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[Hazybear]

Novak Djokovic's grandfather died yesterday FGS and he still pulled through.
Its unlikely it was due to another players injury!

[Aileen]

I think the write up is fair considering the way Murray can play on a good. day. As for all the nonsense about having Benny's accident at the back of his mind, what rubbish! If that is the case Andy might as well retire now and wrap himself in cotton wool.

Every match the players go out away of the risks they take with their bodies. Berdych has known what happened to Monaco and Benny and surely it would have affected him as much if injury concern was forefront? he could have just as easily been injured and didn't see him playing like a wet rag out there.

Andy played a poor second and third set, I'm not saying it was all bad but very little was outstanding against a player who has been showing constant improvement in the last year if not longer.

Nobody's criticising the write-up in its entirety - just the headline and certain aspects of it.  Given what happened to Andy at RG last year, I could understand why Benneteau's horrific fall might impact on him, even at a sub-conscious level.  And I do agree that there were far too many replays of the incident, but that's modern TV for you - the more horrible, the better.

I also believe that the timing of this match wasn't in Andy's interests.   He most definitely isn't a morning person (and I can relate to that!) and having that slot two consecutive days was very unfortunate.  Had this match been played later in the day we might just have seen a different Andy.  He's always said he prefers to play later in the day, especially as crowds tend to be livelier then.

That said, he's a professional tennis player and will need to find a way of coping with these early matches because he's never going to be able to avoid them.

[Aileen]

Andy's performance reminds me of "one swallow and summer". His one swallow being his superb match against Troicki. He then struggled against Benneteau and it was ony the fates that rescued him from ignomy. No such luck against Berdych.

I am beginning to wonder just how long his relationship with Lendl is going to last. After all during his match againt Benneteau he started to swear, mutter to himself and carried on showing irritation and anxiety. Just as he used to do; PL (pre-Lendl)

Re my earlier post - long-standing bad habits die hard, so it may be quite a while before Andy gets totally on top of his.  I think the occasional aberration will still occur for the foreseeable future.  For goodness sake, give him a little slack here.  He and Lendl haven't worked together really for all that long for such dire pronouncements to be made.

[theycanbillme]

Andy's performance reminds me of "one swallow and summer". His one swallow being his superb match against Troicki. He then struggled against Benneteau and it was ony the fates that rescued him from ignomy. No such luck against Berdych.

I am beginning to wonder just how long his relationship with Lendl is going to last. After all during his match againt Benneteau he started to swear, mutter to himself and carried on showing irritation and anxiety. Just as he used to do; PL (pre-Lendl)

Actually he had already put a lid on it even before, just before lendl.
We have to hope the return of the bad on court behaviour is just a temporary blip. It is not an acceptable attitude as it gets in his way, he needs to get back on track quickly. And he knows it.
I actually think the double morning thing was more a contributory factor than the threat of any possible injury, but again not a good sign.
Lendl will not put up with rubbish for very long regardless as he will not have succeeded in his mission anyway.
But I agree with Aileen, you dont just stop years of bad habits in a few months. We will all have to be patient.

[theycanbillme]

Actually the court condition may have been a factor Today.
Nadal was also unimpressive but he got the win nevertheless.

[Aileen]

Actually the court condition may have been a factor Today.
Nadal was also unimpressive but he got the win nevertheless.

Andy isn't blaming the court surface for his loss, but does have something to say about it [from TennisX] -

Following a three set loss this afternoon to Tomas Berdych at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, Andy Murray took aim at the Monte Carlo playing surface. While the Scot didn’t attribute the unevenness of the soil to the loss, he wasn’t impress by the condition of the red clay at the famed Monte Carlo club.
 
“Everybody’s been talking a lot about the court this week,” Murray said. “Most clay courts there’s bad bounces on. It’s never perfect. If guys slide or dig up a bit of clay, there’s bits that are hard. There’s normally bad bounces. It just seemed this week there was more of them than normal. That’s no reason for me winning or losing the match. Everybody’s had to deal with the same thing. It’s made it harder to go out there and necessarily feel great and feel like your timing is perfect on the ball, you know, which is something that for me is important. That’s how I play. I’m a ball‑striker. That’s my game. I rely on returning a lot. It’s an important part of the game for me.”
 
The tournament lost Juan Monaco and Julien Benneteau to ankle injuries. And there’s been some rain this week adding to the court issues.

He also isn't happy that in Madrid they'll be playing on blue clay - but that's something for later.

[Aileen]

Picture of Lendl on the telegraph website at the end of the match boy he didnt look happy!

Pity the Telegraph website won't let you see their report ...

Much of the time it's difficult to know just what Lendl might be thinking, and he isn't exactly known for his smiling face, but I think he knows by now that ranting and raving at Andy will have the opposite of the desired effect.   Anyway what passes between them now is for them and the team alone.

I just watched the match on replay as I have just got up.

Why he was so passive I don't know, standing 6 feet behind the baseline and gifting Berd mid court balls is not going to work. Also weak topspin allowed Berd to get on top of the ball and hit flat through the court.

My analysis is that he still is not comfortable movement wise on the clay. It might take one or two months before he does but I am confident by the French he will have played himself on to the surface.

Although some people might have a go at him for the result I take the view that last year he spent quite a bit of time practising on the dirt because of his poor Hardcourt results. This time he has not and maybe next week in Barca will reap some rewards.

Thank goodness he does have Barcelona now.  Last year he missed it because of injury.  He'll feel a lot more comfortable and relaxed in old familiar territory, which can only be good for him.

[FCR]

Andy often says that tennis isn't everything to him.  If it were, perhaps he would win everything.  I don't blame him for having that attitude to life.  He's still the best Brit of pretty much all time, so that will have to suffice for the home crowd, including me.