Andy Murray Wins First Grand Slam Title

Andy Murray will now go above Rafael Nadal in the rankings. Dirk_Thrust | photobucket.com

Andy Murray became the first British man to win a grand slam in 76 years when he won the US Open on Monday.

The last British man to win a grand slam was Fred Perry. He won his first grand slam exactly 79 years ago. Perry’s first grand slam win was at the US Open on September 10. He also won in five sets.

Murray also became the the first man in history to win the Olympic gold medal and the US Open in the same year.

To win his first grand slam Murray had to defeat Novak Djokovic in five tough sets.

The first set went to a tie-break.

Djokovic went up 2-love in the tie break, then Murray came back 2-2. They went back and forth till they reached 10-all.

Murray was able to win two more points and take the first set.

Before Monday, Murray had only been able to win one set in a grand slam final. He wasn’t able to win the second set in the Wimbledon final and Roger Federer ended up defeating him in four sets.

Murray went up 4-love, breaking Djokovic twice in the second set. Things were going Murray’s way and it seemed like he was going to take his first second set of a grand slam final easily.

Djokovic had other things in mind. He held on his serve for 1-2 and then broke back for 2-4.

Murray held on his serve for 5-2 and forced Djokovic to serve to stay in the set.

Djokovic held on his serve for 3-5 and forced Murray to serve for the set.

Djokovic then broke Murray for 4-5 and went on to hold his serve for 5-all.

Murray won his service game and made Djokovic serve again to stay in the set.

Murray broke Djokovic again to take the second set.

Djokovic went on to dominate the third and fourth sets.

Djokovic broke Murray in the third game of the third set and the first game of the fourth set.

Djokovic won the third set 6-2 and the fourth set 6-3.

Murray opened up the fifth and final set strong, breaking Djokovic and then going up 3-love.

Djokovic broke back for 1-3 and then held for 2-3.

Murray went on to win a 40-love service game with an ace to continue his lead of 4-2.

Murray then broke Djokovic for 5-2 and served for the match.

Murray served an ace to open up the final game. His ace was only a millimeter on the line.

Murray earned himself a championship point at 40-love, but Djokovic saved the point.

Djokovic hit the ball long to give Murray his first grand slam title.

Murray and Djokovic played for just under five hours and they battled windy conditions as well. The wind was not as strong as what Murray dealt with in his semi-final match, but the wind was still a challenge.

Murray has been to five grand slam finals and he has now finally won his first grand slam title.

Andy Murray		Novak Djokovic
65%	First Serve %	62%
5	Aces	7
4	Double Faults	5
31	Winners	40
56	Unforced Errors	65
8/17	Break Points Won	9/18
16/24	Net Points Won	39/56

Match Time: 4h 54m

Andy Murray	7(12)	7	2	3	6
Novak Djokovic	6(10)	5	6	6	2

Andy Murray Through to US Open Final

Andy Murray does not know who he will face in the final yet. He defeated Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals at the Olympics and David Ferrer in the quater-finals at Wimbledon. aompop | photobucket.com

Andy Murray battled the extremely windy conditions on Saturday to earn a place in his second US Open Final.

The wind was so bad that garbage, chairs, water bottles and hats were flying around on court.

“Brutal…. Hard to describe…. You had to focus for every single point…. You had to get yourself in the right position for every shot because the ball was sometimes stopping…moving the other way. The chairs were flying onto the court…. It was hard to serve…. Some of the hardest conditions I’ve ever played in,” Murray said in his post-match interview.

Murray earned the early break against Tomas Berdych in the first set.

In the fourth game of the set, Berdych earned a break point. On the point, Murray’s hat fell off, because of the wind. The point appeared to be going in favor of Murray, but Berdych argued that he got distracted by Murray’s hat.

Murray and Berdych got into a heated debate about the point. Murray agreed to re-play the point. Berdych went on to earn the break back.

From this point on the first set was an even match-up.

Murray served to for the first set.

Berdych earned the first point, 15-0. Murray screamed out in frustration when his ball went long.

Then Murray tied the game up, 15-all.

Berdych went up 30-15. Murray then hit his head a few times with an open palm.

Berdych earned himself a set point and then broke Murray to take the first set.

Murray opened up the second set strong, breaking Berdych in the first game.

Murray held on his serve for a 2-love lead.

