I know the Brits are starving for the next sensation worthy to be crowned king in Wimbledon. In fact the situation is so dire that the British tennis fans will give anything to see a native son hoist the trophy at a U.S Open, Australian or French Open. Anywhere will do, even in Qatar and Dubai.Enter Andy Murray, the shining star and a national hero. I vividly recall names like Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman crushing my hopes over the past decade and I had personally come to terms with the fact that England (and the United Kingdom) may never hear ‘God save the Queen’ in the finals of any major tournament any time soon, not in this lifetime at least.
The rising star of British tennis Andy Murray is carrying the weight of a country and with every stroke, he hears the ‘desperado’ tune playing from Westminster Abbey. The United States have since the days of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi have issues of their own, but no one expects James Blake and Andy Roddick to save American tennis.
He is no Oliver Cromwell or Winston Churchill, but beating two of the world’s top players Roger Federer and Rafel Nadal is turning Andy Murray into a savior. That is a big deal, something Andy Roddick will kill for, but in all fairness a win in Abu Dhabi is nowhere near the drama in Wimbledon or Paris. That is probably the reason why until Murray can pull off upsets on the grand stage, I advise my British optimists (my brother Fred leading the list) to wait a minute. That day will come, but in due time.
Australian Open starts on January 19, but I will still have my money on Roger Federer. Someday the likes of Blake, Tsonga, Monfils, and Djokovic will dethrone the double threat of Federer and Nadal. Until then, any coronation of Andy Murray is premature and overly optimistic.
