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WOW!
Mar 3, 2008 17:35:57 GMT
Post by stealth1039 on Mar 3, 2008 17:35:57 GMT
Andrew Murray has beaten Roger Federer in the 1st round of the Dubai Championship. That is some feat given Federer's awesome record.
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WOW!
Mar 3, 2008 17:54:43 GMT
Post by thefullback on Mar 3, 2008 17:54:43 GMT
Before the match he said that he wasn't nervous but looking forward to seeing how much progress he had made ... f**king lots by the look of it.
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Mar 3, 2008 18:08:26 GMT
Post by Bismarck on Mar 3, 2008 18:08:26 GMT
No....I'm not nervous....
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Mar 3, 2008 18:11:50 GMT
Post by JoeLatics on Mar 3, 2008 18:11:50 GMT
squid would be proud
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Mar 3, 2008 18:16:54 GMT
Post by thefullback on Mar 3, 2008 18:16:54 GMT
Britain's Andy Murray produced some glorious tennis to beat world number one Roger Federer in a three-set thiller at the Dubai Championship. The unseeded Scot, 20, won 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 6-4 to dump the four-times champion out in the first round on Monday.
Murray wasted a set point in a close first set tie-break which Federer won.
But Murray, who did not face a break point throughout, hit back in stunning fashion with breaks in both the second and third sets to win in style.
The British number one recorded his second straight victory over the Swiss having defeated him in Cincinnati in August 2006, and now boasts a 2-1 head-to-head record.
The loss was also Federer's second in a row - the last time he played was the semi-final Australian Open defeat to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in January.
The 26-year-old had not lost a first round match since his defeat to Dominik Hrbaty in Cincinnati in August 2004, though he lost his opening match at last year's Pacific Life Open to Guillermo Canas after a bye into the second round.
Murray, showing a significant improvement in his serve, narrowly lost the fast-paced first set 8-6 on a tie break after spurning two set points.
But he clinically took the first break point in the second set to break Federer's serve in the sixth game with a brave forehand pass and went on to level the match and force the decider.
Murray then seized the initiative in the first game of the third set and was presented with an early chance after Federer made a backhand error to give him two break points.
But Federer, playing some sublime shots of his own, held serve and put Murray on the ropes in his next service game - though he could not force the break.
Staying calm amid some poor line calls which forced the umpire to overrule, Murray broke Federer in the fifth game of the third set before serving out for win.
Murray, who has faced recent criticism for pulling out of Britain's Davis Cup team, said he was delighted with the manner of his victory.
"Any time you get to play against someone like that it's just an honour to be on the same court," he said.
"But each time I've played him I've stepped my game up.
"It's tough to close it out against him but I served great and that was really the key.
"Playing against him, composure is the key. Sometimes he's going to play some unbelievable shots and you don't have a chance, so I just had to re-focus.
"I'd been serving well and I don't think he had a break point the whole match. I'm not sure how often that has happened to him."
He also spoke of the effects of a new aspect to his training regime - Bikram yoga.
"It's ugly. I started doing it in December. It's helped me a lot with my fitness and mental strength," he said.
Murray will now face Spain's Fernando Verdasco in the last 16.
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Mar 3, 2008 18:19:43 GMT
Post by Lukiebakercafc on Mar 3, 2008 18:19:43 GMT
Great result - what is it with Murray - he's either a world beater beating Federer and the ilk or plays pathetically losing to nobodies in the first round!! He needs more consistency.
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Mar 3, 2008 19:25:45 GMT
Post by a king of orient on Mar 3, 2008 19:25:45 GMT
You can say that again (not literally). He's far better than Henman. Henman was consistent at being bad.
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Mar 3, 2008 20:10:20 GMT
Post by JoeLatics on Mar 3, 2008 20:10:20 GMT
thats why we loved him. In the words of the great Bill Bailey 'We brits crave dissappointment'
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Mar 7, 2008 18:51:50 GMT
Post by Lukiebakercafc on Mar 7, 2008 18:51:50 GMT
Well after this amazing performance, Murray scraped past world number 30 Verdasco and promptly lost to Davydenko . You know how we were talking about consistency...
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Mar 7, 2008 21:35:36 GMT
Post by a king of orient on Mar 7, 2008 21:35:36 GMT
Well after this amazing performance, Murray scraped past world number 30 Verdasco and promptly lost to Davydenko . You know how we were talking about consistency... LOL
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Mar 8, 2008 0:15:46 GMT
Post by hallmackem on Mar 8, 2008 0:15:46 GMT
You can say that again (not literally). He's far better than Henman. Henman was consistent at being bad. Actually he was consistently very good, he was just a bottler and could never cope with the power servers near the end of his career. He's never been a bad player.
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May 9, 2008 10:49:42 GMT
Post by Lukiebakercafc on May 9, 2008 10:49:42 GMT
Thought i'd revive this thread what with the French Open comingup then Wimbledon etc. Murray seems to have lost all form, ok so he's not a clay specialist but seriously, the guy's going backwards.
Lost yesterday to Stanislav Wawrinka, a guy he's never lost to before, the lad badly needs some consistency. I think he's on the verge of dropping out of the top 20 at the moment, it's not really good enough.
Needs a big French Open and then push on from there - he's gotta be looking at semis for Wimbledon really and then at the US Open (his specialist surface) maybe the final.
Really needs ot push on and show us he does have the ability to be a) a grand slam winner and b) a possible world number 1 contender.
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Jun 23, 2009 21:42:59 GMT
Post by Lukiebakercafc on Jun 23, 2009 21:42:59 GMT
Yeah they change surface throughout the season Wooler. Wimbledon is played on grass, French Open is played on clay, US Open on hard court (similar to carpet) and Aussie Open on something called Redzone Target, a cross between caly and hard court. Then all the tournaments in the build-up to those 4 majors are played on the corresponding surfaces.
Each surface has it's own characteristic and suits different styles of play. For example, the clay court plays a lot slower than grass which suits Rafael Nadal's style of play but not Andy Murray's, so a great player on grass won't necessarily be a great player on clay or hard courts.
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