Fame, set and match as Murray smashes way into world top 50
LAURA ROBERTS
A YEAR ago, Andy Murray was an unknown quantity on the senior tour. But now the Scottish tennis star has stormed into the top 50 ranked players after his astonishing achievement at the SAP Open in California.

His victory over world number three Andy Roddick saw his stock soar to a level unimaginable 12 months ago when he first competed as a senior.


Last night, he faced an even tougher test, taking on the former world number one Lleyton Hewitt in the San Jose competition final.

Earlier, Murray had stunned spectators when he dismissed Roddick in straight sets in the semi-final, the first time the youngster has beaten a player from the top ten, marking another highlight in his short but dramatic career.

Yesterday, Murray admitted that he struggled to control his nerves during the match and said: "I was almost a little sick because of nerves but in the end I came through. That was definitely my biggest win. Beating Roddick in his home country is like a dream come true."

Prior to the semi-final, Murray, 18, was ranked 60th in the world. He dominated the match against Roddick to win 7-5, 7-5, continuing his startling progress of last year.

The teenager was confident in his ability to challenge the top players as he spoke after the match.

He said: "You want to be pushing your ranking in the right direction and to get into the top 50 is a pretty decent achievement at 18 years of age.

"It's come pretty quickly but I feel like I deserve it. I didn't have the best start to the year but I've been working very hard and I just had to get a few matches under my belt, get a bit of confidence. When that happened I knew I'd start to win a lot."

Murray, who is used to feeling the full support of his home crowd when playing in Britain, said that he was not intimidated to play Roddick on American soil as the underdog.

"In matches like that the crowd doesn't matter, it's just great to be on the court with someone like him," he said.

"To manage to win against him is amazing, and I'm really looking forward to playing my [next] match because now that I've won against a top ten player, it gives me the confidence knowing I can do it because I've had chances against top ten players before and I haven't taken them."

Roddick is renowned for a extremely fast serve that can top 155mph and a powerful forehand, but was beaten into submission by the Dunblane teenager's consistency which forced him into a series of erratic shots losing crucial points.

Speaking after the match, Murray said: "I have a little more experience against the best players now. I know when they start to come back on me that the worst way to play is defensively. Today I played more aggressively and it paid off."

He added: "When I've played against top players I've not been outclassed and I think it was just a matter of time before I won one of these big matches."

His opponent said that his infamous service had let him down.

"It just seemed like I couldn't get the ball to go through the court like I would have liked," Roddick said. "It was difficult. I wasn't getting much bite on my service action. It was frustrating."

Three-times Wimbledon champion and tennis veteran John McEnroe was quick to praise the young Scot. He said: "The sky is the limit. You have a guy that is really capable of being a great player."

However, Murray was quick to discourage British fans from assuming that he will automatically be aiming to win Wimbledon 2006.

The teenager, whose favourite surface is clay, insisted yesterday the grass tournament was not his priority despite the fact his new ranking may mean he is seeded in the tournament.

He said: "There's 11 more months of tournaments around Wimbledon and everybody is going to put a lot of pressure on me and expect a lot from me, but if I'm not seeded there I could potentially draw [Roger] Federer, Roddick, Hewitt - any of the top-ranked players.

"So if I lose in the first round or if I get to the semi-finals, nothing is going to change too much for me as long as everything is going in the right direction."

However, Glasgow sport psychologist Tom Lucas said that Murray was playing on his youth to take the pressure of expectation away.

He said: "The pressure on him is exponential and it increases every time he wins something. He will be aiming to be in the top 20 and to go into Wimbledon as Britain's number one. As long as he maintains his confidence and self-esteem that's all we have to worry about."

Murray turned pro in 2005 and has been playing tennis since the age of three. Last year, he burst into the public's consciousness after becoming the first Scotsman to reach the third round of Wimbledon and climbed 449 places to get into the top 100.

He defeated his mentor and British number one Tim Henman in the first round of an ATP tournament in Basle, Switzerland in October last year.

He lost to world number one Federer in Bangkok in the same month in his first ATP final. Last night's match was only the second ATP final he has played.

Murray is the youngest player to reach the Bay Area final since 1988, when 16-year-old Michael Chang won the title.

Despite his success, Murray played down his chance of winning against Hewitt and said: "I will probably have to play my best match to beat him. He's going to fight for every point."

This article was originally posted on 22-Feb-2006, 15:42 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 22-Feb-2006, 18:34.