Sponsored by
Wimbledon: Relaxed Andy Murray shows fun side after easy win
Andy Murray intends to have a fun time right through to the Wimbledon final.
The British number one will play Viktor Troicki of Serbia in the third round tomorrow after demolishing Ernests Gulbis 6-2 7-5 6-3 yesterday in ruthless fashion.
And while he could not be more serious about his chances of making history by becoming the first British men's champion since Fred Perry in 1936, he puts his relaxed mood and convincing form partly down to his zany training routine which yesterday saw one of his fitness trainers walking around in a cricket helmet.
It is all part of the bets and forfeits his team, led by coach Miles MacLagan and trainers Matty Little and Jez Green, play for on the practice court and which are designed to ease the tension for the Scot.
Murray explained: "The thing that's important at these tournaments is to do what you do every other week of the year, not change things because it's Wimbledon.
Forfeits
"You just try to act like you do every other week. We play football to warm up, we do the same thing here.
"We do forfeits and joke around and have fun like we always do. We do that when I'm playing in Doha or whenever.
"When you start changing things you start to worry about everything that's going on around you. If you just act normal you deal with things better."
Murray also reiterated his dismay at being the only Briton left in the singles after Elena Baltacha slipped tamely to a second-round defeat.
He said: "We can't go along accepting the results we have had. It needs people in charge to come out and say: 'This isn't acceptable'.
"It's not good enough and this is what we're trying to do to get better.
"I'd rather there were more British players left in the tournament."
Murray, who revealed yesterday that he had received a good luck message from the Queen, will go into the Troicki clash with confidence having beaten him in two previous matches.
The Scot took just one hour and 28 minutes to defeat Gulbis.
So complete was the demolition that the British fans almost appeared stunned by its ruthlessness.
Murray made just five unforced errors and after his opponent's pre-match allegations that the Scot had indulged in gamesmanship in their encounter at Queen's last year, simply chose to settle the score with a serving display which evoked memories of Pete Sampras and Goran Ivanisevic.
The speed gun regularly clocked in at around 130mph. In the second set Murray hurtled down three aces in succession while Gulbis looked to the heavens as if appealing for intervention from on high.
In the first set Murray won 16 straight points on his serve.
"I played well," said Murray with some understatement. "I served really good for the whole match.
"Apart from the first game when he had a couple of chances on my serve I didn't give him another break point. It was much better than my first match and it was very solid.
"I had a few nerves and tension in the first match but yesterday I was a bit more relaxed. If I serve like that for the rest of the tournament I’ll have a good chance.”
At times Murray, who went through his shot-making repertoire from sliced backhand lobs to baseline drop shots, looked unplayable.
the display was night and day compared to his lethargic first-round performance against American Robert Kendrick when Murray admitted that he felt the odd nerve.
“You can always do things better,” said Murray. “Last year I played some tough matches where I dealt with the tight situations well.
“Yesterday was a different match. He had few chances so there weren’t that many nerves and huge points.”
Email to a friend
Print this page- Leeds United: Whites ponder next move in hunt for new manager LATEST
- Web poll: Who is to blame for Leeds United’s league position? VOTE HERE
- Leeds United: Time for Ken Bates and Co to listen up
- Leeds man remanded on sister murder charge UPDATED
- Leeds United: Aston Villa boss drops hint on Fabian Delph
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 0 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
