Zesty” Martinis, and references to Don Julio Black, Cabernets and Green Destinies?

Yeah, Andy Murray had the $6.00 lemon soda. Just one.

The London Evening Standard reports that Murray and his team hit up New York hot spot Hakkasan after his history-making U.S. Open win on Monday night, and while Murray’s team boozed it up in a very admirable way, the champ himself had… a soda.

“The problem was when I arrived everyone was so drunk already,” he told a small pool of reporters the next day. “It would’ve taken awhile to catch up, so I didn’t bother.”

You really could have splurged and had two sodas though, Andy. Really. Murray’s straight and narrow decision shouldn’t come as a shock to those who follow tennis. Murray has quite the reputation as a teetotaler, citing a bad experience when he was young in Barcelona that put him off drinking completely. Not that that stopped his team, which included his girlfriend, Kim Sears and his mother Judy, who showed up to Andy’s post-semifinal press conference smelling “of wine” and with two famous Scots in tow.

I wondered then what the celebration would be like if Murray were to actually win his first Slam in New York. Looks like they did it up right.

Also of note? The restaurant comped the entire meal. Well, all but the tip. Nicely done, Hakkasan.

Andy Murray ended Britain’s 76-year drought without a men’s singles Grand Slam title. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Andy Murray became the first British male to win a Grand Slam title in 76 years on Monday, defeating defending U.S. Open champion Novak Djokovic 7-6(10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 in a four-hour and 54-minute battle of wills and wind.

Here’s what Murray and Djokovic had to say after the match.

“I had a great opponent today. He deserved to win this Grand Slam more than anybody, I’m sure, because over the years he’s been a top player. He’s been so close; lost four finals. Now he has won it, so I would like to congratulate him. Definitely happy that he won it.”

“It’s a Grand Slam final and you want to win. There is no question about it. We both wanted this trophy. We were very hungry for it.
You know, if I won that first set and had some chances maybe the match would go a different way. But look, you know, there is no reason to go back and say, What if? What if? He’s a Grand Slam winner and he deserves to be there.”

– Djokovic, gracious in defeat and genuinely happy for his good friend.

“I was still doubting myself right up to a few minutes before you go on to play the match. You’re thinking, you know, ‘Are you going to be able to do this? This is going to be tough.’ The match against him always is going to hurt, you know, as well. Physically it’s challenging.”

“Yeah, it’s something I have never done before. I have been in this position many times and not managed to get through. So there is a lot of things you’re thinking about before you go out on the court.”

– Murray, on the intimidation of playing against of the toughest, fittest players in the world.

“It was great two weeks for me overall. I played really good tennis when I needed to. Today it was just not meant to be. You know, we played almost five hours. A lot of running, a lot of rallies. I think that says enough about the effort that we both put, you know, physical, mental effort. This time I didn’t win the match, and that’s sport.”

– Djokovic reflecting on his two weeks in New York where he made his third Slam final of the year.

“I proved that, you know, I can win the Grand Slams. I proved that I can last four and a half hours and come out on top against, you know, one of the strongest guys physically that tennis had probably seen especially on this surface.”

– Murray, on proving to himself that he belongs among the true elite of the game.

Read More…

Tomas Berdych is looking to continue the magic he showed against Roger Federer. (Icon SMI)

Neither Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal will be playing in a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since 2004. That’s a streak of 33 tournaments, yet another incredible stat showing their sustained dominance. But 2012 has been a year of a smidgen more parity among the men, led by the likes of Andy Murray — the man on the verge — and a series of vanquishers ranging from Tomas Berdych to David Ferrer. Yet for this U.S. Open, they still fall in line behind defending champion Novak Djokovic, who crept through the draw with nary a peep only to remind everyone on Thursday night against Juan Martin del Potro that he is the best hard-court player in the world.

Here’s a breakdown of Saturday’s men’s semifinals.

Andy Murray vs. Tomas Berdych: The punch line after Berdych’s quarterfinal upset of Federer was that somewhere in Manhattan Murray must have been banging his head against the wall. Murray actually leads the head-to-head against the world No. 1 and just beat him in a best-of-five match for the Olympic gold medal. But Murray is 2-4 against Berdych, who won their only previous Slam meeting, at the 2010 French Open. The big-hitting Czech, of course, has the game to beat anyone when he’s playing well. He’s defeated three of the top four players at a major, and he’s riding a high after knocking Federer out of a Slam for the second time in his career.

Read More…