Rob McLean - Murray can prove the doubters wrong
When one of my singles partners in north London told me he had paid nearly £6,000 for two men's final Centre Court tickets, I knew Wimbledon madness had begun. With that money I could comfortably feed my four daughters for a year.
At my club there are lots of people who seem to have more money than sense...only joking. Good luck to them, if you have a Roman Abramovich-style bank account that sort of cash is loose change and if there is a chance of watching a repeat of the epic 2008 final it is probably worth every penny.
Talking of spare cash, other signs that Wimbledon is here is John McEnroe, who gets half a million to work for the BBC, hogging the headlines and stating the obvious while Pat Cash, another former Wimbledon champion, calls for the head, again, of LTA chief executive Roger Draper even before a British player has hit a shot in anger.
McEnroe believes Andy Murray won't win this year, which must mean the Scot has a great chance as Mac's predictions over the years have often been way off the mark. For the first time in recent years the pressure is slightly off Murray due to his terrible run of form.
It may work in his favour but if he plays anything close to his potential he should cruise to the semi-finals. Then the 'fun' begins with possibly a Rafael Nadal meeting and a final against Roger Federer. Murray does have his work cut out but pre-Wimbledon defeats on grass for the magnificent duo offers some hope.
The other British man in the draw was wild card Jamie Baker. I had the pleasure of watching him practise at Wimbledon last week with Nadal.
At close quarters, It was amazing to watch the intensity of the world No 1. Even in a practice match in front of 20 or so spectators he was utterly focused and even told himself off when he made the odd mistakes.
For Federer the time has come to answer his growing band of critics. One headline over the weekend was 'Is this the end for Federer'.
And it almost was on the first day at Wimbledon with his most erratic performance on grass. Without a title since January his reputation is on the line at his favourite place and the best way to answer would be to equal Pete Sampras' record of seven titles.
Should he fail to reach the final, the obituaries will come thick and fast. It is a testament to his greatness that a semi-final of a Grand Slam is regarded as a failure.
Unfortunatley, failure was the operative word regarding the British women, with the exception of Laura Robson who put up a good performance on her Centre Court debut and is tipped to get into the top 20. The rest went out and it was particularly disappointing to see Elena Baltacha, Anne Keothavong and Katie O'Brien come so close.
Hopefully Murray will prolong British interest. Whatever happens, the headlines won't be any worse than the ones that will greet Fabio Capello if England make an early exit from World Cup.
READ ROB MCLEAN EVERY WEDNESDAY AT TENNIS.CO.UK
Date published :
23 Jun 2010 - 12:09:37
