Murray seeking many happy returns

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:39

Murray faces Andy Roddick in Friday’s second semi-final on Centre Court and the British number one has been warned by John McEnroe that he had “better be ready”.

McEnroe said: “He possesses one major weapon in that serve. It’s the hardest I’ve ever seen. At the very least he has a puncher’s chance, so Murray better be ready. Roddick’s a smart guy and the pressure being off should help him.”

Roddick holds the record for the fastest serve in tennis at 155mph. His fastest serve so far this tournament is 141mph and so far he has thundered down 139 aces, second only to Ivo Karlovic.

But while Roddick’s serve is an obvious threat, Murray, whose epic fourth-round encounter against Stanislas Wawrinka attracted 12.6million BBC viewers at its peak, has demonstrated during Wimbledon 2009 that he has matured into the complete tennis player.

His own first serve has been clocking in at more than 130mph regularly on the speed gun, while his ability to switch defence into devastating attack with the variety of his shot-making has been the feature of the tournament.

Roddick has traced Murray’s rapid rise and puts much of it down to the maturity and experience he gained in defeating Richard Gasquet in a five-set thriller last year.

The American number one said: “I think this tournament did wonders for him last year, especially the Gasquet match. Everyone thought it was going to be a matter of time. He’s certainly capable of hitting all the shots. It’s just a matter of being able to do it day after day now.

“There’s a certain comfort level where you go out there and it’s like second nature. I think he’s acquired that since last year.

“He doesn’t really have a lot of weaknesses, or any for that matter. He’s improved his serve a lot. He returns well. He has been playing great. He’s certainly come into his own as a player.”

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