So that’s your lot, folks. Andy Murray is in fine fettle ahead of Wimbledon, which starts a week on Monday. On this form, he will be a real contender for a second title at the Championships. As for Anderson, with a fair wind and a good draw he has every chance of going beyond the fourth round of a major for the first time in his career. Thanks for all your emails and goodbye.
It’s just after 1am in Melbourne, but you sense Davy Corrigan won’t be turning in just yet. “Well worth staying up on a school night for,” he writes. “I’m dropping $30 on Muzza for Wimbledon.” Fair enough, Davy. And if he let’s you down, you can always ask him for a contribution from his hefty winner’s cheque.
As Murray parades the giant winner’s trophy around a jubilant centre court, it’s hard not to reflect that Anderson is one of the few players who wouldn’t be dwarfed by that oversized piece of silverware. Still, it wasn’t to be and David Wall has these words of solace for the big man: “I hope Kevin Anderson gets a decent cheque for his trouble as the runner-up trophy is pretty crappy, especially compared with the huge thing that Murray gets for winning.”
Now it’s Murray’s turn to talk to Sue. “When you’re playing the match, you’re just trying to focus,” says Murray in response to Barker’s suggestion that he played superbly. “I had to play that way if I wanted to win today.” So is he playing as well as when he won Wimbledon two years ago? “I’m playing better than I was in 2013, but it’s extremely difficult to win these events because everyone is improving all the time. I’m playing against some of the greatest players who have every played, so I just have to keep working hard.” Never knowingly overstated is he, our Andy?
Speaking courtside to Sue Barker, Anderson hails Murray as a “terrific player”. Of his own week, he says: “It’s been terrific, and I really felt I played some good tennis through the week. I felt it went really well and I’ll definitely take some positives.” I should say.
The presentation formalities are underway, so hopefully we’ll be hearing from Murray soon. First up, though, is Kevin Anderson. Spare a thought for him. He was match point down against Lleyton Hewitt in the opening round, but how he bounced back. No one will want to face him at Wimbledon.
“Yeahhhhhhh!!!” cries Murray after wrapping up the match. And well might he yell. That was a stunning performance: a difficult match made to look ludicrously easy. Except, of course, it wasn’t. Murray served well, returned well, moved well and showed some exquisite touches. What a player he is. It’s low fives all round with his team at courtside, and quite right too.
Murray wins the second set and the match, 6-3, 6-4!
Second set: Murray* 6-4 Anderson (sets 1-0) Wimbledon, watch out. Andy Murray is the new Queen’s champion and he is in red hot form. A blistering backhand winner takes him to 30-15, and he concludes the proceedings with two unanswerable serves. What a performance!
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Second set: Murray 5-4 Anderson* (sets 1-0) All credit to Anderson, he’s not giving up on this. He wraps up another fine service game to 15, but it’s all about Murray now. “This marriage malarkey seems to be working a treat for Muzza, the man’s been on fire of late!” writes Davy Corrigan, all the way from Melbourne. “Is he finally evolving into the really great player that we all knew he could be?” Could be, Davy; could just be. Watch this space.
Second set: Murray* 5-3 Anderson (sets 1-0) Two swinging serves to the forehand that prove too hot to handle, a rare shanked backhand, a magnificent lob and a two-handed winner down the line. That’s Andy Murray’s slightly unorthodox recipe for success in this game, and what a mixture it is. He’s a game away from the title.
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Second set: Murray 4-3 Anderson* (sets 1-0) Anderson hits back with a love game, but that will matter little to Murray, who has the break and is just a couple of holds away from joining McEnroe, Becker, Hewitt and Roddick on four Queen’s titles.
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Second set: Murray* 4-2 Anderson (sets 1-0) Another textbook demonstration of how to consolidate a break. Well, almost. Having raced to 40-0, Murray briefly falters, coughing up a couple of unforced errors. But he recovers in exquisite fashion, concluding a rally full of subtle changes of pace and angle with a whipped forehand that kisses the line at the most acute of angles. Lovely play.
Second set: Murray 3-2 Anderson* (sets 1-0) Murray hits the return of the match, lunging to his right to steer a forehand on to the line off a 124mph serve wide to the deuce court. Does it unsettle Anderson? Quite possibly, because a few moments later it’s 30-40 and Murray is leading the South African a merry dance. A big serve elicits a weak return that Anderson should put away, but he fails to get enough purchase on the ball. That’s Murray’s cue for an unanswerable lob-and-dropshot routine. Murray’s only gone and broken him again.
