Andy Murray has faced the occasional blip in the first week in New York, but the Briton's mobility and relaxed mood augur well for the later stages
There have been no hurricanes, no earthquakes in the first week of the US Open, but it is in Andy Murray's nature to suspect that a plague of locusts is never far away. While the prevailing evidence strongly suggests he will meet Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals next weekend, the Scot is determined to deal with Florian Mayer in the fourth round as if he were the world No1.
If Murray proved anything in surviving a wretched dip against Mayer's namesake, Leonardo, in the third round on Friday it was that his desire to hang on to the title he won in that titanic struggle with Djokovic 12 months ago has not been diminished by his subsequent success at Wimbledon.
He looks as hungry as he did in all those years of striving for a breakthrough and the bewildered Argentinian, who had given Murray a fright in the middle stretch of a hectic encounter, felt the heat of his racket in a fourth set of frightening intensity.
Now Murray has to face another Mayer, and the challenge shifts again. "Going from playing a serve-volleyer to a guy that plays at the back of the court, that can take a bit of time because the points develop completely differently," Murray says. "A majority of the points will be played from the back of the court, but I don't think it will be an issue.
"He's very tough, comes to the net a bit. He has a good slice backhand, but he hits it with two hands, which isn't how normally you're taught to play that shot. He has a very good feel up at the net, hits a lot of drop-shots. He's a pretty flat ball-striker and has huge, looping strokes. It can be tough to time your split step and know when he's going to make contact with the ball. He's caused a lot of guys problems over his career. I'll need to play well to beat him."
In making it sound as if the 47 world ranking ascribed to the 29-year-old German whom he has beaten twice is some kind of mistake, Murray has put himself in the combative mindset that makes him comfortable. It is an essential part of his preparation for big tournaments, even if his confidence in his talent is sky high. Deep down, Murray knows he is a significantly better player than Mayer, but he dare not let himself say so.
The conversation he will have with Ivan Lendl on the practice court might be different, but in public Murray is getting himself mentally ready for a personal test of his fortitude as much as a tennis match. In every other respect, he seems relaxed and comfortable in his new status.
Asked about the perks of returning as the reigning champion, he replies sheepishly: "Possibly, my name is on the towels. I haven't noticed. Transport has always been good here, and it is tough to get right with all the traffic and such a long way from the city. Possibly transport is a little easier, but apart from that everything stays the same."
Murray has loved New York since winning the junior title in 2004 and has often wandered the streets alone to gather his thoughts. That has not been so easy this year, as the enormous queues to get into the Louis Armstrong Stadium for his match on Friday demonstrated. The sentiment in that crowd was firmly with the Scot and he appreciated it.
"I really haven't been out that much," he says. "Previous years I have had more time to be out and about and do stuff. This year I was too busy most days after training and practice to go out. When I have done maybe I've been recognised a little bit more, but nothing too different."
That is the way he likes it. His natural diffidence disappears on court, however, and he is still fighting the urge to explode in difficult moments, as was apparent against Mayer when he came through a difficult period in the third set, as every little distraction and injustice seemed to get to him.
Impressively, however, he did not lose his discipline, instead channelling his pent-up energy into his shot-making, which pretty much blew the Argentinian away in the closing moments. That was Murray at his most imperious and there is no reason to believe Mayer Mark II will not suffer a similar experience if Murray is cornered again.
That remains the difference between the elite players and those some way removed from them in the rankings. With five sets at their disposal, Murray, Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have room to manoeuvre if they get into trouble. Invariably, they negotiate the difficulty.
The most impressive part of Murray's game here has been his movement, indicating the back injury that kept him out of the French Open is under control, but he is still wary of the pain striking him down.
"It's something I have to deal with," he says, "like all the players have to do. You understand how to deal with problems and monitor them and do all the right injury preventative stuff to protect any issues as much as possible." Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 hours ago.
There have been no hurricanes, no earthquakes in the first week of the US Open, but it is in Andy Murray's nature to suspect that a plague of locusts is never far away. While the prevailing evidence strongly suggests he will meet Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals next weekend, the Scot is determined to deal with Florian Mayer in the fourth round as if he were the world No1.
If Murray proved anything in surviving a wretched dip against Mayer's namesake, Leonardo, in the third round on Friday it was that his desire to hang on to the title he won in that titanic struggle with Djokovic 12 months ago has not been diminished by his subsequent success at Wimbledon.
He looks as hungry as he did in all those years of striving for a breakthrough and the bewildered Argentinian, who had given Murray a fright in the middle stretch of a hectic encounter, felt the heat of his racket in a fourth set of frightening intensity.
Now Murray has to face another Mayer, and the challenge shifts again. "Going from playing a serve-volleyer to a guy that plays at the back of the court, that can take a bit of time because the points develop completely differently," Murray says. "A majority of the points will be played from the back of the court, but I don't think it will be an issue.
"He's very tough, comes to the net a bit. He has a good slice backhand, but he hits it with two hands, which isn't how normally you're taught to play that shot. He has a very good feel up at the net, hits a lot of drop-shots. He's a pretty flat ball-striker and has huge, looping strokes. It can be tough to time your split step and know when he's going to make contact with the ball. He's caused a lot of guys problems over his career. I'll need to play well to beat him."
In making it sound as if the 47 world ranking ascribed to the 29-year-old German whom he has beaten twice is some kind of mistake, Murray has put himself in the combative mindset that makes him comfortable. It is an essential part of his preparation for big tournaments, even if his confidence in his talent is sky high. Deep down, Murray knows he is a significantly better player than Mayer, but he dare not let himself say so.
The conversation he will have with Ivan Lendl on the practice court might be different, but in public Murray is getting himself mentally ready for a personal test of his fortitude as much as a tennis match. In every other respect, he seems relaxed and comfortable in his new status.
Asked about the perks of returning as the reigning champion, he replies sheepishly: "Possibly, my name is on the towels. I haven't noticed. Transport has always been good here, and it is tough to get right with all the traffic and such a long way from the city. Possibly transport is a little easier, but apart from that everything stays the same."
Murray has loved New York since winning the junior title in 2004 and has often wandered the streets alone to gather his thoughts. That has not been so easy this year, as the enormous queues to get into the Louis Armstrong Stadium for his match on Friday demonstrated. The sentiment in that crowd was firmly with the Scot and he appreciated it.
"I really haven't been out that much," he says. "Previous years I have had more time to be out and about and do stuff. This year I was too busy most days after training and practice to go out. When I have done maybe I've been recognised a little bit more, but nothing too different."
That is the way he likes it. His natural diffidence disappears on court, however, and he is still fighting the urge to explode in difficult moments, as was apparent against Mayer when he came through a difficult period in the third set, as every little distraction and injustice seemed to get to him.
Impressively, however, he did not lose his discipline, instead channelling his pent-up energy into his shot-making, which pretty much blew the Argentinian away in the closing moments. That was Murray at his most imperious and there is no reason to believe Mayer Mark II will not suffer a similar experience if Murray is cornered again.
That remains the difference between the elite players and those some way removed from them in the rankings. With five sets at their disposal, Murray, Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have room to manoeuvre if they get into trouble. Invariably, they negotiate the difficulty.
The most impressive part of Murray's game here has been his movement, indicating the back injury that kept him out of the French Open is under control, but he is still wary of the pain striking him down.
"It's something I have to deal with," he says, "like all the players have to do. You understand how to deal with problems and monitor them and do all the right injury preventative stuff to protect any issues as much as possible." Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 hours ago.