"It's just always been a shot I've always had quite a good feel on" - Andy Murray decodes his expert lob shot
Andy Murray has an array of fine shots that he has displayed on-court over his stellar 17-year long career span.
The former World No. 1 has a whopping 46 singles titles under his belt, including three Grand Slam titles and two Olympic gold medals. The Briton has also earned an Olympic silver medal in mixed doubles with compatriot Laura Robson.
Well respected by his peers, he also played and stood alongside his long-time rival and friend Roger Federer at the 2022 Laver Cup, following which the Swiss Maestro retired from professional tennis.
The Scotsman showed no signs of slowing down with a spectacular run at the 2023 Australian Open. In a recent interview posted on social media, he spoke about his expert lob shots that he often uses to stun his opponents.
"The man with the golden lob. @andy_murray on the most famous shot in his arsenal!" read the post.
The man with the golden lob ✨
@andy_murray on the most famous shot in his arsenal! https://t.co/rmMKl5PEIq
Andy Murray revealed that it was his mother who encouraged him to play shots around the net, including the lob, and he developed "quite a good feel" for them.
"When I was young, my mom, with me and my brother, she was always into playing, yeah, lots of little games like around the net with like, the touch shots and working on the drop shots and the lob," he said.
"I did it a lot more when I was a kid and it's just always been a shot I've always had quite a good feel on. And I think because I practiced it so much when I was really young and got used to playing those games when I was a kid," he added.
The lob, when a player hits high and deep into the opponent's court, requires a delicate balance because if the ball is not hit high enough, it leaves room for the opponent to smash, and if the ball is too high, it runs the risk of going over the line. The 35-year old broke it down and decoded that the height of his opponent did not matter as he was able to hit it just right.
"I think the reason why my lob has been effective, on both sides really, is that I do hit it quite high. So it doesn't really matter, the height of the opponent so much because I'm always getting enough height to get it, you know, quite a bit over them. I know that if I hit this ball with good height, there isn't anything you can do to defend it," he revealed.
"I got him loads of time in that one match" - Andy Murray reveals how he used his lob shot against Ivo Karlovic at Wimbledon 2015
During the same interview, Andy Murray reminisced about his match with Ivo Karlovic at Wimbledon 2015, where the he used the lob shot repeatedly against the Croat.
"I did play one match against Karlovic at Wimbledon, where I got him loads of times in that one match," he recalled.
The two-time Wimbledon champion recalled that since much of Karlovic's game was about putting pressure on his opponent by getting close to the net, he stonewalled him by getting the ball over him each time, much to Karlovic's frustration.
"And I think it affected him a little bit because so much of his game is about putting pressure on you by getting in close to the net and chip charging on your serve, any time there's a short ball, he's at the net but I kept getting the ball over him and with each time, it was more and more frustruating for him and I do think it affected him a little bit,"Andy Murray said.
Andy Murray will now take to the courts at the Dubai Tennis Championships scheduled for February 22 to February 26.