We get one of our oldest rivalries. England vs France. Richard Gasquet (FR) and Andy Murray (UK). Murray lost the first two sets which I actually missed. I got home from work (yes, I work and still find the time) and Murray was down two sets to love and I thought it was over...A feeling of disappointment loomed into my thoughts because I heartily predicted Murray as one of the sleepers at Wimby. I have predicted Roger and Venus to repeat, and Jankovic to get knocked yesterday, and so far I am on the ball.
Gasquet has always been one of those players on the fringe, good enough to play with the boys but just not good enough to seperate himself from the boys to the men. Murray has inherited the torch from Henman although not as pretty as aged Henman. Murray looks like your typical bloody Brit. Murray has a soft chin, crooked teeth and tragic hair. Yet, the Brits love him because they have to. Gasquet on the other hand looks like a French cover model who should be sitting in a coffee shop drinking a "cup of joe" talking about his next photo shoot. Well, these two faced off today.
Back to the story... I got home from coaching the mornings at a local Gainesville tennis camp (westside) and took a nap because it looked like a blowout. I woke up and we were in the fifth and I had not seen the energy level at Wimbledon more explosive this whole tournament. Murray was fist pumping and chest pounding and the fans were emotionally charged with him on every ball and there were a couple really great (ESPN highlighted) points. Murray used his "crowd control" to take the first game and break the Gasman. A huge break to maintain momentum, control, and enabled him to be the "master of his own destiny." Murray just outplayed him.
Ive actually watched more of Murray than most players for some odd reason (with the exception of Safin) and this ugly kid from Britain has a real shot. He will compete against Rafa Nadal in the quarters. It is going to be tough to beat Nadal because I think Nadal would have smoked Gasquet but we shall see. If he does beat Rafa he will be destined for the Wimby finals. For the Brits I would look at the Nadal match as if it were the Wimbledon Finals because it may be the closest they get for a while. I am really excited for this Murray and Nadal match. This is Murray's turf and his people. There are going to be a ton of ugly drunk Brits at this match.
I cannot stress how many "scrubs" are left in the draw. I am pretty sure I could beat some of these guys. Of the 16 left, 7 of these players are just awful. Not tragically awful, but they just should not be in the 4th round and some of these guys by default will make it to the quarters and semifinals.
Well, Murray found a way and survived to die another day.
Somebody contact ESPN and pass this story onto them.
YOUR THOUGHTS?
Posts
