Why will Lewis defy Mercedes today?
A tall order to retain his title from here
We learn from andy Murray a rare nugget about his wife Kim and her preferences when it comes to being a tennis spectator.
It turns out that she likes watching players of diminutive stature rather than the giants who prevail in the modern game, in which case she may not enjoy the next couple of opponents her husband could face in the coming days.
Up this afternoon is 6ft 6in Californian Sam Querrey rrey and in the event of victory in the quarter- final, Murray’s next opponent would be 6ft 4in Gilles Muller or, more likely, 6ft 6in Marin Cilic.
Then, on Sunday, it could be back to some- one of what still appears rs to be the optimum height ight for a top player — probablyobably roger Federer or novak Djokovic.
They are all in action today, though none quite fit Kim’s bill. Illustrating his prescient observation that the game needs different types of players to appeal to different tastes, Murray cited his wife.
‘She likes watching players who are really small and aren’t as strong,’ he said. ‘She likes watching Gilles Simon and Dominika Cibulkova and players like that. everyone likes different things, so it’s good to have players to choose from, it makes it more fun.’
Those of shorter stature are all gone from the men’s draw, with Federer the nearest thing at 6ft 1in. He faces a repeat of the semifinal he lost from two sets to one up last year as he plays another of the heavy brigade, Milos raonic.
Murray has a good record against Querrey, beating him seven times out of eight. He is easier to prepare for than any of the oddball opponents so far, but far more solid.
‘He has a tough style to play against; he serves big, he goes for his shots,’ said Murray. ‘He’s had some great results here in the past. He had a big win against novak last year and he’s beaten JoWilfried Tsonga, too. He’s a great grasscourt player but I’ve had good success against him and hopefully I’ll take that into the match.’ In truth, Murray could not have asked for a Grand Slam draw to work out much better, added to the fact that — like Federer — he gets to play on Centre Court all the timtime, something that is startingstar to irritate his rivals.riv rafael nadal told SpanishS reporters after his Court no 1 defeat against Muller: ‘Someone has to play o on Centre and it’s a almost always the same pl players here. This is the rea reality. Here, there are many of us who have a lot of important history. ‘a tournament that wants to be as traditional and as special as Wimbledon has to distribute the number of matches scheduled on Centre Court and not always have the same people play there.’ amid the aftershock of nadal’s exit, the consensus yesterday among those playing in the ‘legends’ event this week was that the final is most likely to be a Murray v Federer affair. Former world no 1 lleyton Hewitt said he was not surprised Murray had come through the physical issues that affected him pre-tournament.
‘I have seen him play massive Davis Cup matches. We played him in Glasgow and he had a bit of a back issue there,’ said the australian. ‘He finds a way. He does absolutely everything right. a true professional. It is not easy turning up and being defending champion if you are under a little bit of an injury cloud.’
like Hewitt, Greg rusedski warned against underrating Cilic, but feels life has been made easier for Murray with nadal’s exit.
‘I had rafa going to the final against roger this year. It opens up the section,’ he said. ‘I expect Murray to be back in the final, most likely against Mr Federer.
‘Cilic will probably come through into the semi-finals. Cilic is playing very well. I just feel the mental edge would go to andy, even though his old coach Jonas Bjorkman is in Cilic’s corner.
‘He has to be careful to not be too defensive against Querrey — a big hitter with nothing to lose.
‘I like his serve, I like his forehand. But it comes to movement and getting balls back and andy is one of the greatest returners. He’s going to find a solution. I expect him to come through in four.’