Fuente : Wimbledon
http://www.wimbledon.org

WIMBLEDON: Murray Hurries Through

/noticias.info/ Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Forget Henmania - this is the year of Murraymania. Dunblane's favourite son won the first grand slam match of his career, beating George Bastl 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 marching purposefully into the second round in SW19. And grass is not even Andy Murray's best surface.

When he won the US Open junior title back in September, Murray was not too sure what all the fuss was about. The fact that he made headline news throughout Britain and was suddenly billed as the new Tim Henman did not seem quite right. It was only the juniors, after all.

But when the fuss started again as he made his way through the rounds at Queen's Club the week before last, he loved it. Murray was now playing with the big boys and, but for a twisted ankle and a bout of cramp against Thomas Johansson, he could have been in the quarter finals and playing that man Henman. This was what he had dreamt of for a lifetime.

Murray is a strange mixture of calm and impatience. He cannot wait to be a regular at the main events around the world, he cannot bear to be delayed by errant ballboys as he sprints towards victory but, once the ball is in play, he is controlled, deliberate and - let us not forget - rather good.

Faced with Bastl, Murray did everything he needed to do and did it well. The Swiss is now 30 and, after more than a decade of trying to crack the big time, he did not have the appetite for the battle once Murray took the lead. Being beaten by an 18-year-old was more than he could bear.

As Murray began to enjoy himself, he began to show the crowd exactly what was going through his mind. If he wasn't pumping his fist or pulling a face, he was screaming at himself to come on, do better, break now. The crowd could live every moment with him and loved him for it.

Murray never gave Bastl a chance, keeping his serve safe and never allowing Bastl so much as a sniff of a break point. The hotter it got - and it was a scorcher of a day out on Court Two - the better Murray played while the Swiss began to wilt under the pressure.

Bastl should have known his way around the court they call the graveyard of champions. Back in 2002 he stunned Pete Sampras out there, winning in five sets and ending Sampras' career on the green grass of SW19. At the time, the great man said that he did not want it to end like that but, nevertheless, he never came back.

Since that moment spent in the media spotlight, Bastl has been hiding in the shadows. He tried - and failed - to qualify for six more Grand Slam events until, finally, he made it here. But even in 2002, he did not actually qualify but crept into the main draw at the last minute as a lucky loser.

Against Murray, he did what he could to make a fight of it for the first eight games but once he had dropped his serve, he was never in a position to challenge Scotland's finest.

Written by Alix Ramsay


Court 2 - Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round
Andrew Murray GBR 6 6 6
George Bastl SUI 4 2 2 notas_de_prensa_archivo