Andy Murray | The New York Observer

The Place for Sushi

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:05:16 -0400

We called up Yasuhiro Makoshi, the manager of Restaurant Nippon in Midtown, to find out which players had been dining at the 46-year-old restaurant, one of the first to serve sushi in America, during the Open. The Nippon, due to its proximity to many of the players' hotels and its owner's passion for the game, has become the Rick's Cafe Americain of the tournament.

Ivan Ljubicic, who lost to Novak Djokovic in...

Even with Rain Looming, Players (Except Federer) Say No Roof for Ashe

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:00:37 -0400

The weather has been wonderful for nine days, but don't look at the forecast. It's calling for a chance of rain today, tomorrow, Friday and Saturday.

Eep.

In 2014, by which time the folks at Roland Garros will have finished building a new center court with a retractable roof, the U.S. Open will be the only Grand Slam without a roof.

And how do the players feel about the roofless Ashe? They were asked at a press...

Murray Out

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:01:38 -0400

It seems like Mopey Murray, the player of a couple of years ago who would get into a funk in a match and not be able to pull himself out, is back. The tournament's second seed is now losing to Marin Cilic, 5-7, 2-6, and is down a break in the third. Cilic's first-serve percentage is dismal, but Murray's returns have been worse. He's been playing uninspired, messy tennis, and, after being a finalist...

Day 7 Recap: Nadal Injury Talk; Murray, Serena Win

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 23:43:40 -0400

Rafael Nadal doesn't seem to enjoy the Open.

After his second round match, which ended well after midnight on Friday night, he complained about the late start time. Late start times are part of the charm of the Open and whether players like them or not, they should say they do (even Federer, who says he loves everything about the Open, very quietly admitted last week that he prefers to play at 11 a.m. rather...

Match of the Day: Clijsters vs. Venus

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 10:43:31 -0400

Rub the sleep out of your eyes, kids! Yesterday was one of the nuttiest days we've ever seen at the Open, but nine hours after it all ended, it's time to get back to tennis.

Later this afternoon, Venus Williams will take on Kim Clijsters, an absurdly intriguing fourth round match. We're giddy just thinking about it.

Marion Bartoli told us three days ago that Clijsters, back in her first Open in three years after she...

Seeded Men, 'Delicious' Serena Advance

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:15:25 -0400

Still no upsets on the men's side.

Andy Murray had to work a little bit today, but ultimately dusted off Paul Capdeville, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2. Juan Del Potro, Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat their opponents in straight sets. Croatian Marin Cilic, after falling behind Roger Federer's left-handed hitting partner Jesse Levine two sets to love, won in five sets, 4-6, 2-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-0.

The men still on the courts right now: Gael Monfils,...

What Happened Last Night: World of Warcraft Saves Revitalized Dent; Murray and Sharapova Win Easy

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:48:40 -0400

In one of the most intriguing, raucous matches of the day, which stretched into the evening session, Taylor Dent, a 28-year-old American who left the tour for more than two years with a serious back injury, defeated Feliciano Lopez, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, 7-5. It was an emotional return to the Open for Dent, who last played here in 2005, when he reached the third round.

He described the feeling to reporters...

Federer Dominates, Wins Fifth Straight U.S. Open

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:53:07 -0400

Well, that was fast.

The Roger Federer of old returned this evening and dispatched Andy Murray in a quick and breezy 1 hour, 51 minutes, in three sets, at 6-2, 7-5, 6-2

It was evident early on that Federer wasn't going to let Murray touch him tonight. He blitzed when he needed to, and showed that elegant game that he displayed to devastating effect against Novak Djokovic in the semis.

With Federer's triumphant return, men's tennis leaves...

Andy Murray, Bigtime

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:27:24 -0400

Andy Murray just came off the practice courts and is about two hours from the biggest match of his life.

If he plays anything like the way he played yesterday, Roger Federer might have a real test.

But then again, these matches often come down to big-situation experience (please see: Serena v. Jankovic last night, or Djokovic v. Federer, 2007 U.S. Open final). Prior to this tournament, the 21-year-old Murray had never done better than...

Nadal Loses, Doesn't Whine

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:49:46 -0400

In the tennis world, we have grown used to assuming that when good players lose, especially in "upsets," the loser must be suffering from injuries. And the truth of injury declarations has been a factor towards the end of this tournament, as when Novak Djokovic publicly defended himself against Andy Roddick's maybe-joking doubt about Djokovic's medical issues.

In a graceful press conference after his semifinal loss against Andy Murray, though, Rafael Nadal told the truth:...

Six Hours

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:38:00 -0400

The grounds, at about 11:30 this morning. Not a soul in sight here, other than a few scattered security people.

In six hours, there will be more than 23,000 fans here. ...

