Come June and 1st
week of July – we will be reading all about Wimbledon, the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and
widely considered the most prestigious.
It is held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It
is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments (Majors), the others being the
Australian Open, the French Open (Roland Garros) and the US Open – the only
major played on ‘grass’ – the original surface, giving the game the name "lawn tennis".The tournament takes
place over two weeks in late June and early July, culminating with the Ladies'
and Gentlemen's Singles Final, scheduled for the second Saturday and Sunday
respectively. Wimbledon traditions include a strict dress code for competitors,
the eating of strawberries and cream by the spectators, and Royal patronage.
The tournament is also notable for the absence of sponsor advertising around
the courts. In 2009, Wimbledon's Centre Court was fitted with aretractable roof
to lessen the loss of playing time due to rain.
Britain, as usual
will be looking forward to one man – Andy Murray who had reasons to celebrate
at Queen’s making people believe, he is
better placed to win the title again, than he was when he beat Novak Djokovic in the
final two years ago.“You just have to improve, otherwise I wouldn’t still be in
the same position,” he said after beating Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-4 in the final
of the Aegon Championships – two hours after completing a 6-3, 7-6 victory over
Viktor Troicki on the same Centre Court in their interrupted semi-final. That win over Kevin Anderson gave him the Queen’s title for
fourth time. Murray joins four other
four-time Queen’s winners in John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt and
Andy Roddick.
He perhaps is in
great nick, he went on to win Wimbledon after winning Queens in 2013 – but in
Sports, there is no guarantee of any repeat performance. He reportedly has been preparing hard on
grass, gaining lot of confidence – but there is long way to go, as lot of
things can happen during the various rounds.
Murray paid tribute to his coach of one year, AmélieMauresmo, augmented
lately by the input of Jonas Bjorkman, for the adjustments to his game that
have allowed him to play his best tennis in two years, on grass and clay.She is
due to arrive in London shortly, having
left Bjorkman to oversee Murray’s training at Queen’s, and she is expecting her first child in
August.
Last year at
Wimbledon, GrigorDimitrov broke British hearts by ending Andy Murray's reign as
Wimbledon champion with a sublime and serene 6-1 7-6(4) 6-2 victory in the
quarter-finals. The third seed had confidently marched into
the last eight without dropping a set, but his meek abdication left the Centre
Court crowd, which included Prince William and his wife the Duchess of Cambridge,
stunned into silence.
Can you imagine the
force behind his training – it is no longer One man army of Player or that of a
Player assisted by personal Coach. Ahead
of his assault on SW19 later this month, Sportsmail brings you the eight
members of Team Murray. MailOnline reports that Murray marked his title win on
Sunday with a big thank you to the people closest to him. Joining in the big
high five were...
1 -
Josh Murray (employee at 77, Andy’s management company): The London-based
company set up in September 2013 following Murray's triumph at Wimbledon. The
name of the company was inspired by the 77-year wait for a British men's
singles triumph at the SW19 event that Murray ended that year.
2- Rob
Stewart (friend and ex-employee): Stewart manages Murray's official website and
is very much a friend of the tennis star as well as an employee. Stewart has
been credited for making Murray more accessible to the public with frequent
updates, interviews and photos on the site
3 -
Matt Gentry (manager): Murray's long-standing agent, Gentry is also managing
director of 77 management.
4- Leon
Smith (GB Davis Cup captain): A close friend of Murray, Smith has turned around
the fortunes of the British Davis Cup since his appointment five years ago. He
coached Andy as a teenager, and while never having played professionally,
learned his coaching trade at the knee of Murray's mother Judy.
5 -
Wife Kim: Murray wed his long-term girlfriend his hometown of Dunblane in
April. Sussex-born Kim is the daughter of Nigel Sears, a women's tennis coach
who trained Daniela Hantuchova
6 -
Shane Annun (Physio): Has been working with Murray's team part time since
October of last year.
7 -
Matt Little (trainer): An old friend of Murray, Little also works as the as the
Lawn Tennis Association's strength and conditioning coach.
8 -
Jonas Bjorkman (coach): Former world No 4 Jonas Bjorkman was Murray's sole
coach at Queen's with pregnent Amelie Mauresmo set to re-join the team for
Wimbledon. The Swede is a former world No 1 in doubles, winning nine grand slam
doubles titles.
Grand
team work indeed !!
In
Dec 2011, the legendary Ivan Lendl was appointed coach to Andy Murray. Lendl is credited with improving Murray's maturity and
consistency, guiding the Scot to his first two Grand Slam victories in the 2012
US Open, and 2013 Wimbledon Championships, thereby ending the 77-year-old wait
for a male British tennis player to win a Grand Slam Major. However, in Mar 2014, it was announced that
Lendl and Murray would be ending their 2 year coaching partnership.
But
is that 77 year right ?- all news sites mentioned of Andy
Murray becoming the first British champion of Wimbledon since 1936. Not right fully as in 1977, Virginia Wade on
the Ladies Championship. Frederick John
"Fred" Perry, won 10 Majors
including eight Grand Slams and two Pro Slams single titles, as well as six
Major doubles titles. Perry won three consecutive Wimbledon Championships from
1934 to 1936. Prior
to Andy Murray in 2013, Perry was the last British player to win the men's
Wimbledon championship, in 1936 but in Women, the latest is Virginia Wade in
1977.
23rd
June 2015.
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