Andy Murray- Does he have the will to play?

It was nauseating to watch Murray burn himself or saw the very branch he was perched on or score a self-goal to defeat the very team he was  part of.  Watching the reigning Queen’s Champion relegate himself to a shock third round ouster against Radek Stepanek was painful.  Murray looked sluggish, as if he were playing with ankle weights.  He couldn’t wrest the initiative from Stepanek and looked content to simply respond shot for a shot.  It was Stepanek who tried to do something different by playing backhand spin, rushing to the net and made Murray chase the yellow fluff all over the court- twice in the same game- from the net to the baseline. 

Was Murray sleep-walking through the game? Why is he so reluctant to let go of his defensive game?  A forehand for a forehand, a sliced backhand for a sliced backhand and on and on it went until Radek altered the pace and hit a drop shot, then suddenly the atoms on the court would go on overdrive and Murray would come charging to the net….in vain.  This was the scene during the two straight set defeat of Murray at the Aegon Championships.  His body language gave no indication that he was the defending champion.  Honestly he looked like he couldn’t wait to get the match over with. 

Andy looked tired- mentally exhausted.  Unlike the sharp looked he debuted yesterday to much appreciation- a clean shaven, closely cropped look, his mental frame seemed to sag. 

Maybe it is about peaking at the right time, some would say Nadal too was ousted in the second round at Halle yesterday.  But When Nadal loses it is not due to a lack of will, it is simply because his game fell short or maybe due to a physical discomfort- perhaps an injury or aching muscles.  Murray shots were mediocre but I know with a certainty that Murray does not lose due to his game, his game always matches that state of the mind that he is in.  Case in point being Wimbledon last year (it will always be a benchmark to measure Murray’s prevailing game until he gives us something better to compare). 

I won’t talk about fitness or athleticism because that is a give and all things being equal it is the mental fortitude or lack of thereof in the closing stages of the game that decides the winner.  So When will Murray be ready?  Has he come all this way to go back to square 1? 

Mauresmo has to a lot to work on here. To work on the game is the easiest.  It comes with hard work and hitting balls upon balls endlessly until you get it right.  Working on someone’s mind is the toughest- it is like groping in the dark to feel that you have caught a big fish only to be saddled with a dirty shoe when you finish reeling up.

Who is Amelie Mauresmo?

Looks like Amelie Mauresmo will always be in the news inspite of her intense desire to be out of it.

The erstwhile world no 1 and winner of Aus Open and Wimbledon in the same year is on board Team Murray as the Scot's coach. 

I have seen Andy Murray play the Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic and it was as close to perfection as he has ever played and I hope I am wrong- he will ever play.

His anticipation, serve, return of serve, footwork and reach were perfect.  I felt that this was the best of Murray I will see for a long time to come and the prediction wasn’t that off.  Since then Wimbledon and Olympics, nada! A bit like Wawrinka then who has struggled with his form since he won the Australian Open in January.  We know Murray has it. How does his potential manifest itself on the court? Without the immovable Lendl by his side, Murray appeared a bit lost, directionless.  But now that he has appointed a new coach, things hope to change for the better and how! His new coach is Amelie Mauresmo, a player I have admired more for her off- the court-news that her play on it.  I have not watched many matches of Mauresmo’s.  She has been a grand slam champion on court and off it for coming out.  I say that takes more courage than being in a final and winning it.  On court there is a certain order and discipline.  Off it, the gloves are off which is what happened when she came out as lesbian.  There were snide remarks from women players and more notably from davenport and  Martina Hingis about her masculine physique and her looks.  It was hurtful but Mauresmo took it in her stride.

And today Amelie is in the news for being appointed as the only woman coach to a man player and that too a No.3 at that. The media was in a tizzy, there were bouquets at this brave decision and derogatory, misogynist brickbats from the players themselves.  Gulbis and Matosevic led the front with comments that reminded you of a BBC radio commentator of a certain age and his remarks vis-à-vis Wimbledon champ, Marion Bartoli. I want to shake hands with Murray and laud him for his brave decision.  Ordinarily it is just one player using the coaching services of another player- older, experienced.  But many saw this as a joke- a woman player coaching a man?  Well as I would love to remind you, it is ‘coaching’ not wrestling! And that sums it up. I can understand if a ‘man’ boxer appointed a woman sparring partner.  I guess it all comes up to educated folks understanding the difference between ‘separated at birth’ and ‘twins’; one has absolutely no connection with the other and more often than not, there is always confusion between the two. 

So we will let the illiterate media cavemen and women wrestle with it while we focus on Mauresmo and Murray.  I always like players who go against the grain- Navratilova, Mauresmo, Venus and Serena Williams, Marion Bartoli, Wawrinka and now Murray.  Why do we doubt Mauresmo’s capacity to contribute to Murray’s winning ways?  She has been on Bartoli’s and Azarenka’s team before. She has also coached Michael Llodra.  I am sure Murray knows more about her than we do as far as coaching abilities are concerned.  He said that she is a great listener and a thinker just like him. While he a teetotaler, she is passionate about wine.  Mauresmo splurged on a bottle of 1921 Chateau d’Yquem after her Wimbledon triumph. 

Of course these are mere footnotes to the more important  issues at hand.  She is my kind of woman- a cellarful of vintage wine bottles, a Harley Davidson bike and a home in Geneva.

Will Mauresmo be able to fill Lendl’s shoes?  The shoes in themselves are easy to fill but what they achieved is not.  Will she be able to instill the confidence back in Murray? Wean him away from his defensive game, his propensity for endless rallying and bring him again on par with his game that he played to perfection at Wimbledon?

Well I for sure don’t know but am all gung ho about this new arrangement.  I have nothing but the very best for Mauresmo and Murray. May theirs be a collaboration for many more grand slams that Murray gas the game for and so richly deserves.