HoiHa,first of all the proof is in the rankings, it's no fluke that he's nubemr 4 and closing in on 3 with a bullet. He's been playing and beating quality opponents for a long time (just look at his H2H with Roger, and he's won 3 of the last 4 against Rafa - although I do think that Rafa is still a level above him, not so much Roger). So how is he doing this? Murray is one of the best returners in the game, top 3 in my opinion, and has surpassed Rafa as the best retriever in the game - he gets to everything. His serve has also improved a great deal over the past year (ignore the IW F, the wind messed with his head, see instead how he served in the SF). He can now hit first serves over 130 mph, which is a huge weapon.And finally, and most importantly, Murray is an all court player, he has a vast array of shots, more than Rafa (who's far and a away my favorite player, btw), and so he's comfortable playing many different styles. This is directly related to his last strength, which is strategy and tactics. Murray has one of the highest tennis IQs in the game. I think that Rafa adapts better than anyone during a match, but Murray usually comes in with the strongest strategies on how to beat a certain player and has the variety in his game to effectively employ that strategy. This last point is important, a lot of players come up with strategies to beat Nadal, but they are unable to really employ those strategies effectively because they have to play a style that they are not used to (Consider how Tommy Haas and Andy Roddick spend their matches against Rafa rushing the net). Murray on the other hand, can rush the net and be effective, or play from the baseline, etc.He's a great, great player and he's going to be nubemr 2 in the near future.
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Posted By: Elena on: 05/04/2013 04:05:11 EDT