The British teenager won his first title on the ATP Tour in San Jose, California,
registering back-to-back wins over two former world No 1s, Andy Roddick and Lleyton
Hewitt. His semi-final victory over Roddick was his first over a top-10 opponent, but
the 18-year-old was not satisfied with that. He recovered from a set down against Hewitt
in the final to prevail 2-6 6-1 7-6, establishing himself as a genuine force in men's
tennis. He is now the fourth highest ranked teenager behind Rafael Nadal and the French
pair, Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils - a truly meteoric rise for a player who started
last season outside the top 400 and only made his first appearance on the main tour
last April.
Murray reached his first ATP Tour final in Bangkok last October when he lost in straight
sets to world number one Roger Federer. He took a swipe at the British media following
a first-round defeat at the Australian Open last month, but success breeds expectation
and Murray can expect the pressure to build up as Wimbledon approaches. He attempts to
deflect this by stating that Wimbledon "is not the most important tournament" for him.
Although he performed creditably at Queen's and the All England Club last year, his game
is probably better suited to hard courts. "If I could pick a grand slam to win, it would
be the US Open," he insists. He considers his main weapon to be his serve.
Murray started playing at the age of three under the expert guidance of his mother, Judy,
who is a former Scottish national coach. At the age of 15, he started to develop his
game at the Sanchez-Casal training academy in Barcelona. His junior career was impressive.
He won the US Open junior title in 2004 and reached the semi-finals of the doubles with his
older brother Jamie. At the end of that year, he was presented with the 2004 BBC Young Sports
Personality of the Year Award. Since June 2005, Murray has been coached by fellow Briton
and former ATP pro Mark Petchey. He is a great fan of boxing and gets himself geared up for
the demands of a competitive match by listening to the music of 50 Cent and the Black Eyed
Peas.
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