Off Topic Sport Other than Football - formerly the Ashes Thread

You know the tennis season doesn't start July 1st and end July 14th right?

 

You know that Murray also couldn't last five sets due to his poor stamina at the US, French and US Opens, right?

 

In 2012 he beat Djokovic in the US Open final in 5 sets

 

Are you referring to the Nalbandian match at Wimbledon in 2005? He was an 18 year old wild card for christs sake. The average age of a maiden slam winner since 2000 is 23. Ivanisevic didn't win his first and only until he was 29. Stan Wawrinka 28.

To Andy's credit, following that match he identified his stamina and physical strength as being his weakness and has worked his butt off since to get his body in the best condition possible to compete. He hired Jez Green and subsequently Matt Little as physical trainers to get him to where he is now.

Have you seen some of Andy workouts that he does in Miami every close season? They are brutal.

Aside from Nadal who is a freak of nature, most players don't mature until they reach their physical peak at 25 - the age Murray won the US Open.

Perhaps when you've actually played the game yourself for several years, you'll appreciate what a tough sport it is.

Most players would give their right bollock to have Andy's record of 45 singles title wins.

• 3 grand slams (11 grand slam final appearances)
• 2 x Olympic Gold
• 14 Masters 1000 Series

The only blemish against his record is he should have won at least one Aussie Open title. 5 final appearances and 5 losses will alway grate on him I'm sure. The fact he also reached a French Open final (with serious hip issues) is a miracle, not to mention his weakest surface by far.

He's been in every slam final. How many other players outside the big four can say that? None

 

No, I'm referring to his long history of being unable to play five sets, for example....
2005 US Open vs Arnaud Clement
2006 US Open vs Fernando Gonzalez
2007 Australian Open vs Rafa Nadal
2008 Wimbledon vs Richard Gasquet
2009 Australian Open vs Fernando Verdasco
2012 Australian Open vs Novak Djokovic

In other words, a history of keeling over once the match gets to five sets

Also, I can't help but notice you've gone from calling him a "winner" to saying he reached every Grand Slam final...and his record in those finals isn't great
Australian W0 L5
French W0 L1
Wimbledon W2 L1
US W1 L1

So what's the excuses for that, hmm? And far more importantly, how does that justify people in the crowd being so ****ing obnoxious during his matches for over a decade? You didn't see Australian fans make Lleyton Hewitt's matches an utter chore to get through when he played at the Australian Open, did you?

 

So in other words, he hasn't lost a five set match at a major in the last 7 years then? He was 25 in 2012; his breakthrough year. Precisely when I pointed out when he won his first slam and became a part of the so-called big four. So thanks for proving my point.

TBH, I really don't understand what you want from the guy exactly. He' s playing in the toughest era the sport has ever seen with the three greatest players of all time and still had huge success.

If you want to hate on him, go ahead. That's your choice. I happen to know the guy has overcome some huge hurdles, worked incredibly hard and has been rewarded for his persistence. There won't be another British player anywhere as close to as good as him for a long time, so you can happily go back to cheering on mediocrity of the likes of the Broady's, Heather Watson or James Ward who get given wildcards year in year out, only to fall when the pressure tells. Total waste of time.

I'm sure when Andy hangs up his racket, that $66m+ dollars in prize money will soften the blow of the haters.

There's a simple solution for that. It's called a volume control.

 

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Yep.

 

I think he recognised (and it's widely acknowledged) that he had an issue with his stamina when younger. This is something he addressed. His fitness did dramatically improve. All but one of those matches were when he was aged 22 or younger. The last one in 2012 was the same year he beat Djokovic in the US Open Final in 5 sets!

 

It's also not a complete list

2015 French Open vs Djokovic
2016 US Open vs Kei Nishikori
2017 Wimbledon vs Sam Querry

So no, he didn't improve on his stamina, it was always an issue that came back to bite him

More importantly, when I say Andy Murray fanboys make watching Wimbledon obnoxious and tedious in equal measure, some triggered fanboy whining "He's got more money than you, use the mute button" is proving my point and fully deserves to be told where to go - and also fully deserves a little reality check about the fatal flaw his hero always had, especially if they try and handwave it as a one-time issue from fourteen years ago

 

Another World cup semi-final for England to look forward to, today................................

 

Looking forward to it...fancy Eng to turn up today

 

Not now after that toss

 

Yup...we needed to win the toss

 

Maybe a good toss to lose

 

Seems like it now

Let’s hope the conditions for Batters don’t deteriorate. Edgbaston is supposed to be a good chasing wicket though.

 

Starc being made to look like a pie thrower.
Roy & Bairstow delivering again.

 

England make final, now win this thing

 

You're a harsh judge.
Had he not played in the same era as Federer, Nadal & Djokovic, he would be a multiple Grand Slam winner and the raising of any flaws in his game would seem picky.
Yeah, I don't like tennis fans either. Tennis is generally elitist in this country and the fans come across as part-time social climbers rather than true sports fans.

 

England were phenomenal today.
The problem with cricket is that 3 days, a change of venue, weather or conditions can make all the difference.
This team have all bases covered though.