Murray to start with night match- Tennis News
- Friday, September 4, 2009, 16:02
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Andy Murray will begin his US Open campaign against Ernests Gulbis in Tuesday’s showpiece night match at Flushing Meadows.It will follow the match between Maria Sharapova and Tsvetana Pironkova on Arthur Ashe Stadium, with Murray set to start at around 0130 BST on Wednesday. Murray beat Gulbis at Wimbledon this year and has a 3-0 record against the 21-year-old Latvian. The Scot lost to Roger Federer in last year’s final in New York. Since then, Murray has won seven tournaments, taking his career tally to 13, and climbed from number six to number two in the world. He has also matched his best performance at the Australian Open in reaching the fourth round and improved on his previous bests at the French Open and Wimbledon, where he made the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively. “One of the few things that I want to do now in tennis is to win a Slam,” said Murray. “It’s something that’s incredibly difficult to do but something I believe is possible.
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“I think a lot of players say when they win their first Slam it’s sort of a relief because it’s so much hard work that you put into it. I’m hoping I can do it here.” Top seed Federer began his title defence with a straightforward win over 18-year-old American Devin Britton on Monday. “Federer is the favourite,” former British number one Tim Henman told BBC 5 live. “But Murray’s the world number two now – I think he can get back to the final and go one stage further.” Henman believes the Scot needs to show he can dictate matters on court against the top-ranked players in order to realise his dream. “I think the more pro-active he is, the better he plays,” added the 34-year-old. “Because he’s so solid and moves well, sometimes I feel he thinks he just needs to keep the ball in play, move and hit his strokes to beat these guys. “But if he can be more aggressive against the best – Federer and Rafael Nadal – then he can dominate and make his opponent do the running. He has the technique to do that.”
With Nadal once again featuring on his side of the draw, Murray believes he is adequately prepared for the step up in intensity come the latter rounds. “Once you get to the end of the slams, you need to raise your game, make sure you’re playing great tennis,” he added. “Sometimes in the first few rounds that’s not always the case, because there are obviously different conditions, sometimes you haven’t played any matches on the court. “So you sometimes have to go through some tough moments early in the tournament but it’s about finding your way through them and then playing your way in, and by the end of the tournament it’s going to be important to do everything well.” The presence of Federer, who is chasing a record-equalling sixth successive US Open title, and Nadal – who Murray beat in the semi-finals last year and is seeded to meet at the same stage again – means Murray assesses success in the Slams differently. “You’ve got the two of the best players ever playing just now so it’s a little bit disrespectful to the other players to view it as being a failure not to get to the final,” said the Scot. “I’ll be disappointed, for sure, because I want to try and win every tournament I play in. “But I think I have a good enough understanding of tennis that you can still have a good Slam and not win it.” Nadal, who could not defend his Wimbledon title because of a knee injury, has dropped from world number one to three and begins his campaign against Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
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