Hitting Back by Andy Murray

Author:Andy Murray [Andy Murray]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781409036050
Publisher: Random House

Chapter Eight:

We Are In Hell Right Now

Just when you think it is all going fine . . . The first three months of 2007 seemed pretty good to me. I reached the final in Doha, played the greatest game of my life so far against Rafa Nadal in the Australian Open, won San José for the second time in two years and topped it all by reaching two straight semi-finals at the master series events in America. On the 13th of April 2007, two years after turning pro, I entered the World Top-10 for the first time. Another goal achieved. Maybe I should have noticed the omen.

A month later, actually on the day of my twentieth birthday with my mum and gran over from Scotland to watch me, I hit a forehand against Filippo Volandri in a first-round match in Hamburg and felt a horrible pain. Game over, tournament over, summer over. I didn't play another match until August. A scan had shown up a small tear in the tendon of my right wrist and that injury wrecked a huge chunk of the season including Roland Garros, Queen's and Wimbledon. It was such a difficult and annoying time, not just for me but also for the people around me.

It was all the more frustrating because the year had begun with so much promise. I had been working with Brad Gilbert for about five months by now and my first tournament in Doha convinced me we were on the right track. Having beaten Davydenko in straight sets in the semi-final, I lost to Ljubicic 4–6 4–6 in the final. I hadn't played as well in the final as I did in the semi, but since he was ranked 5th and I was ranked 17th, I couldn't be too disappointed. It was a statement of intent. I was playing well and next up was the Australian Open.

The previous year had been my horrible debut when I lost in the first round, after the row in New Zealand about sexism, and I felt really determined to do better in Melbourne this time. I do really like Australia and I love the crowd at Melbourne Park. It is a great place: the people are unbelievably friendly and they certainly love their sport. The Australian Open is, far and away, the most relaxed grand slam, and it is easier to get around there than my other favourite tournament, the US Open in New York, where the traffic is a shambles. In fact, the only thing wrong with Australia, as far as I'm concerned, is that it's rather far away.

But that didn't bother me as the tournament progressed. I was feeling quite at home, especially after my first-round win over Alberto Martin of Spain, which was on the Vodafone arena with the roof closed because of the heat. It was the closest I've ever been to a 'triple bagel', winning a match love, love and love. He managed to win the eighteenth game to make the final score 6–0 6–0 6–1.

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