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[Aileen]

After a brief post-Wimbledon holiday, Andy has indicated in his tweet of 15 July that he is about to start training in Miami in preparation for the run-up to the US Open, where he is seeking to claim his maiden Grand Slam.

This, however, is not the despondent Andy who suffered a worryingly prolonged slump in form following his defeat in the final of the Australian Open, but an Andy who, despite the barely concealed tears of disappointment immediately following his straight-sets defeat at the hands of a magnificently in-form Rafael Nadal, has bounced back with an encouragingly renewed sense of purpose and determination, which was evident in his more recent interviews.

After wandering in the tennis wilderness for several months, Andy showed at Wimbledon, as he did in Melbourne, the great tennis we know he is capable of playing, but he is well aware that there is room for improvement in certain aspects of his game if he is to achieve his goal.  A factor much in his favour, though, is that Andy feels more comfortable and relaxed in the US.  Not only is the weight of media expectation lifted from his shoulders, but he thrives in the noisy, sometimes raucous, hot-house which is Flushing Meadows.

John McEnroe has predicted that it will be next year before Andy wins his first Slam.  I'm backing Andy to prove him wrong.

 

[janscribe]

Well done, Aileen - it may be  over a month away but what better thread to begin in the run up to the hard court season. I'll go along with Johnny Mac in his prediction but it would be wonderful if he was wrong.

[tennis_girl]

Finally, something in my timezone.

Can't wait!

[Ruthie]

After a brief post-Wimbledon holiday, Andy has indicated in his tweet of 15 July that he is about to start training in Miami in preparation for the run-up to the US Open, where he is seeking to claim his maiden Grand Slam.

This, however, is not the despondent Andy who suffered a worryingly prolonged slump in form following his defeat in the final of the Australian Open, but an Andy who, despite the barely concealed tears of disappointment immediately following his straight-sets defeat at the hands of a magnificently in-form Rafael Nadal, has bounced back with an encouragingly renewed sense of purpose and determination, which was evident in his more recent interviews.

After wandering in the tennis wilderness for several months, Andy showed at Wimbledon, as he did in Melbourne, the great tennis we know he is capable of playing, but he is well aware that there is room for improvement in certain aspects of his game if he is to achieve his goal.  A factor much in his favour, though, is that Andy feels more comfortable and relaxed in the US.  Not only is the weight of media expectation lifted from his shoulders, but he thrives in the noisy, sometimes raucous, hot-house which is Flushing Meadows.

John McEnroe has predicted that it will be next year before Andy wins his first Slam.  I'm backing Andy to prove him wrong.

 

I agree Aileen re Andy's attitude post-W and it's really encouraging.  I remember how pessimistic many of us were when I first joined the forum and we didn't really expect him to get it together again until at least USO. So getting to the SF at W and losing to no 1 in the world was great in the circs.  Let's hope he emerges from this training block in the shape he did from his pre-AO training when I think he was playing his best tennis ever for most of the tournament. 

[Shooting Star]

Mmm probably AO10, it was looking pretty good before Wimbledon last year, the US last year

[Aileen]

Mmm probably AO10, it was looking pretty good before Wimbledon last year, the US last year

Until now, Wimbledon 09.  Andy was affected by a wrist injury last USO.  Also by the start of the tournament he was showing signs of fatigue which may have been caused by what some reckoned was "over-training" mid-season with his extreme fitness regime - something that I admit does concern me a little this time round, but Andy learns pretty quickly and I don't think he'll make the same mistake again but will concentrate on working harder on his game.  

[kennethswis]

With the optimistic sounds here I was wondering,which slam did you go into with the highest expectations for Andy so far?

For me AO 09.

I would have to agree i think. But i do remember getting optismitic at Wimbledon 09, and USO 09 of course. AO 2010 I did have a feeling, but, I also didn't expect much due to how he ended his year.

[maximo]

It looks as though he will be seeded 5 for the US open, with the points he has to defend in Toronto and Cincy. Wouldn't surprise me if he doesn't go far in both tournament. Needs to concentrate on the Slam instead.