Murray: "today Is The Reason I Play Tennis"

nadalbestclass

nadalbestclass

Hall of Fame
Murray true class.

Andy Murray was quickly into press following his heart-breaking defeat in a third-set tie-break to Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. However, despite the manner of the defeat, the British No. 1 was able to take the positives from arguably his best performance of the season.

“Today is the reason why I play tennis,” declared the Scot. “I think the match today is how I want to play all the time. So I want to try and I guess build on that for next year. It was a great match to finish the year. But I need to improve because I'm competing with the two best players of all time. So if I want to win these tournaments, I want to win the Grand Slams, I need to get better.”

In assessing the match, the 23-year-old Murray struggled to fault his own performance, insisting there was not much he would have done differently.

“I played a great match today. Whether it's the best match I played and lost, I don't know. But it was a great match,” reflected the Dunblane native. “I think both of us played very well. I probably played one bad game the whole match; or maybe just a couple of bad points on my serve in the third set when I got broken. I think both of us played well pretty much from the beginning of the match. I'm disappointed to lose, but it was a great match.

“People say tie-breaks are lucky. It's tough to lose a tie-break in the third set. Any player will tell you that. It's not the nicest way to lose. But it's better to get yourself in position to win a match against someone like that rather than what happened against Roger [Federer].

“In a match that long, I don't think it comes over really one point. It was three hours or so,” added Murray. “I went for my shots in the tie-break. I went for a big forehand at 6-6. Missed it by a few centimetres. I went for it. So I got to be happy with that. That's the right thing to do in those situations.”


It was the 13th career meeting between Nadal and Murray, with the Spaniard edging to a 9-4 head-to-head advantage. Murray won their most recent meeting in straight sets in the Rogers Cup semi-finals, but it was Nadal who had prevailed in the Wimbledon semi-finals six weeks earlier.

“I just love playing against him,” said Murray.” For me, as a sportsman, I don't know if there's been many better than him ever in terms of the way he conducts himself. His whole team that he works with is incredibly nice. I have a lot of respect for him.

“When I play against him, I really, really enjoy it. I've had many great matches with him. I've lost some of them. I've been lucky enough to win some. Hopefully I'll get more chances to play him in these sorts of matches.”
Click to expand...

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2010/11/46/London-Saturday-Murray-Reaction.aspx
 
M

meg0529

Guest
Murray is such a sport. I won't name names, but there certainly are a few players that can learn from him. Nad-Novak, and Nad-Murray really do make some awesome tennis.
 
D

Deleted member 77403

Guest
Good sport Murray.

I enjoy the Murray - Nadal matchup. But I love Murray - Federer, and Federer V Djokovic is awesome too.
 
B

bolo

G.O.A.T.
A great effort, he really tore through nadal in the 2nd set. Their matches have been the most interesting this year.
 
angiebaby

angiebaby

Semi-Pro
Murray is such a Rafa fanboy. It's really quite cute. I don't think it affects his oncourt performance against him though, like some seem to be insinuating.

It's really quite nice to hear and see the admiration between Rafa, Novak, and Andy. They genuinely like each other and I think that's awesome.
 
powerangle

powerangle

Legend
angiebaby said:
Murray is such a Rafa fanboy. It's really quite cute. I don't think it affects his oncourt performance against him though, like some seem to be insinuating.

It's really quite nice to hear and see the admiration between Rafa, Novak, and Andy. They genuinely like each other and I think that's awesome.
Click to expand...

It really is isn't it? They have been in the "top/big 4" for quite awhile now and are all around the same age group. All have had lots of success (Rafa by far the most successful but still...). It's nice to have good friends on tour as long as it doesn't affect your concentration and professionalism in your matches against each other.

The sport greatly benefits from having them around. 8)
 
dcdoorknob

dcdoorknob

Hall of Fame
These are great comments if you actually take the time to read them.

That some just use them as an excuse to slam Murray is sad.
 
jaggy

jaggy

Talk Tennis Guru
What would Connors have said? Seriously, theres a loser mindset that maybe Murray needs to shake off.
 
Mustard

Mustard

Bionic Poster
bolo said:
A great effort, he really tore through nadal in the 2nd set. Their matches have been the most interesting this year.
Click to expand...

Their 2010 matches have all been to an excellent standard and very entertaining:

The head-to-head is now:

Rafael Nadal 9-4 Andy Murray
2007 Australian Open R16: Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray (6-7, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1)
2007 Madrid Indoor R16: Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray (7-6, 6-4)
2008 Hamburg R16: Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray (6-3, 6-2)
2008 Wimbledon QF: Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray (6-3, 6-2, 6-4)
2008 Toronto SF: Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray (7-6, 6-3)
2008 US Open SF: Andy Murray def. Rafael Nadal (6-2, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4)
2009 Rotterdam F: Andy Murray def. Rafael Nadal (6-3, 4-6, 6-0)
2009 Indian Wells F: Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray (6-1, 6-2)
2009 Monte Carlo SF: Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray (6-2, 7-6)
2010 Australian Open QF: Andy Murray def. Rafael Nadal (6-3, 7-6, 3-0 ret.)
2010 Wimbledon SF: Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray (6-4, 7-6, 6-4)
2010 Toronto SF: Andy Murray def. Rafael Nadal (6-3, 6-4)
2010 World Tour Finals SF: Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray (7-6, 3-6, 7-6)

Hardcourt: 5-4 to Nadal
Clay: 2-0 to Nadal
Grass: 2-0 to Nadal
Carpet: 0-0
In Slams: 3-2 to Nadal
 
Sentinel

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
Nuggets of Wisdom

by Sir Andrew Murray


Chapter One: Don't change a losing strategy
(or Dropshot during critical moments)
 
Last edited:
FTS

FTS

Banned
istockphoto_10064314-crowd-of-adoring-fans-screaming-and-waving.jpg
 
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