Andy Murray: The Pressure of Wimbledon

Pressure: “the exertion of a force on one body by another body, fluid, etc.” Item: Mouth ulcers every year when Wimbledon comes around. Cliché: Andy carries the weight of an entire nation, 76 years since the last male champion.  Item: Murray got tight, choked for long stretches in his first grand slam final (2008 US Open) (2-6, 5-7, 2-6).  Item: Murray got tight, choked for long stretches in his second grand slam final (2010 Australian Open) (3-6, 4-6, 6-7).  Item:  Murray got tight in his third grand slam final (2011 Australian Open), choked for long stretches (4-6, 2-6, 3-6).  Each time a little better, but each time the pressure messed with his head/body/game. Up until this point, Murray has arguably choked in more grand slam finals than anyone. The commentator’s words as Murray serves for the 2013 Wimbledon championships: “I wonder how many times he’s thought about this.” Murray wins the first three points. 40-love. Cliché: Everyone’s on the edge of their seat. Djokovic, the best player in the world, wins the next three points to get back to deuce. Cliché: anything can happen. Item: Murray played well–did not choke–but lost his fourth grand slam final at Wimbledon in 2012. Cliché: He cried like a baby for days. Cliché: Before he serves, you can hear a pin drop. Cliché: Murray looks down, his left arm shaking. Cliché: Everyone waits to breathe a sigh of relief. Murray saves three break points, deuce a fourth time. Cliché: Ten minutes can seem a lifetime. A running forehand by Murray, championship point. Djokovic misses a backhand. It’s over. Headline, cliché: “Heaviest of burdens is finally lifted to an entire nation’s relief.”

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