Andy Murray secured his second Queen’s Club Title in his tennis career on Sunday with a close match over the hard hitting Frenchman, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Murray battled back from a set down to win the final. Although he didn’t play his best, it looked like Murray is very much on the brink of playing his best tennis of his tennis career on the green grass of London.
I remember in past years there’s been quite a lot of hype surrounding the Scot’s hopes of winning Wimbledon (remember the last player from the UK was Fred Perry in ’34, ’35, and ’36) in all of the years he entered. ‘Can Murray win it this year?’ or ‘Is this the year Murray is going break through?’ or ‘This will be the year to get the money off his back.’ Those quotes have been repeated by announcers and fans since Andy made it in the top 50. So many tennis enthusiasts have tried to will Andy to win Wimbledon, but he’s fallen short so many times that I believe it’s gotten to the point that he may not care about winning – which may allow him to swing freely and just “hit balls” out there.
I recall looking at ticket prices for the Wimbledon Finals in 2009, when Murray was set to play Andy Roddick in the semifinals (the furthest Murray has reached in his career at Wimbledon), the prices were going for £3,500 or $5,730.54. Unfortunately, Murray could not close out the match against Roddick losing 6–4, 4–6, 7–6(7), 7–6(5). It was funny to see the prices drop from ridiculous amounts all the way back down to face value overnight.
Things are different now for Murray, there’s a clear calmness to him, or at least that’s what I see. He looks more confident, ready, and is seems to realize that the guys that used to beat him easily are starting to find the end of their ropes. It is his chance? Probably, if he takes the win at Queen’s Club to heart and runs with that momentum, he surely could be a major contender for the title, even though he has to get past the likes of Nada, Federer, Djokovic, and Roddick.