Roger Federer used to loathe first-round matches, losing three of his first four Wimbledon appearances at the earliest stage including in 2002, the year before he won the first of his five titles. Andy Murray has never had this problem at the All England club, his earliest exit being in the third round on his debut four years ago, although with the pressure at its most intense this year, Murray being seeded second behind Federer, he was undoubtedly mightily relieved to see off Robert Kendrick yesterday evening, beating the American 7–5, 6–7, 6–3, 6–4.
"It was a tough match. He served great and made it very difficult," said Murray. "He was very aggressive and he does not give you a whole lot of rhythm. I didn't return as well as I would have liked, though I served OK. There were a lot of big points and it's good to have them early in the tournament. I was disappointed I lost the second set but in the whole match he only had two break points on my serve. And once I took the third set I felt good."
While satisfied with his own progress Murray, after a grim day for British players at SW19, felt it was "unacceptable" that he was the only male Briton left in the draw last night while Elena Baltacha, who beat Alona Bondarenko yesterday, was the only woman left standing. "It's disappointing," he said. "The depth needs to get way better. It's unacceptable. It's not picking out any of the players in particular, because I watched some of them play – and some played well. But they aren't at the same level as a lot of guys."
Kendrick had only ever won one previous match in the Championships in three visits. Indeed the one match that he is remembered for was one he lost in 2006, when he led Rafael Nadal by two sets in the second round. The American had lost all his previous three matches against Murray but served well, sometimes exceptionally well, and his forehand was also frequently a potent weapon. Murray, however, has not become the third best player in the world by chance. He gradually wore Kendrick down, forcing him to play one shot too many.
Allied to his huge natural talent, something that has never been in doubt, Murray has embraced a work ethic off the court that has transformed him physically and made him believe he can now win one of the world's four major titles.
Kendrick's game, for all his lack of success at grand slam level, is ideally suited to grass, although when he was broken in the opening game, hitting a forehand long and then double-faulting, it appeared that Murray might not be in for a particularly testing afternoon. The Californian, 29 years old, had previously won only three matches at this level and he had not won one on grass in the build-up tournaments at Queen's and Eastbourne.
By comparison Murray had won at Queen's, when his serve was broken only twice in five matches. Here, in only the eighth game of this match, he dropped it with a double fault, Kendrick levelling at 4–4. By then Murray's opponent was mixing his own serve up beautifully and from time to time striking his forehand with an intensity Murray could not match. However, for all that Murray's serve has improved – it is now a particularly potent weapon on grass – it is his return game that is his huge strength. He has wonderful hands and can counter-attack on both the forehand and backhand. Some of his backhands in particular had Kendrick gently shaking his head in admiration.
Murray took the first set and, with the sun dipping, the Centre Court eased back in their seats. Murray, now far less likely to expend unnecessary emotional energy, was calmness personified at this stage, though when Kendrick took the second- set tie-break, running round a second serve to crash a forehand beyond Murray's reach, there was an outbreak of nervous fidgeting and wan smiles in the crowd.
There was always huge tension whenever Tim Henman was playing on Centre Court. Their faith in Murray, or so it seemed, was already greater and he duly responded by taking the third set, Kendrick being perhaps unduly rattled by a foot fault that saw him lose his serve to go 4–2 down in the third set. "Staying calm was a huge part of winning," said Murray.
The American endeared himself to the crowd with several plunging, diving volleys that brought back memories of Boris Becker or, for the older ones, Chuck McKinley. He played at the top of hisgame; Murray did what he had to do, though he would surely have taken a deep breath in the locker room, pleased that it was over. Tomorrow he will face the talented Latvian world No74Ernests Gulbis.
source: guardian.co.
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