Berdych then earned his first game of the set.

Murray went on to dominate the second set.

Berdych only won one more game.

The third set started out the same as the second. Murray won his first service game, then broke Berdych.

Murray went up 4-love before Berdych won a game.

Berdych was making so many errors he was only able to win one game in the third set.

Murray on the other hand, didn’t lose one point on his serve.

In the final game of the third set, Murray and Berdych went to deuce five times and Berdych saved four set points.

Murray went up 3-love in the fourth set, but this would be the end of his easy run.

Murray had gotten a handle on the wind, but Murray had the lead mainly because of Berdych’s errors.

Berdych began to take control of his game. In spite of the wind, he was able to serve five aces in the fourth set.

Berdych was going through the motions in the third set, but he was now back in the match.

Berdych won on his service game and then broke back for 2-3.

Berdych then held for 3-all.

Both players continued to win their service games and went to a tie-break.

Berdych took an early lead in the tie-break of 3-love. He then went to lead 5-2.

Murray fought back to 5-6 and saved a set point.

Then Murray earned a match point, but Berdych saved the point.

Murray then earned himself another match point. This time he was able to win and end the almost four hour match.

Murray will play his US Open final on Monday, because the other men’s semi-final was postponed till Sunday.

Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer didn’t even get to finish the first set in their match before the match was postponed, due to severe weather on its way.

The forecast called for strong thunder storms and a tornado watch.

Murray will have an extra day off to get ready for his opponent.

Tomas Berdych		Andy Murray
62%	First Serve %	74%
7	Aces	5
6	Double Faults	3
45	Winners	37
64	Unforced Errors	20
3/6	Break Points Won	7/22
34/66	Net Points Won	10/19

Match Time: 3h 58m

Tomas Berdych	5	6	6	7(9)
Andy Murray	7	2	1	6(7)

Andy Murray Battles Back From a Set and 5-1 Down at US Open

Andy Murray has reached the semi-finals of seven of the last eight Grand Slams. tylovepchy | photobucket.com

On Wednesday night, Andy Murray looked like he was going to be knocked out of the tournament, but he battled his way back to advance to the semi-finals.

Murray lost the first set against Marin Cilic, 6-3.

Murray then went down 5-1 in the second set.

Murray was able to save a set point at 5-2 and turn the match around.

Murray brought the second set to a tie-break and won.

After the tie-break Murray won the last two sets easily, 6-2, 6-0.

This win earned Murray a place in the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London in November.

The rain delays caused more shuffling about on Wednesday.

Murray was scheduled to play on Arthur Ashe Stadium, but due to rain was moved to the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Andy Roddick and Juan Martin del Potro were still playing when Murray and Cilic took the court.

The Louis Armstrong Stadium was almost empty until the the people watching Roddick filtered in after the other men’s quarter-final was finished. Pippa Middleton was one of the spectators.

Murray mentioned in his press conference how he’s had a lot of tough matches on the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

An example of that was two years ago when he experienced one of his worst losses against Stanislas Wawrinka.

Murray also mentioned that the Louis Armstrong Stadium’s conditions are quicker than Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“I think when the conditions slowed down a bit and it started to get a bit darker that helped me,” Murray said in his press conference.

Murray will play Tomas Berdych on Friday in the semi-finals.

Murray was probably expecting to play Roger Federer, but Berdych knocked Federer out in four sets.

Andy Murray		Marin Cilic
55%	First Serve %	53%
11	Aces	2
4	Double Faults	6
39	Winners	32
31	Unforced Errors	50
8/19	Break Points Won	4/9
19/22	Net Points Won	19/29

Match Time: 3h

Andy Murray	3	7(7)	6	6
Marin Cilic	6	6(4)	2	0

Andy Murray in Perfect Form to Advance to Quarter-finals of US Open

Andy Murray played his next opponent, Marin Cilic, at Wimbledon this year and defeated him in straight sets over two days of play, due to rain delay. tylovepchy | photobucket.com

Andy Murray walked on court Monday night knowing that rain was forecasted to rain in two hours.

Murray walked off the court exactly two hours later defeating Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

Murray played his best tennis of the tournament so far.

In the first set he was winning 93% of the points on his first serve and 67% on his second serve.

Murray was in perfect form having only two unforced errors.

Murray didn’t even give Raonic one chance to break in the first set.

