Doesn't look like the media hype is affecting his game like some predicted. His game is only getting better! We might need a bigger sofa deuce!

Great performance by Murray even the king would be proud of what Murray showed yesterday.

Almost every variety in the book was put on display.Serve was on song ,the ground strokes were devastating,The passing shots on both the wings were laser like,the return game which was a bit rusty during his first round encounter looked well oiled and efficient and his sixth sense anticipation was at its ruthless best.If Murray could play near to his level the rest of the tournament then "Impossible is nothing".Go Murray :).

Murray the magician indeed!
Ravagandran: gr8 post, thanx! Every time some twerp claims Andy's game is boring, I shall cut and paste your blog! YEEEHAAAH!

Thx Deuce :)

Well ya have seen so many people calling his game boring.But we know its not true unless u take Rogers variety as the bench mark.Well in that case even Laver may feel boring....Hmmm well who cares our boy has his own style of play and he is proving that it is VERY effective too and that is all that matters :)

lolz Deuce.

Murray is building good rhythm as the tournament progresses. I count on him to get to the finals since Rafa has withdrawn.

Murray vs. Djokovic at the championship is what I am wishing to see.

Good luck to both of them.

Murray was really awesome. He was so on form yesterday that at no point did I think he would lose.

Raindrops -

"Murray vs. Djokovic"? What? No Federer? I hope you realise there are people out there who will stone you for blasphemy for saying such a thing? Lol!

deuce -

The "boring" thing about murray is clearly nothing to do with tennis and everything to do with image/personality. Take Malt's again-repeated protestations on one of yesterday's threads, for example - she wrote a lengthy paragraph about why she didn't like him which, when you sifted through it, said nothing about his actual tennis skills.

Sure, fed's a wonderful player, but he also attracts a huge number of supporters for non-tennis reasons. People swoon over his aura/grace/majesty as he glides rather than runs and jumps around the court; he has such a cool, mellow personality ... and those outfits simply confirm that he belongs on the front covers of glossy magazines!

Murray? He's got virtually none of all that, but he's also the most 'different' player at the top of the men's game right now and, while he is still way short of achieving what fed has, he's a real breath of fresh air for people who actually enjoy the game of tennis.

He may not 'do it' for our feminine side or cause a buzz in the cappuccino shop, but some of us can live with that:)

alex: agree with every word. For me Andy has more variety in his game than any top or bottom (!) player other than Fed, and, as he's so much younger, has more time to improve and that's the other reason I like him so much, he has dedicated himself totally to improving all aspects of his game. In that area his only rival would be Rafa. But almost, not quite tennis is thing(!), most of all I love Murray precisely because he is not a PR person's dream and I really hope that they don't manage to change him. The fact he's said he does NOT like new shorts I take is v. good sign. Answered you on other thread that yes had seen that marvellous spinning lob but Andy's passing shots down the line, when you think he's down and out, just take my breath away!
All you other guys, thankyou, thankyou! Raindrops, would so love that final, surely we're more than due for a change? But poor Fan4T would have to cut herself in half!

Gulbis- did not realize his family is like THE wealthiest is Latvia....guess that is as good as any expllaination for the underachievement. Not saying growing up riding around in the family jet ( ESPN ) automatically counts one out but in Earnests case appears the talent wil wilt.

Murray had a cake walk round 2 but Pmac and even the wimbledon radio gents usually so professional acted like my mom and sister when her first tot learned to use potty chair, jumping to conclusion that baby will be genious!

And Muzz does well under the pressure, the enormous expectations of the media machine.

His legs are not for short shorts like say, Nole's. Bring back the retro long white slacks for Muzz

Murray played well but Gulbis was AWFUL, his serving was abysmal he really should be ashamed of himself he is capable of a lot more and I had expected him to let rip in this game given that all of the attention would be on Mr Murray.

And I thought Gulbis serve was the best feature of his game, lee...he absolutely had no game...grow up, Gulbis

I agree with you guys (Alex and Deuce) that Murray`s game is the one that has improved the most in the last couple of months, In my opinion, and some comments I have heard, he doesnt have a particular shot that defines his game, he just plays with math so the other will miss or to get and open court to make a winner, his main weapon is his intelligence on court and taking advantage of the others weakness, because of his speed he can defend almost as well as Rafa, and that gives him the chance to play with his oponnents errors, and miscalculation. His game is about triangulation, spaces, speeds, and solidity, but this style fails when the other one is well aware of this strategy and is solid enough to compensate for Murray`s speed, or plays him wrong foot, etc. But I do believe he will achieve great things in his career, and yes Zoey, Gulbis GROW UP!

mdmch -

I agree with what you say, but there's more to muzz than calculation and geometry. If it were only angles and probability, then his every shot would be predictable by clever guys like fed. To me, one of the most striking and exciting aspects of his game is his UNpredictability. He frequently baffles his opponents by making unexpected, sometimes impossible, shots - e.g. lobbing opponents while they're mid-court (that doesn't make very easy geometry), or chasing an opponent's lob to the back of the court and striking a winner without hardly turning round. Federer, despite their frequent meetings, admitted not that long ago to not having fathomed murray out yet, but then, as you suggest, that may be why fed comes off so poorly in their h2hs ...

