Abby Brammell

By Mike Dickson

Roaring success: The winner in the clash between Nadal (left) and Murray is likely to push onto claim the title later this week


It may have been the usual phoney war that takes place before such occasions but prior to Andy Murray’s Australian Open quarter-final against Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard’s camp were prepared to take things one step further.

The suggestion was that not only did they think the British No 1 was favourite to beat their man, they also considered him the likely winner of the tournament.

'Before the tournament I thought he was the favourite to win the title, just like he was last year when he came here after winning the title in Qatar,’ said Toni Nadal, Rafa’s uncle and coach.

‘Rafa regards Murray as the favourite here, especially as we’re playing on his best surface. The only negative thing for Murray is that he hasn’t won a Grand Slam yet, although he definitely has the quality to do that.’

As less-than-subtle attempts to shift the pressure go, this was right up there, but there is a feeling around Melbourne Park, even among the non-aligned, that the 22-year-old Scot has at least an evens chance of eating into a 2-7 career deficit against Nadal, by far the worst he has amassed against any other top player.

As Toni Nadal pointed out: ‘This is the most difficult match we could have faced at this stage. Rafa needs to play more aggressively than he did in the last round against Ivo Karlovic. He also needs to be hitting with more power in the rallies.’

At 7.30pm local time (8.30am British time), before a packed Rod Laver Arena crowd of 15,000, the talking will be over and Murray can set about what is his first Australian Open quarter-final, completing his record of reaching the last eight of every Grand Slam.

Of course it will be difficult for Murray, but then he is attempting to do something extraordinary and win one of the sport’s four major prizes at a time when the competition has hardly ever been more intense.

Despite his decision to step down temporarily from Davis Cup play, he has a supporter in captain John Lloyd, a finalist here in 1977.


Centre of attention: Murray is mobbed during training in Australia


‘Rafa is Rafa and a great player but I feel good about this one for Andy,’ said Lloyd, who is in attendance as a commentator. ‘I fancy his chances. I looked at Rafa in his third round against Philipp Kohlschreiber and he had to save quite a few break points.

'I just sense he may be more vulnerable right now. It may be a few months before we see the best of him again.

‘The court here is slower and I was wondering whether Andy had enough punch to get the ball through, but, after seeing him against John Isner, I think he has.

'Also he has been returning so well that he could do some serious damage to Rafa’s serve.’

One thing that distinguished Murray’s play against the American giant — a totally different kind of player to Nadal — was his poise at the crisis points and this is the aspect that particularly intrigues former women’s world No 1 Tracy Austin, another expert in town.

‘Murray has all the tools to win a Grand Slam and all he has to do now is show that he can hold up under pressure,’ she said. ‘There’s almost nothing he can’t do because of his unique blend of power and touch.


Eye on the ball: Murray was superb against John Isner


‘But it can’t be easy being Britain’s big hopeful as it’s been 74 years since one of his countrymen (Fred Perry) won a major.

'At times he seems to cope with the expectations well, but at others he seems to fall short of the mark.’

Murray looks to be relatively at ease at this tournament, which offers the least potent mix of pressures as far as Grand Slams are concerned.

It is not Wimbledon, where the hype is off the scale, and not the US Open, where he seems to have convinced himself it is his destiny to win. And it is not Roland Garros, where his chances are the smallest anyway, because the clay does not suit him especially well.

In some respects there is less expectation in playing Nadal because, on paper at least, the Spaniard has such a dominant record against him. But this is a desperately difficult one to call.

As Boris Becker said: ‘Whoever wins this encounter, I would pick to go on and win the title.’





source: dailymail