Wimbledon Semi Finals 2009 Preview: Murray vs Roddick

wimbledon-semi-finals-2009-preview-murray-vs-roddick Andy Roddik and Andy Murray are face to face for the Wimbledon semi final 2009.
Andy Roddick is just one game of tennis away from causing the greatest diplomatic incident between Britain and the United States since the Boston Tea Party.

If Roddick is to make his first Wimbledon final since 2005 he will have to beat the world number three Andy Murray, who is one match away from becoming the first British male in the Wimbledon final since 1938.

The longing for Murray to end this country’s longest sporting drought is tangible. As Roddick said after his quarter-final victory over Lleyton Hewitt, you will be able to count the American’s supporters at the Murray match on one hand. Not that Roddick will be bothered. He had a taste of being the pantomime villain when he beat Hewitt, who was urged on by his small band of fanatical supporters.

“I think the crowd’s going be electric. I think it’s going to be a great atmosphere, and one that I can certainly appreciate, even if it’s not for me,” Roddick says. “I’m just going to pretend when they say, ‘C’mon, Andy’, that they mean me.”

If Roddick is unconcerned by the crowd, he may be worried by the formbook. Murray leads their head-to-head encounters 6-2, including victory in their only match on grass, at Wimbledon 2006.

Murray has won more matches this year (47-15) than any other player except for Novak Djokovic, who lost on Wednesday, and, having won the Queen’s tournament last month, the 22-year-old is on a 10-match winning streak on grass. When told that Hewitt regarded Roddick as the underdog, the 6th seed replied: “That’s fine.”

Murray is keeping his feet on the ground. He has consistently refused to speculate about his chances in this tournament beyond his next match, despite goading from the press seeking the headline: Murray says he can win Wimbledon.

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Wimbledon Semi Finals 2009 Preview: Murray vs Roddick

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