Of Olympics, Slams and Glories: The Tale of the Scotsman

For fans, Andy Murray is the player; for critics, the Scot is a mystery and for writers, the Briton is an oasis for the concept of food-for-thought. From appreciation to accolades and from affronts to flak, he has faced them all, like perpetually being in the eye of a storm. And quite probably he would continue to be so, even after his two-in-a-day, medal-winning maelstrom at the London Olympics.

As deserving and fulfilling Murray’s efforts at the London Olympics have been, it’s the aftermath of this victory that’s anticipatory of spate of heightened expectations to follow. Ever since he reached his first slam finals, four years ago, at the 2008 US Open, Murray has been under the roving-eyes of the sport more than once. But while his improving performances have been lauded, the underscored irony in them made even the sincerest of compliments seem redundant.

In the professional competitive circuit of sports, players are required to prove themselves. But once they have done so, there is no need for further litmus tests to determine whether they are capable of holding their ground or not. In the case of Andy Murray though, such tests just seem to be a routine occurrence after every single match that he plays. And with the attention now tuned towards the American hard-court season, especially in the two Masters tournaments preceding the US Open, the trialling-eyes seem to be riveted on this one man – more than ever before and importantly, more than anyone else.

While Murray’s unexpected success at the Olympics, combined with his past favourable results in both the legs of the US Open Masters series, has opened new grounds for him in terms of prospects at the forthcoming US Open; these positives are not without a catch.

However refined the Scot’s match finishing abilities at the latter stages of a tournament, in case of a setback, however slight, the ensuing loss of confidence retention by fans could and would loom as huge pitfalls for him all over again. The rebound from favourite to pariah, thus, consequentially effectuating a backlash threatening to usurp the follow-on of the preceding successes.

Avoidance of such vetoing being indeed possible, it’s not exactly easy either. The constancy of the spot-light, irrespective of performances, makes it difficult to not get bogged down, even though one wishes to be. Analysing of match performances, correlating to future events is a commonality found at all sporting planes.  And where recreating the player’s achievement on paper is necessary, the ability to restrict predictions whilst not taking away the player’s achievement is an aspect that’s equally important.

There are times when players need to be left alone and not badgered about. The player on his part may or may not choose to be impervious – that’s the player’s individual choice – but constantly being talked about, will and does tend to have a disconfirming reaction somewhere at some point. As regards Murray’s slam winning chances at the US Open this year and the many more grand slams in the years to follow, maybe his time has indeed come or maybe it still lies awaiting. It’s these chances and probabilities that ultimately forge players and their professional temperaments. Not successes and most definitely, not losses.