Murray: Roof holds no fear for final bid
ANDY MURRAY insists he hold no fears of the Centre Court roof should he be forced to play his crunch Wimbledon semi-final with Andy Roddick indoors this afternoon.
The British No1 admitted he struggled to come to terms with the humidity under the roof during his epic fourth round encounter with Stanislas Wawrinka which lasted the full five sets and went on until 10.45pm.
With showers forecast today, there is a possibility that Murray’s last four tussle with sixth seed Roodick could be played indoors.
But the Scot insists he has buried his demons and says the roof no longer holds any fears for him.
“It doesn’t make a difference to how I’m going to approach the match,” the third seed commented. “You have to alter your game style slightly because it’s a slower court, but I don’t mind if it’s indoors or outdoors.”
Victory over big-serving Roddick would see Murray become the first British man since Bunny Austin in 1938 to reach the Wimbledon’s men’s final, but the level-headed Scot is not looking too far ahead of himself.
Yes, he has beaten the former US Open champion in six of the eight meetings between the two, but the 22-year-old remains cautious with so much at stake. “I understand that I can lose the next match if I don’t play my best,” he admitted. “If I don’t bring my best game then I’m going to lose to guys like Roddick.”
Despite Murray’s five-set thriller with Wawrinka on Monday night, Murray has actually played less court time than Roddick, who, himself, was taken the distance by Lleyton Hewitt in his quarter-final on Wednesday.
But with two Wimbledon final appearances under his belt (in 2004 and 2005, losing to Roger Federer both times), Roddick, 26, is a feared opponent on grass, not least due to his dominant serve which is regarded by many as the best in the world.
So far in these championships, the American has slammed down no fewer than 139 aces, second only to Ivo Karlovic, although he is yet to experience the slower surface of Centre Court, which undoubtedly suits Murray. “I’ll obviously need to return very well,” Murray added. “He’s been number one in the world, a Grand Slam champion. It’s going to be tough.”
Murray’s match gets underway after the other semi-final between second seed Federer and German Tommy Haas.
ORDER OF PLAY DAY 11
CENTRE COURT (1pm start)
Tommy Haas (24) v Roger Federer (2)
Andy Murray (3) v Andy Roddick (6)
ANDY COMPARISON HOW THEY MATCH UP
Murray Roddick
Age: 22 26
Nationality: British American
World ranking: 3 6
Height: 6’3” 6’2”
Weight: 84kg 88kg
Titles this year: 4 1
Career titles: 12 27
Grand Slam wins: 0 1 (US Open ’03)
Best Wimbledon: SF (’09) Final (’04, ’05)
Head-to-Head: 6 2