Andy Murray aims to reign over Grigor Dimitrov and drama queen critics

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/jan/24/andy-murray-grigor-dimitrov-australian-open

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Jim Courier, whose charm can sweeten strong opinions, gave Andy Murray a subtle dig on Saturday to go with the Twitter storm that rained on him during the week, claiming he is quicker than some players, specifically Rafael Nadal, to “show his injuries and illnesses”.

The American, a TV favourite here on several visits as a commentator on the Australian Open for Channel 7 and a two-times winner of the championship, compared the way the two players handle on-court difficulties, which became a hot topic after Nadal struggled with dizziness and nearly quit during his second-round five-setter against the American Tim Smyczek on Wednesday night. Nadal, who survived and looked restored to full working order in beating Dudi Sela on Friday, received widespread sympathy.

While Murray shared the concern about Nadal, he could not resist pointing out how it was at odds with the way he was criticised when in similar trouble at the US Open. Taking to Twitter, Murray observed: “When I cramped and won in the US Open last year I was a ‘drama queen, unfit, needs to see a shrink, faker’ weird …”

During commentary on Stan Wawrinka’s win over Jarkko Nieminen, Courier said of Murray: “He’s shown his injuries and illnesses more than Rafa over the years, and Andy is probably the more scrutinised by the British press.”

Nieminen was playing Murray in the 2012 French Open when back spasms cut him down, inspiring Virginia Wade to accuse him of being a “drama queen”, implying he was deliberately trying to distract his opponent, a notion Nieminen dismissed. However, Courier, working for ITV, said at the time he thought Murray should have quit as soon as his back started seizing up. So this little soap opera has a long, intertwined history – one Murray feels paints him in a bad light. After his quick win over João Sousa on Friday he was asked if he was “itching to get this off your chest”.

“No, it wasn’t something I’ve been itching to get off my chest at all,” he said. “I just remember what it was like for me when I came off the court at the US Open. I was in a lot of trouble, a lot of bother. It was very uncomfortable and quite painful. Some of the stuff that was said about me was completely unfair.

“The other night kind of proved it. I didn’t watch the whole match, but clearly Rafa was struggling pretty badly. It was a great effort to come through it, which rightly is what everyone was saying. But that certainly wasn’t the case at the US Open when I was in a similar state. And I just don’t understand why that would be the case. Being told that I need to see a psychologist because of it was a little bit unfair. I didn’t hear anyone calling for Rafa to see a psychologist the other night.”

Sensitivity is one of Murray’s endearing qualities. It makes him a well-rounded person, rather than an automaton in a sponsored bubble. But it has left him vulnerable again, and he goes into the fourth round against Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday extracting daggers from his back that might otherwise have flown harmlessly by.

His critics will say he has brought this distraction on himself. But he is not one to let things lie, as he proved by ending his coaching relationship with Dani Vallverdu because his team were not “pulling in the same direction”, a view the Venezuelan, now working with Tomas Berdych, seemed to contradict in an interview with the Daily Mail this past week.

Now Murray has to concentrate on Dimitrov, and there are more minor demons to exorcise there. The Bulgarian, whose confidence grows by the day to match his undoubted talent, beat Murray handsomely in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, at exactly the point where the defending champion was coping with internal tensions in his support team after appointing Amélie Mauresmo as Ivan Lendl’s successor.

“I played great in the week in the buildup to it,” Murray said. “There was no reason for me to play like that and it just happened to be a bad day. I felt slow on the court; I felt sluggish, I made mistakes I don’t normally make. When I tried to make more balls rather than just going for shots – because I was making a lot of errors at the beginning of the match – I still felt like I was making mistakes.

“I did a few physical tests after Wimbledon that maybe suggested there were a few things that weren’t quite where I wanted them to be but I was just hitting the ball very badly that day and I don’t know why exactly.”

In a bylined article in Sunday’s Melbourne Age, Murray says: “I play Grigor again on Sunday for a place in the quarter-finals and I hope that what happened at Wimbledon that day doesn’t happen again. If you find reasons for why something happened, you can fix it. But, for me, it was just a bad day back in June.”

Dimitrov remembers the victory fondly. “I [exploited] every single mistake that he did,” Dimitrov said. “I’m sure in the next round he’s going to be really focused and composed and wants to do everything to stop me.

“That day, it was not him out there on the court. I think we all know that. All my other matches against him have been close. We know how we play. There are no secrets out on the court, which is in a way nice to have it. It’s going to come down to those little moments that we can use. I’m ready, and I like my chances every time I go out on the court.”

In a tournament marked by the way some of the leading players have been burdened by different levels of self-doubt – even Federer on the morning of his defeat by Andreas Seppi – Dimitrov stands slightly apart, still young enough at 23 to play with joy in the shot.

He was not at his best beating Marcos Baghdatis on Friday, yet his performance seems to have had no effect at all on his self-belief. Of all the qualities he shares with Federer, the commitment to trust his talent shines through.

At least Murray has a faithful friend in Serena Williams, who picked him to win the title at the start of the tournament. “I like Andy’s attitude,” she said. “I always have. I like how he gets every ball back. I played him recently in an exhibition. He destroyed me and I felt really bad. It was just in mixed doubles. I thought I really would have a bigger chance. But, honestly, he was at the net, so it wasn’t really a fair opportunity. The girl was serving, he was at the net, covering the net. I have a whole new appreciation for his game. He had great hands. I just saw he’s amazing to watch.”