WHAT’S HAPPENING LATELY TO MURRAY?
For Andy Murray it’s been all downhill since losing in the finals of the Australian Open in January. There he played even with Novak Djokovic for most of the first set, but after losing a 39 stroke rally in the later stages his will seemed to seep out, like air from a punctured tire, and he went down tamely in straight sets. His results since then have been strange, to say the least. He’s lost in straight sets in the first round of the three tournaments he’s played since the Australian. And these losses have been to Marcos Baghdatis (not a terrible loss), Donald Young (a quite bad loss for him), and Alex Bogomolov Jr. (a terrible loss for him).
He is obviously tanking, (if he were injured he wouldn’t be playing at all) but the question is why? Yes, his poor performance in the Australian might have been discouraging, but most top players, after a loss like that, will come out with added motivation to kick a little butt. Murray is doing the opposite. He’s turning around, bending over, and allowing anyone who can lift a racket to give him a swift one. For a normal person, it makes no sense, so what’s motivating Murray to do this?
I have a theory, and it’s only a theory, but I’ll give you my reasoning and you can judge for yourselves as to whether you buy it. I start out by recollecting Murray’s past behavior when he’s frustrated by things not going his way. I recall when Brad Gilbert was coaching him and he was losing, he began screaming at Gilbert something like, “You are not giving me enough!!!” I thought it was embarrassing for Gilbert in front of all those people, but Gilbert handled himself well and didn’t react. Thus he has a history of blaming and abusing coaches and others when he is frustrated. Of course lots of people blame others when they don’t get what they want (little kids, especially), but Murray has an added element – he gets angry, aggressive, and attacks them.
A second fact is the pressure he feels because the British people are so hungry for a British champion. They are pulling hard for him and they suffer with his losses. On top of it, the British press has a love – hate relationship with him. They love him when he wins and turn on him when he loses, which they probably did when he lost the Australian. This undoubtedly added hurt feelings to his frustration and anger after losing in the tournament.
When Murray is in this state he tends to lash out and try to hurt someone. But who? I believe he wants to take it out on the British people, knowing that they suffer with his losses. He probably mixes them together with the press and tars them all with the same brush. I believe he’s behaving like the spoiled, petulant child who becomes angry at his parents because they won’t buy him a toy and refuses to eat dinner to hurt them, knowing that they want him to eat it. I think he is lashing out in the only way he can to hurt a lot of people, and he is willing to hurt himself a bit to do it. It’s an immature thing to do, but the pandering and butt-rubbing on the tour for the stars does not promote maturity in any case. (In fact it’s surprising that so many of them appear to be rather well-grounded, Nadal and Federer in particular.)
Of course, this is just theory. What do you think?
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Agree! I also think he gets to the court believing that he is always better that his opponents , this mentality does not help him to play with humbleness. He should show more respect to his rivals whatsoever. it’s good to be confident but not overconfident or arrogant. Thanks Mr Fox! You are the best in this field.
Allen,
I agree with your perception of the problem with Murray. I think he needs to get back to basics (fast!) and start being more hands-on with his own training (scheduling, pushing himself to work hard, motivating himself, etc etc.) instead of handing this stuff off to other people to do. He is young and because of his relationship with the British people/press he’s probably been coddled for a long time from just about everyone, including his momma. He needs to cut the cord with his mom and start being a man with a job who is serious about being at the top of his profession. He (and the Brits) are too focused on the outcome instead of enjoying the process – with patience from himself and the british press, maybe he can start moving in the right direction and become number 1 in the world… but he better do it quickly!
I think technique or lack of it goes hand in hand with emotions. After that 39 stroke rally, Murray realized that here was a player who could out rally, out quick, out counter punch him. That broke his will. Murray lacks that big weapon that can bail him out of trouble. His weakness is his second serve, something Djokovic has fixed in his game. Murray is fragile mentally. He does not want to be a Bunny Austin, the Englishman who reached so many finals in the 30s. Perhaps he has come to the conclusion that there is always someone who is going to be better than him and that has broken his spirit
I don’t know what is wong with Murray now — I see the petulance, for sure — but I think I do know what is generally wrong with his game. He lacks the courage to be aggressive at the right moments. He has all of the weapons that Nadal and Djokovic have — the extraordinary movement, and, thus, the excellent defensive skills, as well as power and incredible feel. He also has a variety of shot that they lack. In the big moments, however, he is passive. At 5-4, 30-all against Djokovic in the 2d set in Rome, Andy, having gotten to that point by playing a smartly offensive game, decided it would suffice to keep the ball in play. As we all know, it didn’t, and that passivity cost him the match.
Sorry for my slow reply, Kathy. You may be right about Murray lacking courage to be aggressive on big points, or it may be because he is so contrary and antagonistic he wants to prove to his coaches (who all tell him to be more aggressive) that he can do it his way. If I were betting I’d bet you are closer to being correct than I. He may be a little risk averse and reverts to type under pressure.