Shame on you Andy Murray !!!

Andy Murray (image by AP)

MONACO, April 14 - Andy Murray was booed by the mainly French crowd at the Monte Carlo Masters for using drop shots in his 6-3 6-3 third-round win over France’s injured Gilles Simon on Thursday.

Simon twisted his ankle at the start of the second set and had heavy strapping applied before gingerly carrying on.

Murray showed no mercy and after the first drop had a struggling Simon stranded, the Briton regularly used his favourite shot with the boos for the world number four and cheers for Simon intensifying after each attempt.

“I wasn’t bothered at all. I was doing what I had to,” Murray, who a day ago was saying how the Monte Carlo Country Club was one of the best venues in the world, told reporters.

“Every player on the tour would have done exactly the same thing. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. We’ll see the reaction tomorrow,” he smiled.


Giles Simon (image by AP)

 Simon backed his opponent saying :”You play to win.”

Murray earlier told Sky Sports: “You know you are in the driving seat and you want to put the foot down and finish the match as efficiently as possible. Drop shots were winning me virtually every single point, I had to keep moving him.”

Before Tuesday’s second-round win over Radek Stepanek, third seed Murray had not won a match in almost three months since his Australian Open final defeat by Novak Djokovic.

The 23-year-old, whose public image in the past suffered from occasional teenage strops, could face more grief from the crowd when he plays Frederico Gil in the quarter-finals on Friday after the Portuguese beat another Frenchman Gael Monfils.

“I don’t know a lot about him (Gil) but I watched his game,” Murray added. “He did well in Estoril and can play well on clay, he’s proved that by getting to the quarters here this week. I’ll have to be on my game tomorrow.”

Asked if he could win the tournament featuring world number one Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, Murray added: “Yeah, why not?”

My Comment : I understand, "do whatever it takes to win"

Nadal and Federer cruise to Quater final in Monte Carlo Masters

Rafael Nadal (image by AP)

MONACO, April 14 : Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer continued on a collision course towards the Monte Carlo Masters final after easily winning their third round matches in contrasting conditions on Thursday.

Nadal braved unusually chilly temperatures on the sun-kissed Cote d’Azur to seal a quarter-final spot against Ivan Ljubicic with a straightforward 6-2 6-4 victory over Richard Gasquet.

While the crowd huddled for warmth deciding whether to cheer six-times champion Nadal or local favourite Gasquet, the Spaniard had already broken the Frenchman in the first game as his sheer power on clay again overawed an opponent.

The top seed, bidding to be the first man to win the same tournament seven times in a row as he warms up for next month’s French Open, almost lost the next game but held serve thanks to a stunning backhand down the line and hardly looked back.

“I think I played better than yesterday. In general I think it was a very positive victory against a very difficult opponent,” Nadal told reporters.

“I feel when I’m playing well with the forehand, it’s a very important shot for me. So I can have the control of the point most of the time with the forehand. That’s my style always, no?”

Gasquet broke for 4-4 in the second set to reveal a chink in Nadal’s armour, offering pretenders to his crown a glimmer of hope that the Spaniard is beatable on his favourite surface.

Second seed Federer staked his claim with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Croatia’s Marin Cilic after the sun had broken through.

SUPERB WINNERS


Federer (image by AP)

  The Swiss barely got out of first gear but unleashed some superb winners and next meets Austrian Juergen Melzer on Friday.

“I’m mixing it up well (with the serve). Today was another solid performance which I was happy about,” Federer said.



Murray (image by AP)


World number four Andy Murray outwitted France’s Gilles Simon 6-3 6-3 to build on his opening victory over Radek Stepanek—his first win in two and a half months.

Simon had lengthy treatment after turning an ankle but then went on to break the Briton in the first game of the second set only for Murray to storm back using drop shots which the booing crowd felt were unfair given the Frenchman’s injury.


My Comment : Clash of the TITANS

Kenapa 2nd Serve mesti lebih kuat daripada 1st Serve ?

Soalan yang menarik dan juga amat menarik perhatian, kenapa 2nd serve mesti lebih kuat daripada servis yang pertama ?. Kebanyakkan pemain lebih suka untuk melemahkan pukulan untuk servis ke dua agar kebarangkalian bola untuk masuk ke gelanggang pihak lawan adalah lebih tinggi, betulll keee ... atau sekadar risau permainan akan tamat begitu sahaja dan akan menyesal dengan tindakan sendiri kerana tidak mengawal pukulan servis tadi ?

Apa yang hendak di risaukan ? pernahkan anda mendengar mengenai "muscle memory" ?.
 
Saya pernah terbaca mengenai suatu artikel lama-lama dahulu, di mana bagi seorang pemain tennis yang selalu melakukan servis yang sama setiap hari dan setiap masa akan membentuk tindakkan refleks yang serta merta ataupun tanpa disedari. Bagaimaan ini berlaku ?.
 
Pencetusnya adalah kerana latihan dan habit yang berterusan menyebabkan pukulan servis pemain tersebut semakin konsisten dan mantap.

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Andy Murray moves on in Monte Carlo



Murray (image from AP)

 Andy Murray ended his three-month losing streak with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Radek Stepanek in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

The Scot booked a third round match against France's Gilles Simon with a much-improved performance on Centre Court, storming past the Czech Stepanek with a variety of sensational shots.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal dazzled Finland's Jarkko Nieminen with a florescent yellow shirt and his all-round game in a comfortable 6-2 6-2 win.

The world number one, bidding for a record seventh straight title by the turquoise sea in Monaco, broke straight away and the Finn received ironic cheers from the packed crowd when he finally won a point but Nadal was still not quite at his best.

Spain's Nadal, playing his first match of the year on his favoured surface after receiving a first-round bye, will meet France's Richard Gasquet in round three on Thursday after the 13th seed beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2 6-1.

Fourth seed David Ferrer trounced Feliciano Lopez 6-2 6-0 but sixth seed Fernando Verdasco surprisingly lost 6-4 6-3 to Tommy Robredo in another all-Spanish tie.

Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, Frederico Gil and Viktor Troicki went through.

Roger Federer won on Tuesday to set up a meeting with Marin Cilic but world number two Novak Djokovic has skipped the first men's claycourt tournament of the year in Europe with a knee problem.


P/S : What's wrong with Andy Murray's hair ?