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Second set: Murray* 2-2 Anderson (sets 1-0) On the opening point, Anderson pressures Murray into a mistake after making his way to the net behind a heavy barrage of groundstrokes. “Hmmm,” Murray seems to think to himself, “what would big Kev do in this situation?” He pauses, then slams down an ace. Two points later, after a successful challenge, he thunders down another. If you can’t beat ‘em …
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Second set: Murray 1-2 Anderson* (sets 1-0) Anderson holds to love. It’s every bit as quick as you might expect. Who would bet against this set going to a tie-break if Anderson hits his stride on serve?
Second set: Murray* 1-1 Anderson (sets 1-0) As Murray holds with a beautiful forehand winner, Simon McMahon writes: “Murray looks in sublime form. He really is wonderful to watch, a modern day McEnroe no less. A second Wimbledon title next month must be a distinct possibility.”
Second set: Murray 0-1 Anderson* (sets 1-0) “Blimey!” exclaims Dean Kinsella. “Murray is in fabulous form. He must surely feel he is going to beat anyone he plays at the moment – even the Djoker!” He certainly is in fabulous form, Dean. It’s extraordinary to see how much better Murray is at dealing with Anderson’s heavy artillery than the gifted Gilles Simon was yesterday. And I’m sure Murray fans everywhere will be hoping you’re right about his chances against Novak Djokovic. Because right now it’s hard to look beyond a Djokovic-Murray Wimbledon final, assuming they’re in opposite sides of the draw. Meanwhile, Anderson seals the opening game of the set with an ace. Obviously.
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Murray wins the first set 6-3
First set: Murray* 6-3 Anderson (*denotes server) Anderson plays a wonderful point at 40-0 down, working his way into the net before banging away an overhead. It’s not enough. At 40-15, the South African fails to challenge a Murray forehand that appeared to drift wide of the line, and that proves a costly mistake as he drives the ball long. That’s the first set to Murray with minimal fuss.
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First set: Murray 5-3 Anderson* (*denotes server) It’s a tribute to the quality of Murray’s returning that it took Anderson three service games to bring up the century of aces (he started the match on 96, remember). He may not always get the ball in play, but he almost invariably gets a racket on it, and that will be a bit disheartening for Anderson. Not that disheartening, mind, because he makes short work of this game. And, of course, bangs down a 101st ace.
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First set: Murray* 5-2 Anderson (*denotes server) Another silken service game from Murray, who puts nary a foot wrong as he seals the game to love with a carefully negotiated forehand.
First set: Murray 4-2 Anderson* (*denotes server) Normal service is resumed by Anderson. He follows up a stinging serve with a huge forehand winner, then ventures calmly into the forecourt to put away a volley. Two successive aces follow, and that brings his total for the tournament to 100. Amazing.
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First set: Murray* 4-1 Anderson (*denotes server) A consummate match player, Murray knows only too well that a break means nothing if you don’t consolidate it. He does so in style, racing to 30-0 before narrowly missing a drop shot that trickles against the net tape. Almost affronted, he tries again on the next point and executes a perfect drop shot. He seals the game with an absolute beauty of a forehand pass, whipped crosscourt past the onrushing Anderson, who can only watch and admire.
First set: Murray 3-1 Anderson* (*denotes server) Murray tries to bamboozle his opponent with an early charge forward, but Anderson is alive to the danger and steers away a backhand pass. Some strong pressing from the baseline forces Anderson to net a forehand on the next point and, when the South African follows up with another unforced error, Murray senses blood. The Scot creams a backhand winner to bring up two break points at 15-40, and when Murray finds a way to get a 141mph serve back into play, Anderson nets a high forehand volley. Wow. Anderson has been broken.
First set: Murray* 2-1 Anderson (*denotes server) Murray sticks to the script with another quietly efficient serving display. It looks like he’s trying to keep his first serve percentage high, which is a shrewd policy. The Scot takes a nasty looking slip at 30-15 as Anderson charges in behind a heavy forehand, but recovers well to see out the game.
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First set: Murray 1-1 Anderson* (*denotes server) Murray does his best to throw Anderson off his rhythm, darting about on the baseline as he prepares to receive. It doesn’t work. An ace takes the rangy South African to 40-15, and another seals the game. No surprises there.
First set: Murray* 1-0 Anderson (*denotes server) Despite a brief interlude involving a troublesome insect, Murray gets off to a solid start. Three good serves take him to 40-0, and once that bee has had it’s say – Murray gently guides it away with his racket – he serves out to 15.
We’re almost underway! Murray to serve.
