Andrew Murray - Australian Open Men's Tennis Players
The great, young hope of British tennis, Andrew (Andy) Murray, has much to prove in his budding career. The young Scotsman is currently ranked only No.10 in the ATP World Rankings, but shows enough raw talent to put him in contention for the men's title at the Australian Open 2009.
Having already pocketed over US$1 450 836 in winnings in his three-year professional career, the feisty young man has faced up to the top 2 ranked tennis champions in the world, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
He surprised even his toughest critics when he beat Federer at the Cincinnati Masters in 2006. Sadly, this did not lead him to claiming a title though, as he fell to Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals.
He faced world no.2, Rafael Nadal, at the Australian Open 2007 for the first time. Seeded 15th for the tournament, Murray made it through to the fourth round by crushing Spaniard, Alberto Martin 6-1, 6-0, 6-1, equaling the largest-ever victory at the Australian Open in the process.
Murray eventually lost in 5 sets to Nadal, but he had the powerful Spaniard on the ropes initially when he led by 2 sets to 1.
Seeded 9th for the first time, Andrew Murray rose to No.4 in the world, his highest ranking, in September 2008 when he faced Roger Federer in the final round of the US Open 2008 - Federer defeated Murray in straight sets 6–2, 7–5, 6–2. He had taken on and beaten the likes of British no.1, Tim Henman and men's tennis players Tommy Haas, Lleyton Hewitt and Novak Djokovic in the past.
He has proved, without a doubt, that he has the makings of a real star. He needs to get his fitness levels up, as he is renowned for his lethargy in long matches, and has often had to pull out of tournaments due to injury. In fact, as a junior training on the clay courts of Spain, he was given the nickname "Lazy English"! He can, in the future, easily be ranked one of the top Australian Open men's tennis players of all time.
Murray is now coached by Miles Maclagan, a former Davis Cup team player who played alongside tennis great Tim Henman.
Andrew's Murray accomplishments:
- He is currently the highest-ranking British player on the ATP World Rankings.
- In 2005 he became the youngest ever Davis Cup Player for Great Britain, at the age of 18.
- He is the first Scot to reach round three at Wimbledon.
- In 2006, he and Rafael Nadal were the only two players to beat Roger Federer.
- in 2008 he became the first British player in over a decade to reach the final round of a grand slam tennis tournament since Greg Rusedski in 1997. He eventually lost the round to winner Roger Federer.
Although Andrew Murray is certainly the wild card of the Australian Open men's tennis players, he has an equal chance of claiming his first Grand Slam victory. To place a bet on this event we recommend William Hill for the best tennis betting experience.
