Right OK I thought it was time for a tennis related post as its been quite a while since I last did one and this again will cover Andy Murray's progress in the tail end of his 2014 season, which I think its safe to say that it has been a mixed bag, but at last it is taking a turn for the good. Last time I covered Andy's first title win in 14 months since winning Wimbledon last year as he triumphed in Shenzhen last month so this time I will cover his progress at the tournaments since then.
So starting with the China open, Andy continued his good run of form as he managed to battle his way past the big serving Jerzy Janowicz in a rematch of their Wimbledon semi final, Andy came from a set down to win the match. After this he dismissed Pablo Cuevas or Urugay in straight sets and then continued to pull off the biggest victory of his season so far as he toppled Marin Cilic, the US Open champ, as Andy outplayed the big Croat winning in 6-1, 6-4 to reach the semis in Bejing. However in the semis Andy came undone against Novak Djokovic who maintained his incredible unbeaten run at Beijing with a convincing straight set win over his old rival with a 6-3, 6-4 victory, which saw Andy's time in Beijing come to an end. This was a rather disappointing loss for Andy having done so well to reach the semi final stage but in the end Nole was just too good and he went to demolish Tomas Berdych in the final.
After this Andy headed on to Shanghai for the Shanghai Rolex Masters event which was a tournament where Andy has enjoyed success in the past as he has won the title there twice in the past in 2010 and 2011. Andy started off well with a tricky encounter from a Russian player Teymuraz Gabashvili but he managed to overcome him in straight sets. After this Andy went on to face Jerzy Janowicz again for the 2nd time in so many weeks but this time he made light work of the big Pole as he took a 7-5, 6-2 win over the big guy. However in the 3rd round Andy faced off against David Ferrer and despite making a strong start by taking the opening set he faded fast after that as Ferrer sped through the 2nd set breaking three times and in the 3rd set Ferrer broke Andy twice to end his time in Shanghai as the Spaniard won 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. Given Andy's success in the past at this Masters event it was a letdown that he didn't manage to come through it and it also saw him lose the rag and smash his racquet during the match, which is starting to become something of a trend with him although perhaps with the absence of his coach Amelie Mauresmo, there is no one to temper his frustrations.
So next up Andy decided to bump up his efforts to qualify for the ATP world tour finals in London in November by playing in the Vienna Open, an ATP 250 tour event. Andy clearly showing high motivation to qualify for London he made short work of his first three opponents in Vasek Pospisil, Jan-Lennard Struff and Viktor Troicki all of whom he dispatched in straight sets. And this lead into the final which was a rematch with David Ferrer and this was an opportunity for Andy to get some revenge for his loss in Shanghai. However it was Ferrer that made the better start as Andy's serve went begging at 5-6 and Ferrer broke to nab the first set. In the 2nd set Andy managed to make inroads on Ferrer's service games and he broke the Spaniard twice to level the match and take it to a decider. And the deciding set itself was a dramatic one, which saw momentum swing to and fro and Andy took the early break but soon squandered and found himself a break down before he knew it, 4-2, but he broke back only to squander it once again to go 5-3 down. But.... Andy managed to fight back and break again and this time at 5-5 he managed to break Ferrer one last time and despite any signs of more drama, Andy dispelled further fears of dropping serve as he served it out confidently with an ace to grab his 2nd title of the year with a hard fought 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 victory. This was easily Andy's biggest win of the year to date as he toppled Ferrer it meant he had finally beaten a player ranked inside the top 8 (as Ferrer is currently No.5 in the world) and it would be one that would stand him in very good stead for what could lie ahead should he qualify for London.
And this brings us up to date (for now anyway) as Andy this week (or last now really!) entered the Valencia Open, an ATP 500 tour event, worth double the points then his last two titles, it was a very valuable tournament for Andy to compete in. And again Andy made a confident start as he swept past his first two opponents, Jurgen Melzer and the hot tempered Fabio Fognini in straight sets. However as Andy reached the quarter finals he had a real fight on his hands as he played the big South African, Kevin Anderson, who's massive serve proved to be a nightmare, which saw Andy have to fight back from a set down again to win the match 6-7, 6-4, 6-4. This set up yet another clash with David Ferrer, their third in as many weeks, and this time Andy had the initiative as he broke Ferrer early on in the first set to take it. However in the 2nd set despite going 3-0 up, Andy again dropped serve to have Ferrer roar back and take the next four games. Andy however managed to hold on and as play to 5-5 again, Andy managed to break and serve out the match to reach his 3rd final of the season with a 6-4, 7-5 win.
