There is no one who understands the motivational powers of rage on a tennis court better than John McEnroe. The most furious player to have trodden the turf of the All England Club has offered to act as Andy Murray’s anger counsel-lor in an attempt to bring the best out of the British No 1. “He probably should give me a call and I might be able to help,” McEnroe says.
The three-time champion does not want Murray to lose the feisty edge that leads him to castigate officials, causes television commentators to apologise for the industrial language and makes him one of the most potentially combustible players on the tour. He just wants the Scot to channel his energy in the best direction.
“My anger would be funnelled in a positive manner; his brings negativity,” says the 49-year-old New Yorker. “He needs to figure out a way to use his feelings more positively. When I was winning, I was getting all fired up. He doesn’t seem to be getting so much of that emotion and sometimes we see the anger almost destroy him. We’ve never really had any serious conversations, but, sure, I would talk to him about it, although I have a son older than him, so maybe there’s a generation gap.”
Three fourth-round finishes in 10 Grand Slam appearances hardly testify to the talent that McEnroe and other respected judges see in Murray. Despite winning titles this year in Doha and Marseilles, he has grossly underachieved in the Grand Slams, losing in the first round to eventual finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open, then being sent home from Roland Garros by Nicolas Almagro in the third round.
Each time Murray’s demean-our in defeat was one of a player at odds with himself. Although many sports psychologists and coaches maintain that any displeasure should be masked from opponents, McEnroe says: “I never thought it was a crime to let the opponent know how I was thinking. I can see the argument against that, with Bjorn Borg as the classic example. You’d be thinking, ‘This is unbelievable because this guy is unreadable’. It was not a source of frustration, more amazement, because I could not relate. Sometimes when you wear your emotions on your sleeve it may fuel an opponent who is down and out. Perhaps it has cost me at times when the other player said to himself, ‘I’m going to keep trying because this guy is such a jerk’.”
Such feelings are unlikely to be going back and forth across the net in Murray’s opening match against the 35-year-old French veteran Fabrice Santoro; they have previously announced their mutual appreciation of each other’s talents. After 12 previous visits, this is almost certain to be Santoro’s last competitive visit to the All England Club, and he finally seems set to achieve an ambition of playing on Centre Court. The pair have met once before, towards the end of last season on the indoor hardcourt of Bercy in Paris, with Murray prevailing 6-4 6-2. “He’s a tricky guy to play against,” says the 12th-seeded Scot. “You need to stay focused the whole time because he tries everything and can hit shots that none of the other players can play.”
Murray must hope that his footing is surer than it was on his last grass-court outing at Queen’s, when he repeatedly slipped and stumbled, spraining a thumb. Free from the restraints of an endorsement contract with a shoe company, he has changed brands from adidas to Nike in an attempt to keep his feet.
A practice session yesterday with the seasoned Swede Jonas Bjorkman, who is Santoro’s senior by nine months, left Murray in a confident mood. He insists there will be more marked differences from his last appearance at The Championships two years ago than just a change from three stripes to a swoosh on his feet. Asked to describe improvements he has made since losing to Marcos Baghdatis in 2006, he says: “My net game and positioning is way better. I had good hands at the net, but didn’t quite know what I was doing once I got up there. My first serve, although not having as high a percentage as some others, is a huge weapon when it goes in. And being able to return and come in has been a big difference. I spent too much time a long way behind the base-line, and you get tired after a while. I’m more of an all-round player now compared with the majority of the top players. I counter-punch well and can play aggressive too.”
He insists he is 100% fit after the thumb injury forced him to withdraw from the Artois championships. And he is relaxed before his impending examination by a nation’s fans. “In terms of expectation, I won’t know until I start playing, but in terms of the pressure, it doesn’t feel as bad as it was a couple of years ago,” he says. “It’s been much more relaxed and that’s good. Before, I was taking more of an interest in what was being said in the press and I wasn’t used to people talking about my game. I don’t hate fame, but sometimes, like when you lose a tennis match, you wish no one was bothered with you too much.”
SOURCE: Timesonline.co.uk
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