Andy Murray and his quest for a third Grand Slam title
Murray is in better shape now
With a record equalling fourth title at Queen's club yesterday, Andy Murray is keen on extending his form into Wimbledon.
The Scot, who won here a couple of years ago is striking the ball well than he did in 2013.
“I feel I have improved. Physically I’m definitely in a better place than I was then, when I was having problems with my back – not so much on the grass but on the other surfaces.
“I feel I’m using my variety very well now, something that maybe I wasn’t the past couple of years. [I have] more experience, more matches. There are a few things I’m doing a little bit better.”
Murray reached the finals of the Australian Open and the semifinals of the French Open, losing to his nemesis Novak Djokovic on both occasions. He did extremely well on clay winning his first Masters 1000 title at Madrid taking out Rafael Nadal in the final.
Murray’s think tank
The 2-time Grand Slam champion attributes his recent successes to Amelie Mauresmo and the latest addition to his coaching team Jonas Bjorkman.
"I have to give a lot of credit to Amélie. The things I have worked on with her, like using my variety, I have spoken about a lot. Hopefully a culmination of the two of them will give me more success. I have spoken to Amélie a couple of times on the phone and we message every day. It’s been a good start.”
Amelie, who is expecting her first child in August will stay with Murray until Wimbledon. The variety in his game was evident in the final against Kevin Anderson.
The big serving South African, who ousted French Open champion Stan Wawrinka in the second round came up short against Murray on Sunday.
The World No.3 read Anderson's serve better and brought the South African to the net more often through well placed drop shots. His counterattacking tactics also fetch him break points at crucial moments in a match.
We saw that during his semifinal against Djokovic in Paris earlier this month. Murray, who looked down and out after dropping the first two sets against the World No. 1 regrouped himself and went for his shots in the third and fourth sets. The aggression paid off as he won more points off Djokovic's second serve stretching the match to five sets.
He rubbed on the energy from the crowd and hit more winners putting Djokovic under tremendous pressure. Djokovic and Murray are two of the best returners of the sport at the moment and the Scot replied the Serb with a taste of his own medicine by returning deep off first serves.
Co-incidentally, Murray's two Grand Slam wins have come against Djokovic at the US Open and Wimbledon. However, the Scot has come short against the World No. 1 in 8 of the previous 9 matches.
Queen’s win will just boost his confidence
Murray has been able to get free points off his serve as well, something he failed to do on a regular basis in 2014. He had to play ATP 250 events in order to qualify for the World Tour Finals after he dropped out of the top eight.
The quarterfinal loss to Grigor Dimitrov at Wimbledon last year was tough to swallow for the Scot after a memorable win in 2013. Murray has shown that he is up for a fight and a near perfect clay court campaign, his least preferred surface is testimony to this fact.
Winning the Aegon Championships and Queen's are two different things and Murray knows this fact all too well.
“That means nothing, really. There are no guarantees that winning here gives you a Wimbledon title. I need to go out there and earn it. I need to train well the next five, six days.
“It’s great preparation, a great start to my preparation on the grass. It gives me that little bit of confidence going in there. But it’s a long way to go before Wimbledon even starts and then all sorts of things can happen during slams.” The players have more time to prepare for Wimbledon this year as the Grass major has been extended by a week. Several players are competing in all the three lead-up tournaments to Wimbledon.
Murray has a tough road ahead
Murray's progress at Wimbledon also depends on the draw which is in no one's control. If he gets Djokovic in the same half, it would be an uphill task for the Scot to make it to another Major final.
The Serb isn't the only one who can trouble Murray at SW19. Swiss maestro Roger Federer is coming into Wimbledon after winning a record eighth title at Halle and is poised to go deep at his most successful Slam.
Federer is looking for his 18th Grand Slam title and his best chance of getting to it is right here at Wimbledon. Father time doesn't spare anyone, but Federer will take heart from the fact that he pushed Djokovic all the way in last year's final.
Rafael Nadal, who has got the better of Murray on multiple occasions won his first grass court title in five years at Stuttgart. The Spaniard can prove to be a tricky opponent to Murray, if he faces him as early as the fourth round given Nadal's current ranking of 10.
For Murray though, it is more of a mental battle when he takes on the best in Major finals. He surrendered to Djokovic in Melbourne (fourth set) and Paris (fifth set) and should concentrate on striking first in these all important matches.
Only six players have done the Queens - Wimbledon double until now. Murray has a chance to extend his Grand Slam tally at his home Slam, but will he seize the opportunity when it presents itself?
Only time will tell.