As Andy Murray prepares for his 24th match against Roger Federer on Friday – and third with the Swiss on the Centre Court grass – he has to nurse a recovering right shoulder that he hopes will not rob him of a chance to contest the final two days later.
Murray’s assistant coach, Jonas Bjorkman, insists the injury that flared in the win over Andreas Seppi , had not cleared after he beat Ivo Karlovic and, according to more detached opinion, looked to be lingering during his quarter-final against Vasek Pospisil, is no longer an issue.
And those who witnessed Murray working out with the Swede on Thursday afternoon attest to the clean-striking power of the Scot. With Bjorkman serving from the T of the service box at probably the equivalent of a full-length 120 miles an hour, Murray missed just a single ball in about half an hour. It was an extraordinary performance. “He was hitting the ball nicely,” Bjorkman said later, “and, even against Pospisil, he looked great. He has played a lot of matches this year, probably more than ever with the great season he has had. Some days you are a little bit more tired in the muscles, you need to do the rehab and all of that. But against Pospisil it was looking great.”
Bjorkman does not expect Federer to play desperate tennis even though this may be his last chance to win a record eighth title here. “Everyone said three years ago that he was done and finished but he’s still there, playing well, competing for the big matches. I think it’s probably more media speculation that this might be his last one. You can never count him out. He’s proved that a lot of times.”
Bjorkman said he was not prepared for the level of work Murray put in off the court when he took up the job this summer. “I was amazed from the start how professional he is, how much work he puts in on a daily basis. He is there to work hard and achieve his goals. That has been very impressive, I have to say. He is playing with a lot of confidence and has been pretty relaxed during this event.”
It is safe to say this will be the first Wimbledon semi-final with two Leeds United fans from Sweden lined up opposite each other in their respective players’ boxes.
Bjorkman says of Federer’s coach, Stefan Edberg: “He’s definitely been a role model for me. He was my mentor more or less because he helped me from early on so he has always been there for me and given good advice. It always meant a lot if he called. We saw each other briefly now, and we were laughing, it will be fun to be in the opposite box.”
And he admires what the former world No 1 and Wimbledon champion has done for Federer. “He has managed to get Roger to be more aggressive. He is definitely looking for the net a lot more, to shorten the points instead of maybe challenging the guys from the back as much.
“Roger always had a great volley but he was some times pretty casual in the volley. Now you can see he is more determined when he comes forward, and he is focussing once he is there. He really puts the effort in. I think that is the big change in his game in which Stefan has helped.”
