Andy Murray had a career defining second
half of the year, where he went on to make it to his first Wimbledon final,
losing to Roger Federer in 4 sets. Murray got a chance of revenge and he took
it, demolishing Roger Federer in straight sets to win Olympic gold medal, then
he went on to win his first Grand Slam at the U.S Open, defeating Novak
Djokovic in the final.
For the time being it seems like Andy Murray
has resolved the demons that haunted him in late stages of Grand Slams.
Andy Murray will be seeded 3rd
for the Australian Open. Let us see how far can he make into the Australian
Open.
Andy Murray and Australian Open 2013
- Based on the past results of 3rd seeds at Australian Open
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| Image via fr.wikipedia.org |
A good news for Murray and his fans is
that a 3rd seeded player has made it to the finals of Australian
Open 6 times in the past 25 years, going 3-3 in the final. Twice in the past 5
years, a 3rd seed has went on to claim the Australian Open trophy.
It was Novak Djokovic both times, doing it in 2008 to win his maiden slam and
doing it again in 2011 as the 3rd seed.
It is also interesting to note that a 3rd
seed has made it to the quarter-finals or better in the past 5 editions of the
Australian Open.
Murray has a good 60% chance of making it
out of the 4th round and into the quarter-finals and a 44% chance of
making it to the semi-finals, with a 12% chance of winning the trophy.
Andy Murray and Australian Open 2013
- Based on the past results of Murray at Australian Open
Murray is a good 23-7 at the Australian
Open, with his best showing coming in 2010 and 2011 when he went ot reach the
final as 5th seeded player.
In 2010 Murray dispatched Rafael Nadal in
the quarter-finals when the Spaniard retired while trailing 3-6, 6-7(2), 0-3
and Marin Cilic in the semi-finals, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. However, he lost to
Roger Federer in the final in straight sets, 3-6, 4-6, 6-7(11).
In 2011, Murray ended the surprise run of
Alexandr Dolgopolov in the quarter-finals with a 4 set victory over the
Ukranian, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3. Murray then defeated David Ferrer in the
semi-finals in 4 sets, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-1, 7-6(2). This time again Murray fell
short at the final hurdle, losing to Novak Djokovic in straight sets, 4-6, 2-6,
3-6.
Murray has been to the semi-finals or
better in his past 3 appearances at the Australian Open. Of the 7 loses of
Murray at Australian Open, 2 have come at the hands of Novak Djokovic, one at
the hands of Rafael Nadal and one at the hands of Roger Federer.
With Rafael Nadal out of the tournament,
Murray will have to go through Roger Feder and Novak Djokovic if the seedings
hold, if he is to lay his hands on trophy.
Murray is yet to defeat Federer in a
major, while he has a win over Djokovic in the major, the most memorable win of
Murray’s career.
Murray won the Brisbane title to kickstart his 2013 campaign, he won the Brisbane International title in 2012 also,
however, he fell just a few points short of making a 3rd final at
the Australian Open when he lost an electric match against Novak Djokovic.
Andy Murray has the game, the
determination, the will power to go for more and to take the extra step, and
with the grand slam monkey off his back he will be playing more relaxed and
determined.
A performance short of semi-final will be
definitely be a big disappointment for the Scot and his fans.
How far do you see Andy Murray going into
the Australian Open?
P.S : Stay tuned for the previews of Maria Sharapova , Roger Federer, Victoria Azarenka and Novak Djokovic.
For a preview of other players please refer below:
Sara Errani and Australian Open 2013
Janko Tipsarevic and Australian Open 2013
Petra Kvitova and Australian Open 2013
Janko Tipsarevic and Australian Open 2013
Petra Kvitova and Australian Open 2013
One interesting statistic that doesn't bode well for Murray is that no man in the Open Era has won their second Grand Slam right after their first one. If Murray does manage to win this Australian Open, he'd be breaking a decades-long precedent.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are spot on in that! But I think he is more than capable of doing it and writing his name in the history books, and he has a good chance to lay his hands on the trophy. Everyone says he has not beaten Federer in a major, he did beat him in Olympics and that too was best of 5.
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