Federer-Nadal Final Denied by New Star Andy Murray

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:14:57 -0400

The top tier of men's tennis has gotten so deep and so good in the last year and now it'll have to welcome a new member: Andy Murray.

Murray just defeated the 5-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal in four sets, winning the fourth set on the biggest stage in tennis with a 6-4 victory. He broke Nadal twice, and owned the entire game on his racquet. In the match, he had 65 winners,...

Play Resumes! Nadal Grabs Third Set

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:03:18 -0400

About 26 hours after the match was delayed yesterday, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray have resumed play at a packed-house at Arthur Ashe Stadium, a far cry from their match at a half-filled Louis Armstrong yesterday.

And Nadal, who was up a break in third set yesterday, has taken the set, 6-4.

Reflection on early play: Nadal held all three of his service games, but Murray, particularly in the last game, played really nice defense. The...

Nadal-Murray Supsended Mid-Match, Women's Final Canceled, Play Resumes Tomorrow

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:36:22 -0400

Play for the rest of the day has been canceled.

This means the Rafael Nadal-Andy Murray semifinal--which Murray currently leads 6-2, 7-6, 2-3--will resume tomorrow at 4pm, with coverage on CBS. Women's tennis will have its biggest stage ever, with a primetime 9pm final tomorrow night on CBS. The winner of the Nadal-Murray match will play Roger Federer in the men's final on Monday at 5pm....

Super Saturday: Can They Hold Off Hanna? Nadal to Armstrong?

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:39:44 -0400

Well, this is going to be an interesting day!

Today, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic square off at 11am (promptly!) at Ashe. Nadal and Murray follow, though the USTA allows the possibiltiy that they may play on Armstrong.

We thought we retired that court four days ago, but with the possibility of squeezing the men's finals and the women's finals on the same day is too tempting for the USTA. And they may play both...

Williams Sisters to Clash in the Quarters, Murray Wins

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:06:37 -0400

Every question from reporters for the next two days will be focused on Serena and Venus Williams. Both players won tonight in straight sets which means they'll duel in the quarters on Wednesday night in what pretty much amounts the de facto women's final of this tournament.

Andy Murray also won tonight in three quick sets over Stanislas Wawrinka, and the red hot Argentine Juan Martin Del Porto won again moving him into the quarters...

A Festive Holiday Lineup

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:50:59 -0400

Honestly, this might be the best day at the Open in years. Each marquee match offers a lot:

Mardy Fish v. Gael Monfils:

Fish is finally coming into form with an impressive victory over James Blake, and now he plays the wonderfully entertaining Gael Monfils who had that fantastic run to the French Open semis this year. Our pick: MONFILS

Rafael Nadal v. Sam Querrey:

We've fallen in love with Querrey, and with some crowd support...

Expectations Management, by Andy Murray

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 09:51:56 -0400

The 20-year-old Scotsman Andy Murray was standing in the players' lounge after his 3-hour-and-37-minute, five-set win yesterday.

He was telling me about his spaghetti and steak dinner at an Italian place on the Upper East Side on 74th Street and how he visited the top of the Empire State Building, which was filled with other tourists.

I asked him if he had any particular goals for the Open.

"Nah, not really," he said, in a thick Scottish...

Birthday Boy Roddick Rolls

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:44:55 -0400

Happy Birthday, Andy Roddick! The 2003 U.S. Open Champ turned 25 today and won after Jose Acasuso retired after the third set. Other ranked straight sets winners today: Tomas Berdych, Anna Chakvetadze and Nadia Petrova. Svetlana Kuznetsova and Andy Murray both needed to go the distance to win their matches.

Men's no. 14 Guillermo Canas was upset today and Tommy Haas is down a set, which you can track here.

Maria...

Gilbert: I Got Your Federer Advice Right Here

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 13:12:44 -0400

I ran into celeb-coach Brad Gilbert -- the man who resurrected Andre Agassi's career and led Andy Roddick to his only Grand Slam -- and asked him for his thoughts on how to beat the rarely beatable Roger Federer.

"I coach [Andy] Murray, so the advice is in here," he said, tapping his head. "Won't give that away."

Was there anything he could tell us? Anything at all?

"No. Not about somebody that my guy can potentially...

The Jewels of Flushing

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 20:00:00 -0400

The Men Roger Federer The No. 1 seed, Wimbledon and Australian Open victor, recently accorded metaphysical significance by novelist David Foster Wallace, the impeccable Swiss arrives at Flushing Meadows seeking a third consecutive Open title. If not for a loss to Nadal in the French Open final, we’d all be talking calendar-year Grand Slam, but three out of four isn’t too shabby. Federer has shown some vulnerability this year, notably on high, nastily top-spun...