The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Murray giving nothing away, on or off court Posted: 29 May 2014 03:49 PM PDT The Wimbledon champion looked at ease on court as he disposed of Australia's Marinko Matosevic 6-3 6-1 6-3 to reach the third round with some dazzling tennis. Having fended off the best that the entertaining Matosevic could launch his way, Murray proved equally nimble when asked whether he was close to deciding on a new coach. Former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo is the latest name to be linked to the job, but the 27-year-old Scot would not be drawn. "To be honest, ever since I stopped working with Ivan, there has been a lot of different names that people mentioned," Murray said. "Obviously Amelie this week. There was (Mats) Wilander. There has been (Jonas) Bjorkman, John McEnroe, (Martina) Navratilova, Leon Smith, who is the (British) Davis Cup captain, Bob Brett. "There have been a lot of people that people have talked about. I just kind of put up with it. When the time is right I will make an announcement. But nothing to say just yet. "Right now in the middle of a tournament is not really the time when I'm sitting down and speaking to people and making phone calls. That doesn't happen in the middle of a grand slam." He quite liked the sound of some of them, though. "It's not like any of them have been bad names," he said. "I like all of the people that have been mentioned. "I have a good relationship with most of them. Some of them I don't even know. So, yeah, no bad names there." There will be no shortage of former players eager to work with Murray, who showed yesterday that while clay may not be his favoured surface, he cannot be written off here. Matosevic, playing in the second round of a grand slam tournament for only the second time after 12 first-round exits in a row, occasionally produced some fireworks but Murray was a class apart, losing serve just once when he served for the match after which he broke back to love. Murray also found himself 40-0 down on serve in the middle of the first set but Matosevic could not convert any of his three chances and was never close to his opponent again. Next up for Murray is Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, a player he has lost to before on clay. "Tough, very tough match for me," Murray, who missed the 2013 French Open with a back injury, said. "I played him once before on clay and I think I got three games or something." The mention of Mauresmo's name in connection with the Murray coaching job set tongues wagging in the French capital, and Murray did not discount the possibility that Lendl's successor could be female. "For me, I don't care," he said. "I don't really care whether some of the other male players like it or not. That doesn't – that's not something that really bothers me. "I was coached by my mum (Judy) for a long time. I have had her around at tournaments for a long time. There has been ex-players and stuff that have said, Oh, your mum shouldn't be around or she shouldn't come and support you or come to watch. "It's silly. Everyone is entitled to have the team around them that they want. Everyone works very differently. "Some men might not work well with a female. Some men might work well with a female coach. "It's just whatever your preference is and whatever your needs are." – Reuters, May 30, 2014. |
| Nadal hands young gun Thiem brutal French Open lesson Posted: 29 May 2014 06:34 AM PDT Eight-time winner Nadal, bidding to be the first man to clinch five Roland Garros titles in a row, had been expected to face a severe test from the 20-year-old world number 57. But Thiem, who trains for big matches by running through forests carrying tree trunks to build stamina, ran out of steam, despite showing occasional glimpses of potential. Nadal took his career record in Paris to 61 wins against a single loss and goes on to face either Leonardo Mayer of Argentina or Russia's Teymuraz Gabashvili. "Dominic is a dangerous player and I knew that if I wasn't playing well, I'd be in trouble," said Nadal. "He is a future star, 100%. His level is very high. He is strong on the forehand and backhand. He has everything to be a big champion." Thiem had beaten Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka in Madrid and gave 27-year-old Nadal plenty to think about in an eight-minute opening game. But Nadal proceeded to pounce on Thiem's raw inconsistencies which saw the young Austrian break the Spaniard twice only to be broken himself seven times and commit 41 unforced errors. Nadal's compatriot David Ferrer, the fifth seed and last year's runner-up, cruised past Italy's Simone Bolelli 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 and next faces either Italy's Andreas Seppi or Juan Monaco of Argentina. Ferrer has made the quarter-finals of all of his last nine majors and such was the ease of his fifth win in five against Bolelli that the most challenging part of his day was fielding questions over his grooming. "I changed my haircut. There is nothing superstitious about it," said the Spaniard. Donald Young, the former world junior number one who has consistently struggled to live up the hype surrounding him, made the third round for the first time by beating Spanish 26th seed Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 7-6 (7/1), 6-3. "Hindsight is 20/20. The hype came because at the time I was doing things no one else had done," he said. "Looking at it again, you might do some things different, but I can't do it now. If I had it over to do again, I probably would do a few things different." Big-serving Ivo Karlovic followed up his defeat of 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov, which was his first in Paris in seven years, by defeating Austria's Andreas Haider-Maurer. Karlovic fired 24 aces and didn't face a break point as he made the third round for the first time. The 2.11m Karlovic next faces 2.03m Kevin Anderson of South Africa who brushed aside Axel Michon, the world number 206 from France, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. Looking to make the most of the shock defeats of top seeds Serena Williams and Li Na in the women's draw, Serb sixth seed Jelena Jankovic, three times a semi-finalist, eased past Japan's Kurumi Nara 7-5, 6-0. "There is still lots of great players in the draw and every match gets tougher as we progress through the tournament," said Jankovic. Sloane Stephens, the 15th seed and top American following the defeat of defending champion Williams, saw off Slovenia's Polona Hercog 6-1, 6-3. Russian 27th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the champion in 2009, beat Italy's Camila Giorgi 7-6 (7/5), 6-3. In a match held over from Wednesday, Argentina's Paula Ormaechea came back from 6-2, 5-3 down to beat Romania's Monica Niculescu 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 and will face Maria Sharapova for a place in the last 16. Later Thursday, France's Kristina Mladenovic, who shocked Chinese second seed Li in the first round, faces Alison Riske of the United States for a place in the last 32. Women's fourth seed Simona Halep of Romania, the highest-ranked player left in the bottom half of the draw, faces British qualifier Heather Watson. Czech fifth seed Petra Kvitova, a semi-finalist in 2012, faces New Zealand's Marina Erakovic against whom she boasts a 3-0 record. Britain's Andy Murray, the seventh seeded Wimbledon champion, plays Marko Matosevic, the Australian whose opening round win was the first of his career after 12 defeats. – AFP, May 29, 2014. |
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