Andy Murray’s time in Melbourne
Britain’s Andy Murray breezed through to the quarter finals of the Australian Open last night with a straight sets victory over Austrian Jurgen Meltzer in Melbourne.
Murray took only 103 minutes to dispose of the French Open Semi-finalist and world number 11, taking the match 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 and will now play unseeded Alexandr Dolgopolov in the last eight. But can the flying Scot finally break his Grand Slam duck?
The 23 year old has reached two Grand Slam finals in his short, but exciting career. However in the US Open in 2008, and in last year’s Australian Open Murray was beaten by a certain Roger Federer and denied the chance to add a Grand Slam title to his impressive list of achievements.
Like the great Tim Henman before him, Murray is saddled with the thankless task of being Britain’s only real hope when it comes to men’s tennis. Whilst he has proved he has the talent and tenacity to consistently compete at the very top of the sport he is constantly reminded of a concrete ceiling in Major tournaments.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have between them have won all but two of the 23 Grand Slam titles on offer since Murray began his professional career in 2005. Their rivalry transcends sport and they are deservedly recognized as two of the most iconic sportsmen of all time. From this perspective, it is just bad luck that Andy Murray has entered into the game at such a remarkable time.
Despite this, many believe this is Murray’s year and his form in the first week in Melbourne has so far conformed to script. The Scot has looked dominant on his favoured surface winning all four of his matches in straight sets. But as any tennis fan knows, the second week of a Grand Slam is when the real challenge begins.
This is a fact that is easily demonstrated. Murray’s quarter final match against a player who is 41 places below him in the world rankings sounds like an easy win. But Dolgopolov is no slouch and arrives in the last eight on merit after defeating fourth seed Robin Soderling in the last round.
If Murray wins, he is likely to face old rival Nadal in the Semi Finals, a tough match to say the least. Win that and the Scot is one step away from lifting his first ever Grand Slam title. But that one step could prove a canyon with a possible repeat of last year’s final against Federer on the cards. Suddenly it all sounds a little more tricky.
Beating either of the top two players in the game is entirely possible and in many ways can be decided by the specific circumstances of the day. It will take a huge physical effort and a moderate slice of luck but Andy Murray can reach the final of this year’s Australian Open. Once there, he faces the task of shaking off an immense psychological disadvantage knowing he has been there before and failed to deliver the goods.
