I read Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim's mailbag religiously. I respect his opinions and admire his writing. When he mentioned my blog in his mailbag, my readership quadrupled. In other words, I'm a fan. But I'm mystified by his answer to this question this week:
What do you think of young Andy Murray? The U.K. commentators have instantly jumped on the "Henman-replacement" bandwagon, usually guaranteed to achieve nothing more than pricing a promising sportsman out of the market with hysteria. He does look to have a lot of potential, given his solid serving and the kind of "unphasable" mentality you need to be successful when everyone else is hysterical in the U.K. Do you think he is showing signs of being good enough?
-- A. Bannatyne, Aberdeen, Scotland
Any teenager who can win two rounds at a Major and make hash of a solid veteran like Radek Stepanek has to be doing something right. I saw Murray play some in the juniors of Paris and in one match he looked terrific; in the other he looked like a teenager who had grown frustrated playing on his least favorite surface. He also handled himself well, all things considered, last week. And he's already on his way as a pro -- he received a wild card into the Campbell's Newport event next week.
Still, you feel for the kid. If he's from anywhere outside Old Blighty he's just another Novak Djokovic with a fairly raw game but undeniable potential. As it stands he'll be carrying the weight of a nation at the biggest event for the next decade or so. No wonder he's left the U.K. to train in Barcelona!
Murray's been in Barcelona for over two years. He fully expected to win the junior French and told Angela Buxton in January that "Down the road, in a few years I would like to win the French Open as my favourite surface has obviously become clay." Wertheim's implying that Murray was on his "least favorite surface" is an logical assumption, but it's wrong.
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