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It goes without saying that the quality of serving from both players will have a major bearing on the outcome here. We know what to expect from Anderson – in a word, bombs – but what of Murray? There will certainly be pressure on his serve, because chances to break are likely to be few and far between, and he’ll need to take particular care with his second delivery. It’s vastly improved this year, but it’s tended to be something of an Achilles heel in the past and it’ll be something to watch out for. All the more so given that Anderson understandably tends to swing freely on his return games, secure in the knowledge that he’s got his side of the deal safely sewn up.
The atmosphere around the centre court is far livelier than it was for Murray’s match this morning. That should be good news for the Scot, who is always well supported here.
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Rapturous applause greets the players as they make their way on to court. They are accompanied by two young boys representing the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and the Elena Baltacha Foundation, both of which are supported by the Aegon Championships. That’s a lovely touch.
There’s no sign of the players yet. The match was scheduled for about 2.25pm, so they should be out soon. In fact, here they come, led by Anderson.
Back at Queen’s, what can we expect? Will Murray be tired after his exploits this morning? Well, let’s not forget that he played twice in a day at the Munich Open last month, seeing off Lukas Rosol and Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the final. Along the way, he even found time to tell Rosol: “No one likes you on the Tour. Everyone hates you.” He’ll be fine.
Roger Federer has won his eighth title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, by the way. He saw off Andreas Seppi of Italy in straight sets in the final, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4. What a record the Swiss maestro has there.
Speaking of nostalgia, what are your favourite memories of Queen’s down the years? There’s a veritable treasure trove from which to choose. Remember John McEnroe’s verbal assault on the hapless umpire Roger Smith during the 1984 final? “Over 1,000 officials to choose from and I get a moron like you,” screamed Big Mac en route to a three-set win over Leif Shiras, whose wonderful run to the final that year was itself a thing to behold. How about Boris Becker’s victory over the fleet-footed South African Johan Kriek the following year? “If he plays like this, he’ll win Wimbledon,” said Kriek, prophetically, of the unheralded German teenager. What of more recent highlights? How about David Nalbandian’s extraordinary assault on the advertising hoardings three years ago, which left an official with a bloodied shin and led to the Argentine’s disqualification? And then of course there’s Andy Murray, who 10 years ago announced his arrival to the world at the tender age of 18 by advancing to the third round, where he succumbed to a combination of Sweden’s Thomas Johansson and a debilitating attack of cramp. I’m sure I’ve missed loads. What are your standout memories?
There’s a deep vein of nostalgia running through the summer grass-court swing so far this year, with the big-serving exploits of Anderson and others casting the mind back to the dark days of the 90s and early 00s, when players slammed down endless aces to stifle any hope of a spectacle. For Pete Sampras, Goran Ivanisevic, Richard Krajicek and Michael Stich then, read Anderson, Milos Raonic, Ivo Karlovic and John Isner now. It’s been a memorable week for the latter quartet. Karlovic hit 45 aces against Tomas Berdych in Halle – an ATP Tour record for a three-set match – while Isner shared a further 65 with Feliciano Lopez in their second-round clash at Queen’s, another record for a three-setter. Throw in Anderson’s 96-strong ace haul and the 76 unanswerable deliveries sent down by Raonic in his three matches in west London, and that’s an awful lot of free points. Is this a positive development, or something that should raise concerns for the future of the game? Let’s not forget that there are some big-serving youngsters waiting in the wings, not least the Aussie duo Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Good afternoon and welcome to a very busy day in the life of Andy Murray. The world No3 has already been in action today, and fine form he was in too. Murray put paid to the challenge of Serbia’s Viktor Troicki in the second instalment of their rain-delayed semi-final this morning, battling to a stylish 6-3, 7-6 victory. That match, which picked up with the players locked at 3-3 in the first set after an overnight hiatus, was ideal preparation for the Scot as he bids for a fourth Queen’s title against Kevin Anderson of South Africa. Troicki and Anderson are players cast in much the same mould: both men have huge serves and big groundstrokes, both know their way around the net, and both are in tremendous form on the grass. Said mould would be rather larger in Anderson’s case, however. The man from Johannesburg stands a whopping 6ft 8in tall, which perhaps makes it no surprise that he’s sent down an incredible 96 aces in his four matches this week. Imagine serving from the top of the umpire’s chair, and you’ll have some idea of the challenge facing Murray. Still, alongside Novak Djokovic the Scot is probably the best returner in the sport, so Anderson will hardly be counting his chickens just yet. It should be an interesting contrast of styles.
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