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[Aileen]

I saw that.  Can't believe Andy's for such an idea really.

Curbing serve speeds?  What an outrage! 

If that had been the LTA it might just have been believable, given the influence of the 'elf 'n' safety people in the UK!

[scotnadian]

Full article here: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/other-sports/andy-murray-learned-the-hard-way-but-now-he-knows-value-of-taking-a-relaxed-view-7618266.html

“The end of last year was a bit unlucky,” Murray told Standard Sport. “I got a freak injury so I look forward to performing well there this year, if I qualify. I need to make sure I structure my year and plan it well and not make any mistakes with that.

“Last year I probably made a couple of mistakes. I probably shouldn’t have played in Rotterdam (in February) — I should have taken a little more time off and then trained hard.

“Then at the end of the year, I probably shouldn’t have gone to Basle (where he suffered a bizarre injury, eventually diagnosed as a sciatic nerve problem).

^^I was hoping I was wrong, but I just knew it!  I ended up needing surgery - I hope to gawd he doesn't. I managed to 'manage' it for years until I just couldn't any more. 

[Aileen]

Well it didn't seem to last long scotn so let's just hope it was an aberration rather than a potential chronic condition like you had - sounds v nasty.

I had the same freak injury once - woke up one morning in misery and could hardly walk for several days.  Luckily it eased off of it's own accord after about 3 weeks.  Haven't heard any mention of it since, though, although I do recall Andy saying after the AO that he had a "pinched nerve" in his back ...

[Aileen]

Full article here: http://sport.uk.msn.com/tennis/murray-i-couldve-won-eight-majors-in-a-different-era

"If they hadn't have been around then I could have won seven or eight Grand Slams, but still not have been as good a player, so it just depends on how you view it. I've been in the top four now for five years and if that had been in another sport, say boxing, then I would have been world champion for all time. I play against these guys every week and that's what you want - to test yourself against the best. I have a good record over all these guys, so I can say I've beaten two of the greatest players of all time and in Novak - he probably had the greatest year in tennis last year. So I think I've been lucky to be in this era."

Very interesting and refreshingly honest article - despite the misleading use of the word "era" in the title, which is not what Andy says!

He's always maintained that having to play Fed and Nadal, and more recently Djoko, made him the player he is, but, yes, it is a double-edged sword.   The fact that Lendl says he also had to contend with three great players - McEnroe, Connors and Borg - makes him all the more an ideal coach for Andy.  The only questions I have about Andy winning a Slams without them around is "Did he ever have what it takes mentally to do so?  Did he have the necessary self-belief?"  There are a fair number of other very good players around who might just have had the mental edge over Andy when it came to winning a Slam.

Also I hope Andy has finally put an end to the myth that he was picked to play for Glasgow Rangers schoolboys.  He was only invited to train with their School of Excellence, and that's no guarantee, as Andy points out, that he would ever have donned that coveted blue jersey.  Anyway I'm so glad for the health of my nervous system that Andy chose tennis!

[Aileen]

Journalistic licence.  Unfortunately it's misleading headline grabbers like this that sell newspapers and draw peoples' attention to online articles.  Anyway it annoys me that the headline doesn't do justice to the article since it's about a lot more than winning Slams - and that's not very fair to Andy.

[scotnadian]

Full article here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/andymurray/9195658/Andy-Murray-commits-to-Queens-for-next-five-years.html

'Murray, who beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to claim his second Queen's Club title last summer, has committed to playing the tournament for the next five years.
Tsonga, four-time champion Andy Roddick and Juan Martin Del Potro have all signed up to play in the tournament this summer, which runs between June 11 and 17.
The AEGON Championships have also extended their television partnership with the BBC until 2016.'

[Aileen]

Full article here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/andymurray/9195658/Andy-Murray-commits-to-Queens-for-next-five-years.html

'Murray, who beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to claim his second Queen's Club title last summer, has committed to playing the tournament for the next five years.
Tsonga, four-time champion Andy Roddick and Juan Martin Del Potro have all signed up to play in the tournament this summer, which runs between June 11 and 17.
The AEGON Championships have also extended their television partnership with the BBC until 2016.'

Can't imagine Andy not wanting to play at Queens.  Fortunately Federer plays in his "own" little tournie in Halle then, and Nadal won't play there any more because he gets taxed too much (greedy man).  Wonder if Djokovic will play this year?  Last year he was going to play for the first time but pulled out because of injury.  I'm more delighted though that the BBC have committed themselves to covering the tournament until at least 2016 after making noises two years ago they were going to pull out of both Queens AND Wimbledon but were forced to back down due to the number of outraged tennis fans who swamped them with complaints.

Full article here: http://sport.stv.tv/tennis/303138-andy-murray-dreaming-of-huge-summer/

"The Olympics is different,” he said. “The feeling you have on the court is completely different, you feel like you are playing for other people, for your country.
 
"A lot of times when you are on the tour you are playing for yourself and the guys you work with."

I reckon it must be a huge incentive knowing you're playing for your country - and playing on grass as well should help him.