Yes Alex, you`r right, i am sorry that I didnt express my self correctly, I didnt mean Murray has a pattern that a very good player can read, he is very unpredictable, what I do think is that when a player like Federer plays a 100% focused, then Murrays weapons stop working, because, he cant counteract the power and tacticts, and precise unreachable shots. The H2H with Federer, i believe is due partialy to federer`s slump last year, and partialy to his solid game, as he said. Because an important aspect of federer strength comes from his aura of invincibility, that puts a pressure to the opponent and force him to play in a way that makes him commit a lot of unforced errors. Murray, in the other hand, doesn't fall in that trap, and plays as Roger wasnt who he is. So when they play a 3 set match, Roger gets inpatient and statrs being erratic, while Murray plays his tactical game. I think thats why, he always wins the first set, and then looses the next two. But in a 5 set match, Roger plays more relaxes, and is less erratic, so he can overcome Murray`s tactics. But lets see what happens if they meet in the final, that should be intersting, thanks for your post

Murray's got some good time off to practice and relax! I don't think you can pin down Murray's game and label it anymore than you can do that to any other top players games. Murray is a totally different player than a year ago and not just counting his fitness level but also his intelligence on court. I think every player has said something to that effect, including Borg who said he wouldn't be surprised if Murray took Wimby. Murray is very smart on court and will start playing one game on court but adjusts his game accordingly as the match goes on.

deuce: it will be tough if it is a Murray-Nole final--lol. Hope it is!

*passing out menus to sofa surfers for next week's matches*

It puzzles me at times why people go on about Andy's personality or physical attributes. He's a sportsman, not an actor. As his ex trainer Petchey mentioned a couple of days ago, Murray is a winner, that's all that matters to him. He wants to be the absolute best tennis player he can be, and that's why he has worked tirelessly in the last year on aspects of his game and his fitness. Since that time he made the US Open final and was beaten by a top quality Federer. Andy's form since the start of the year has been immense. Only beaten in Oz by an astounding performance from Verdasco. I don't think he'll serve that well again. That result surprised many, but since then Andy has got better every tournament, even improving on clay. On the occasions Andy has met Fed this year, he has outclassed him. Some reckon that's because they were 3 set matches, but the fact is that Andy unlocked Fed's weakness, his backhand. He used that against him, and you could see Roger was visibly frustrated. Fed is confident that Andy will falter again if they meet in a five setter, but he is a different player to the one who made the US final. He is far fitter, confident and skillful than the player he beat then.
Andy Murray's serve is the one and only thing that holds him back from winning Wimbledon this year. He has every other tool required to win it, but his inconsistent serve is his achilles heel. If that falters, he may not even make the quarters and all his hard work this year will be forgotten by a press that have hyped him up beyond belief in the build up to this slam.
As much as I'd love to see him win, if he makes the final I'll consider that progress for Andy, and will give him the belief that he can win the US Open this year on a surface that suits him best.

we have to be honest and tell that Gulbis squandered some nice opportunities there, it wasn't all Murray, though he played a good match.

Posmatrac,
Gulbis hardly got a sniff after Murray's first service game. After he went ahead 2-1 he hardly won a point in the set, so much was Murray's dominance. Gulbis played much better in the second, but Murray took his chance when it came along. His opponent hardly threatened his serve in the match, and that was no fault of Gulbis' it was just down to AM having a cracking day. IF Andy makes the final and plays that well, he'll take some beating, but that's a big if.

Hi Bundy: slight correction, it's his second serve that lets him down, ouch it's awful, so when first serve fails it leaves him very vulnerable, or it feels like that cos I've vaguely got a stat in my head that he's the second best on tour for winning points on second serve, if I am wrong am sure cheryl/ricky can put me right.

Deuce, that's exactly what I was meaning. Andy's first serve is excellent when it's accurate, but his second is terrible. I may be wrong but I think some of the women serve faster. Every time his first serve misfires my heart sinks, cause I know his opponent can attack him and earn an easy point if the return is good enough.
Not sure of the stat you mentioned. It's possible though as Andy has been winning so many matches it makes sense that he's winning points on his weaker serve also. Doesn't say a lot for his opponents though.

Watching Andy's game, I realized how he could beat Fed 6 times.
1. He disrupts Fed's rhythm with slices and Fed is a rhythm player
2. His defensive skills is only 2nd to Nadal and some of his defensive shots is as unbelievable as Fed's offensive shots.
3. He has extra motivation to beat Fed, the best player in the last decade which helped him being extra focused in long rallies which Fed hates to do

Fed can beat him by
1. beating Murray at his own game of slices but have to be real patient
2. Being more calm under pressure as Murray is definitely going to be anxious to get his 1st Slam
3. Use his power and accuracy which is a lil bit better than Murray's.

This is of course if it's a Fed VS Murray final but Fed needs to get past Djoker and Soderling 1st

deuce -

the stat I thought I heard was that muzz has the seventh best record on winning points on his second serve.

Murray is handling things so well right now, there is no reason to think that might change. I still have faith in him to win this!!! The hype isn't bothering him so BRING IT ON!!!!!!

alex: thankx 4 that. Sounds more like. Perhaps he's second best at getting points off serve? But that doesn't sound right either. Help someone. Of course we may be enlightened during match today.