Murray Feels at Home at Wimbledon

With only three days remaining until the 2009 Wimbledon final, two gargantuan story lines hang overhead. Most of the world is watching Roger Federer to see if he will set the all-time record for tennis Grand Slam Championships with his 15th, but the host, Great Britain, will not be on side. The Britons’ hopes and dreams have been saddled on homegrown Andy Murray’s shoulders, and with good reason.

The fourth seeded 22 year-old Murray sports a 6-2 record against the first seed, the most lopsided record any current player can claim on Federer. Murray has only once before met the Swiss superstar in a Grand Slam final, and this came at the U.S. Open final last year. Unfortunately, after beating the world’s best player, Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, Murray succumbed to the pressure of playing in his first Major final, failing to play his best, and losing the match in straight sets.

The locals are perhaps hoping that the set-back was a touch of fate, as it prepared him to win his first Major tournament in a much more dramatic fashion – on his home court in front of his own people. Murray, in an interview with Ian Baker from the official Wimbledon website, certainly thinks so,

“I feel like I'm ready to win a Grand Slam now, whereas last year I might not have been. But I understand how difficult it is.” If he manages to do so, it would make Andy Murray the first British man to win at Wimbledon in 73 years, since Fred Perry accomplished the feat in 1936. In England, there is a sentiment that the win would be as important to their country as when they captured Football’s World Cup in 1966.

Murray’s story has become larger than life in Britain, and the pressure on him is enormous. One can’t help to wonder how he will respond as he looks into the crowd and hears thousands chanting his name. Neil Harmann of the Times Online asked him about reacting to the pressure, and Murray replied,

“It is on the court where I feel most comfortable. I really don’t feel the weight of expectation, it’s the last thing you are thinking about when you are hitting your first serve of the match. When it comes down to it, playing in front of 15,000 people on Centre Court at Wimbledon is what I want to do, that’s the part of your job you enjoy the most.”

Murray’s head appears to be in the right place as he heads into his Friday semi-final match against the sixth-seeded American, Andy Roddick. The resurgent Roddick will provide a formidable foe and he could be just the medicine to round Murray’s game into form, so that he is ready to face the formidable Federer in the final. The British certainly hope it is.