In the second set Murray was winning 88% of the points on his first serve and once again didn’t let Raonic have a chance to get a break point.

Raonic has a massive first serve, but Murray handled the serve with no problem.

Raonic served more aces than Murray, but Murray was earning more points.

This will be Murray’s eighth time in the quarter-finals at the US Open.

Murray is scheduled to play 12th seed Marin Cilic on Wednesday, if the weather permits.

Rain delays have continued to plague the US Open this year.

Murray was scheduled to play on Arthur Ashe Stadium after the Venus and Serena Williams and Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova match, but the women’s doubles match was moved to the Louis Armstrong Stadium. Murray was moved up and began his match a little after 7 pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

This was to make sure both night matches were played before the rain was scheduled.

Andy Murray		Milos Raonic
64%	First Serve %	70%
8	Aces	14
1	Double Faults	6
31	Winners	34
48	Unforced Errors	55
4/12	Break Points Won	0/0
9/11	Net Points Won	17/38

Match Time: 2h

Andy Murray	6	6	6
Milos Raonic	4	4	2

Sharapova, Murray, Federer Through to Fourth Round of US Open

Maria Sharapova announced at her press conference that her and professional basketball player Sasha Vujacic are no longer engaged. muiqmudq | photobucket.com

Maria Sharapova and Roger Federer breezed through their third round match, but Andy Murray struggled to advance to the fourth round.

Sharapova defeated Mallory Burdette 6-1, 6-1 in just under an hour on Friday.

Sharapova is storming through the US Open this year with only losing seven games in her first three matches.

This is only the second time Sharapova has advanced to the fourth round since her 2006 win at the US Open.

Feliciano Lopez took Murray to four sets on Saturday.

Murray won the first two sets 7-6, 7-6; each of them went to a tie-break.

Murray then went into the third set with hopes of finishing off the match with two breaks up. He then let Feliciano back into the match and lost the third set 4-6.

The fourth set was a close match up just like the first two sets.

Murray held at 6-5 with a 23 shot rally.

The fourth set went to another tie-break.

Murray struggled the entire match, but was able to pull out shots when he was down and advance to the fourth round.

Federer defeated Fernando Verdasco in just over two hours, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Federer has yet to lose a set.

Maria Sharapova		Mallory Burdette
61%	First Serve %	72%
4	Aces	0
4	Double Faults	2
17	Winners	6
12	Unforced Errors	18
6/11	Break Points Won	1/7
3/4	Net Points Won	1/2

Match Time: 58m

Maria Sharapova	6	6
Mallory Burdette	1	1

Andy Murray		Feliciano Lopez
61%	First Serve %	50%
16	Aces	18
7	Double Faults	4
53	Winners	24
48	Unforced Errors	55
3/12	Break Points Won	4/13
20/36	Net Points Won	37/50

Match Time: 3h 53m

Andy Murray	7(7)	7(7)	4	7(7)
Feliciano Lopez	6	6	6	6

Roger Federer		Fernando Verdasco
67%	First Serve %	61%
7	Aces	6
1	Double Faults	10
30	Winners	27
19	Unforced Errors	35
3/8	Break Points Won	0/1
26/27	Net Points Won	13/20

Match Time: 2h 2m

Roger Federer	6	6	6
Fernando Verdasco	3	4	4

Murray, Sharapova, Federer Through to Second Round of US Open

Andy Murray had an emotional loss at Wimbledon and then an emotional win at the Olympics. He is now going after his first grand slam title at the US Open. pobag1 | photobucket.com

Andy Murray, Maria Sharapova and Roger Federer all advanced to the second found of the US Open in straight sets on Monday.

Murray is looking for his first grand slam title after his Olympic gold medal win just weeks ago.

Murray got off to a slow start being broken twice in the first set. He managed to pull through the set wining 6-2, in spite of his poor first serve percentage of 28%.

In the second set Murray’s first serve improved a little, to 58% and about the same, 59%, in the third set.

Murray managed to defeat Alex Bogomolov Jr. 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.

Bogomolov’s serve was much more consistent than Murray’s, staying in the 70% range.

Murray was able to break Bogomolov nine times in the match, but Murray had 19 chances to break.

Murray was able to win even know he had his worst game of the summer.

Sharapova defeated Melinda Czink in just over an hour 6-2, 6-2.

