5 Intense Questions that Wimbledon 2015 will Answer
By Shyam
Jun 1, 2015; Paris, France; Andy Murray (GBR) in action during his match against Jeremy Chardy (FRA) on day nine at Roland Garros. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
3. Will Andy Murray reign supreme at Wimbledon once again?
In 2012, Murray was standing on the opposite end of the podium. He had lost yet another grand slam final. The man who was tipped to become the 1st British male champion in the Open-Era was left stranded with tears in his eyes as he could not face the British crowd. He lost to Federer at the 2012 Wimbledon final. Then it was London Olympics 2012 at the All England Club and that was the beginning of good things for Andy. Murray went on win the Olympics (gold medal) and followed that up with his 1st Major win at the 2012 US Open.
Murray became the first British player since 1977, and the first British man since 1936, to win a Grand Slam singles tournament, when he defeated Novak Djokovic in five sets. This title made him the only British male to become a Grand Slam singles champion during the Open-Era. On 7 July 2013, Murray won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, becoming the first British man to do so since Fred Perry, 77 years ago.
Switch to 2015, Murray seems to have recovered from the surgery (Lower back) that had hampered his 2014 season. The Scot seems to be in the best form of his life. He’s made a strong comeback this season with consistent results that had deserted him last year. To start the year, he reached the finals in Melbourne losing to World No.1 Djokovic in 4 sets. He went 15-1 on clay this season losing only to Novak Djokovic in the SF of the French Open. Also he managed to defeat clay court titans Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer for the 1st time in his career on the red dirt along with picking up his first 2 titles on clay (Munich & Madrid) thus proving that the Scot has comeback stronger & fitter.
With Wimbledon to kick off from tomorrow, Murray finds himself in the best for forms. He managed to win Queen’s Club for a record 4th time and now has Swede Jonas Bjorkman on his coaching staff along with Amelie Mauresmo.
The only major roadblock for the Brit is his Serbian rival Novak Djokovic. The Serb has not lost to the Scot since the 2013 Wimbledon Final and has already beaten Andy four times this season. (Aus Open Final, Indian Wells SF, Miami Final, Roland Garros SF). Novak seems to be in Murray’s head and can possibly be the only Achilles heel for Murray come this Wimbledon (Djokovic has won their last 8 matches).
His remarkable form this year has led to many believing that he can once again reign at SW19, where two years ago he became the first local man since Fred Perry in 1936 to triumph at the most prestigious Grand Slam tournament.
Thus, there is no reason why Murray cannot repeat the success he did twenty-four months ago as he seeks to win Grand Slam title number three. On the back of his impressive form so far this year, you can bet on it happening.
DRAWMETER – (13) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (4R), (10) Rafael Nadal (QF), (2) Roger Federer / (6) Tomas Berdych (SF), (1) Novak Djokovic / (4) Stan Wawrinka (Finals)
PREDICTION – CHAMPION (to defeat Wawrinka in the championship match; Murray’s seems to be playing his best tennis (in his PRIME!); expect the Scot to win Wimbledon for a 2nd time).
STATSMETER – Andy Murray (GBR)
- Andy is 41-6 this season (winning in Munich, Madrid, Queen’s). He managed to beat Rafa in the finals in Madrid and thus picking up his 1st victory against any of his fellow Big Four rivals since defeating Djokovic to win Wimbledon in 2013
- Andy’s career win-loss record on grass: 83-16 (84%); this is the 4th best win-loss % in the Open-Era on grass. His record at Wimbledon: 41-8 (84%); champion in 2013.
- Since his 1st round defeat to Frenchman Nicolas Mahut at 2012 Queen’s Club, Murray is 34-3 on the greens. Also Murray is 20-1 since his marriage to long-time partner Kim Sears (April’15) winning all his season titles after tying the knot.
- Murray is the only man in history to have won Olympic Gold and the US Open in the same calendar year, as well as only the third man to hold the Gold Medal and two majors on different surfaces (after Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal).
- Murray has made the QF of the last 17 majors he has entered (since 2010 US Open; although he missed 2013 French Open due to injury).
Next: Stan Wawrinka