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Roddick prepares to savour Murray mania
ANDY Murray attempts to become the first British man to reach a Wimbledon final since before the Second World War this afternoon with his opponent insisting it will be an occasion to savour.
Not since Henry 'Bunny' Austin was defeated in straight sets by America's Don Budge in 1938 has a home player in the men's singles gone the distance in SW19.
And not since Fred Perry two years earlier has a Briton won the men's title.
Murray again has been given the late slot favoured by television on Centre Court when he will hope to ride a fevered wave of support as he attempts to go one step further than Tim Henman achieved in four losing semi-finals.
Roddick, the top American who is seeded sixth, is under no illusions of what he faces.
"We might be able to count the people for me on this hand," he said, holding up his right hand.
"But it will be something to remember. The crowd's going to be electric. It's going to be a great atmosphere and one I can certainly appreciate, even if it's not for me."
If Murray is to build on his impressive run so far he must tame the fastest serve in tennis. Roddick has served 139 aces this tournament, with his biggest serve to date clocking in at 141mph, albeit 14mph slower than his world record.
It is unlikely to be a match of extended rallies, although Roddick realises that he must be on top of all aspects of his game if he is to live with the shot-making variety of the British number one.
And he is ready to grind out patient rallies with Murray.
"You're going to have to do some of it," admitted Roddick. "I'm not going to get into a match where we are both trying to poke the ball around on the court. That probably wouldn't work. But you're going to have to do it at certain times."
The pair clearly respect each other and Murray was concentrating on his returns in particular in practice to try to combat Roddick's most lethal weapon.
"Roddick's one of the best servers in the game," said Murray. "So I'll obviously have to return very well.
"He's made two finals and been number one in the world and is a grand slam champion so it's going to be tough."
Meanwhile, Martina Navratilova has called on tennis chiefs to introduce point penalties to stop players grunting.
The nine-time Wimbledon singles champion, who is playing in the invitational doubles event this year, was speaking out amid growing criticism of the trend at Wimbledon.
Plenty of focus has fallen on Michelle Larcher de Brito, the teenage Portuguese player who defended her right to grunt last week.
But many female players, in particular, have been repeat offenders and Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva were both grunting loudly during their semi-final match today.
Navratilova said: "There's no reason to be making that noise when you hit a ball. We're not lifting 200 pounds over our heads and, quite frankly, I think it's counterproductive.
"I would actually suggest to my player: 'You're actually making it worse for yourself'. I would be coaching my player not to do it.
"Never mind it's against the rules, it's all bad for my player. When they're yelling that loudly, it's a hindrance.
"The umpire needs to step up to the plate and tell them to stop. And if they don't, it should be a point penalty. I can guarantee you that once they start giving out point penalties they will stop doing it."
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Friday 10 February 2012
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