Sharapova broke Czink in the fifth game of the first set and went on to take the set with an ace.

Sharapova then opened up the second set with a 3-love lead.

Czink was able to break back, but at 4-2 Sharapova broke again and went on to win the match.

Federer defeated David Young in just 90 minutes, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

If Federer wins the tournament he will have won a record six US Open titles, which will beat David Sampras and Jimmy Connors.

Last year rain delays caused problems for the US open and it looks like they will again.

On the first day of the US Open, rain already delayed play and is expected to continue to do so throughout the tournament.

Andy Murray		Alex Bogomolov Jr.
49%	First Serve %	72%
7	Aces	1
5	Double Faults	2
46	Winners	24
31	Unforced Errors	35
9/19	Break Points Won	4/12
18/25	Net Points Won	28/42

Match Time: 2h 15m

Andy Murray	6	6	6
Alex Bogomolov Jr.	2	4	1

Maria Sharapova		Melinda Czink
62%	First Serve %	51%
5	Aces	1
2	Double Faults	1
24	Winners	8
16	Unforced Errors	14
5/10	Break Points Won	1/2
4/8	Net Points Won	4/6

Match Time: 1h 7m

Maria Sharapova	6	6
Melinda Czink	2	2

Roger Federer		David Young
70%	First Serve %	70%
7	Aces	0
2	Double Faults	3
27	Winners	17
24	Unforced Errors	30
5/9	Break Points Won	1/2
19/23	Net Points Won	12/27

Match Time: 1h 30m

Roger Federer	6	6	6
David Young	3	2	4

Andy Murray Defeats Roger Federer for Olympic Gold

After all his hard work, Andy Murray finally wins a big tournament. tylovepchy | photobucket.com

Andy Murray defeated Roger Federer in straight sets for the Olympic gold medal.

Murray has been in four grand slam finals and just wasn’t able to win any of the grand slam titles.

Just weeks ago at Wimbledon Murray came so close to winning the title after winning the first set, but Federer was victorious then.

On Sunday Murray earned his rematch against Federer and did everything right to take home the gold.

An Olympic gold medal in the men’s singles is the only thing Federer has yet to win and Murray took the gold from him. Federer did win himself a silver medal though, which he can add to his gold medal he won in the men’s doubles in Beijing.

Federer earned two break points in Murray’s first service game, but Murray saved both of them.

Murray earned his first break point in the fourth game of the first set, but Federer saved the break and held on serve.

Murray then earned another break point in the sixth game, which Federer saved.

Murray earned a second break point in the sixth game and this one he converted to take the lead 4-2.

Murray went on to break Federer for the set. Murray won seven games in a row before Federer was able to win another game.

In the second game of the second set Federer miss hit an overhead shot that went into the net. He usually doesn’t miss those. This was just the kind of day Federer was having.

In the third game of the second set Murray double faulted and Federer went up 15-love. Federer then went up 40-15 with two break points, but Murray saved both of them.

Federer earned another break point in this game, but Murray saved the break yet again.

Federer had a total of six break points in the third game and couldn’t convert any of them.

Murray went on to break Federer again to lead 4-love.

When Federer served to stay in the set he won his only game of the set.

Federer tried to break Murray in the final game of the second set, but Murray held on serve to take the set.

Murray only lost one point on his serve in the third set.

Murray broke Federer in the fifth game of the the set.

Federer earned a total of nine break points during the match, but couldn’t convert any of them. Murray earned 10 and converted five of them.

Murray served for the gold medal and only lost one point and served two aces in the game. One of his aces was on gold match point.

Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina beat Novak Djokovic for the bronze medal 7-5, 6-4.

Andy Murray Defeats Novak Djokovic in Straight Sets

Andy Murray is through to an Olympic final and is guaranteed to win a medal. Nowherexg0d | photobucket.com

Andy Murray didn’t let his Wimbledon loss break him. He came back stronger and defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets to give himself a chance at a gold medal.

Murray came out strong, with two love service games in a row. He even put pressure on Djokovic’s serve right away by earning two break points.

Djokovic was able to save both of these break points and hold on serve, but he looked frustrated right from the start.

Murray and Djokovic made each other work for their points.

Each player held on serve till the 12th game of the first set. Murray broke Djokovic for the set in a close 40-30 game.