Which brings me onto the final which saw Andy have another rematch with Tommy Robredo, the in form Spaniard, whom Andy edged in Shenzhen to claim the title. But unlike thier previous match where Robredo faded away badly from fatigue and injury in Shenzhen there was no danger of that here in the indoor event of Valencia. And it was Robredo in the first set that made his move to break Andy's fragile serve as Andy showed strong signs of fatigue himself clearly after the exhertions of his last two matches. However despite that Andy dug deep to break Robredo early on in 2nd set but ended up blowing the lead at 4-4 and play went to a tiebreak, which was very reminiscent of their thrilling breaker in the Shenzhen final, which saw momentum swing back and forth and Andy again saved match points and went on to get the minibreak and nab the 2nd set. In the decider we were treated to a tense nailbiting contest as both men cagily held serve until 3-3 where Robredo made his move to break Andy's increasingly fragile serve, but it was short lived as the British No.1 broke straight back. From here play carried on with Andy having a match point chance snuffed out by Robredo and play again went into another thrilling tiebreak which saw Andy having to save four match points and he went on to defy all the odds and got the crucial break with a clean backhand pass, Andy clinched the title and collapsed to the floor with exhaustion as he claimed his 3rd title of the year with an incredible epic victory and a 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (10-8) result.
Well this was without a single doubt one of the best matches of the year so far as both men raised their level as the match progressed and they played some incredible points and the home crowd were firmly behind Robredo but they were awed by the quality of hitting from both guys and they produced a great atmosphere. And Andy yet again showed his champion fighting qualities in this final as he battled hard from being a break down in the 3rd set as well as having saved match points in the 2nd and 3rd set tiebreaks, he just wouldn't go away as Robredo had victory in his sights on several occassions. And Robredo put in such a tremedous and spirited fight that he too deserved to win this match and it was so close that there was no favourite, but he took his defeat in good spirits as he amusingly gave a double finger salute to Andy at the net just before their exhausted embrace! But its sheer testement to Andy's gutsy determination that he was able to come through this epic contest and it sees him rise to 5th place in the race to London, which means he is almost certain to qualify now for the event (well just about!).
However there is still one more event to go this week coming up at the Paris Masters, which is another indoor tournament and given the sheer physical torture Andy must have put his body through this week alone, not to mention having played five straight weeks in a row, it remains to be seen what condition he will be come his first match there. The one good thing though for him is with Rafa having ended his season to have surgery for his appendicitis this has opened up a spot in the ATP WTF event so Andy is almost certain to qualify should he not do so well in Paris. And with the withdrawal of Rafa and Marin Cilic from Paris this week coming, Andy will be seeded 8th, which will give him a bye into the 2nd round, which means he will have two days off before he needs to play again, which will let him recuperate for a while before he steps out onto court again. Unfortunately for Andy though his draw is pretty unkind in Paris as he could possibly face Grigor Dimitrov in the 3rd round and Nole in the quarters, so we will just have to wait and see how he goes and how much he has left in the tank when he reaches the city of lights. However if Andy reaches the quarter finals in Paris then he will qualify for London so I'm sure he will go hell for leather with whatever energy he has left to make it happen and come the quarter final maybe he will just let Nole thump him so he can go home and rest! ;-) Well maybe not, but we will just wait and see what is in store for the British No.1 this week.
Rrrrrrright so that's it for now and I will be back sometime soon with more results of the ATP tour and quickly I will mention the WTA tour as the WTA championships ended on Sunday with a very convincing win for Serena Williams, who thrashed Simona Halep in the final to claim her 5th year end title with a 6-3, 6-0 win. So well done to Serena and that sees the 2014 WTA tour season come to an end.
So that's me for now and until the next one its bye for now.
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