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Andy Murray gets inspiration from boxing champ, regains winning form
2 Comments · Posted by Staff in Articles
By Ben Jacobs
Britain’s Andy Murray claimed his first victory since the Australian Open with a very comfortable straight sets victory over Radek Stepanek, 6-1 6-4. The Scot who had previously suffered four consecutive defeats seemed to be approaching something like his top form on his first clay court appearance of 2011.
Perhaps even more interesting than the match itself was Murray’s post-match interview with BBC Sport in which he stated that a recent meeting with WBA Heavyweight champion David Haye had given him a psychological boost. Indeed, the London pugilist had been exchanging text messages prior to Murray’s match wishing him luck and giving him one or two tips.
Murray stated that he feels when “He is moving well that he can be the best player in the world.” Personally I was delighted to hear such comments as I think it shows a true inner belief in his abilities and that will be the key to restoring his confidence and giving him that drive to claim a first grand slam win later this year.
It is clear that while they are very different sports, boxing and tennis do share some common facets such as the one on one competition plus the mental side of the game which is perhaps not as necessary or at least, evident in team sports.
Today Murray took on and defeated the talented Frenchman Gilles Simon, 6-3 6-3, and will be hoping for another victory over Portugal’s Federico Gil tomorrow for a spot in the semifinals, while also further enhancing his credentials and self-confidence.
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Dan Markowitz · April 15, 2011 at 8:57 pm
Good story, Ben. I am very dubious about Murray’s chance after the losses to Young and Bogolmolov. Those are two bad losses. I mean it’s one thing for Federer to lose in straights to Melzer, which is a bad loss, but on scale with Murray’s two losses, this isn’t big. Murray usually plays well on the U.S. hard court circuit. I’m rooting for him, though, to prove me wrong.
Scoop Malinowski · April 15, 2011 at 11:50 pm
Murray is looking really really good. He has responded like a true champ to those crushing losses to lesser players Bogie and Young. He is playing top notch tennis again. I think this bodes very well for his future, he has dealt with and overcome this adversity and is back on track to winning a slam in the near future. Really like how he has come out this week and shown everyone what he’s made of. Only a fool would count out Murray.