Murray had a shaky start to the second set. Djokovic earned himself a break point while Murray threw his racket in frustration.

Murray then saved the break point bringing the score to deuce and Djokovic screamed out in frustration.

Murray was able to hold in his first service game of the second set.

Murray won the first point in Djokovic’s service game when he dived to get to the ball and the ball landed on the line for the point.

Djokovic held on serve at 40-30. Murray continued to put pressure on the Djokovic serve.

In the third game of the second set Djokovic went up 30-0. Murray climbed back to 30-all and then Djokovic earned a break point. Murray threw his racket again in frustration.

Murray made a gorgeous drop-shot to save the break point. Murray went on to hold on serve once again.

Djokovic continued to look frustrated as Murray held on his service games.

This match was much different from the Roger Federer vs. Juan Martin Del Potro match.

Federer and Del Potro were very calm in their match, just playing game after game after game. Murray kept hitting his head with an open palm and Djokovic was throwing up his arms at missed shots and shaking his head in frustration.

In the ninth game of the second set Murray stopped play to challenge a call. The ball was in and Djokovic was awarded the point. The score was now deuce.

Djokovic then earned himself a break point.

Murray saved yet another break point and held on serve.

In the eleventh game of the set, Djokovic earned another break point.

Murray was able to save a fourth break point and hold on serve.

Murray then broke Djokovic in a love game to win the match and earned himself a rematch against Federer.

Djokovic won a bronze medal in Beijing and was hoping for a gold in London. He will play against Del Potro for another bronze medal.

If Murray loses against Federer, he will still win an Olympic silver medal.

Andy Murray Gives Himself a Good Chance at an Olympic Medal

Andy Murray is well on his way to winning an Olympic medal. Nowherexg0d | photobucket.com

Andy Murray is through to the semifinals and has given himself a good chance at an Olympic medal.

Murray started off strong on Thursday, unlike his start on Wednesday’s round three match.

Murray won his first service game without losing a point and started his aces early, with one in his first service game. He made 15 aces throughout the course of the match.

Nicolas Almagro of Spain double faulted in the in the fifth game of the first set to give Murray the break and lead 3-2.

Murray went on to hold his service game for 4-2.

In the seventh game Murray had to run up to the net to hit the ball. He hit the ball for an angle shot and a good point, but Murray hit the net with his foot and the point went to Almagro 30-15.

Murray came back for 30-all.

Murray was not able to win the game and Almagro held for 3-4.

That one point may have cost Murray the seventh game, but he was still in the lead.

Murray made another incredible shot in the ninth game. He hit the ball around the net for a point.

Almagro served to stay in the set and managed to hold 4-5 and forced Murray to serve for the set.

Murray won the set without losing a point in the final game.

Almagro then called for the trainer for his shoulder. He had been rubbing his shoulder on the changeovers.

Murray broke Almagro in the first game of the second set.

Almagro didn’t even win a point till the third game. In this game he managed to hold his serve and win a game. This would be the only game Almagro would win in the second set.

In the fourth game, Murray served two aces in a row followed by two double faults. He managed to hold on serve despite the double faults. Murray continued his lead for 3-1.

Murray then broke Almagro for a 4-1 lead.

Murray held on his serve without losing a point and forced Almagro to serve to stay in the match.

Murray only lost one point in the final game to win the match and advance to the semifinals.

Andy Murray Through to Quarterfinals of Olympics

Andy Murray fell behind quickly, but fought back to advance to the quarterfinals. tylovepchy | photobucket.com

Andy Murray went down a set, but fought his way back to advance to the quarterfinals.

Murray was broken in the first game by Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus on Wednesday.

Baghdatis then went on to hold in his service game to take the lead 2-0.

In the third game, Murray won his first game. Murray then broke back for 2-all.

Baghdatis broke Murray again in the seventh game for 4-3. He then held on serve for 5-3 and forced Murray to serve to stay in the set.

Murray was able to hold his serve to stay in the set.

Before Baghdatis served for the set the crowd was chanting Murray’s name.

Baghdatis went on to win the set.

Murray opened up the second set strong with a 40-love service game.

Baghdatis then held on serve for 1-all.

Murray then won five games in a row to take the second set.

Murray took the lead quickly in the third set for 2-love.

Baghdatis fought back to bring the score to 4-5.

Murray served for the match and earned himself a spot in the quarterfinals.