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Keith Prowse
Many champions of yesteryear awaited the upcoming A brief health scare, when the young Scot was forced to
outdoors and in with huge expectation. Bjorn Borg, pull out of Britain’s Davis Cup team with a virus that first
champion six times at the French Open and five times troubled him in Australia, temporarily interrupted the
in a row at Wimbledon enthused: “It could well be the success story but Murray was soon back to full fitness.
most exciting year for a very long time.”
By common consent, the big American event staged off
“We have had some great rivalries; Sampras and the coast of Miami on the wind buffeted outcrop of Key
Agassi, Edberg and Becker, and more recently Federer Biscayne is the unofficial fifth Grand Slam tournament
and Nadal. But now there are four of them in the mix and Murray registered the biggest title of his young
and all of them are capable of winning the really big career when he proved too strong for Djokovic.
titles. I’m a real fan these days and it stands to become
a very, very special year for tennis.” Despite celebrating the worldwide acceptance of equal
prize money, the women’s game has been forced to
For Nadal, the first few months of the calendar were accept second billing for a long time and the prolonged
merely a continuation of his sensational form of absence from the tour of Maria Sharapova, battling
2008 which unseated Federer from his to overcome a shoulder injury, has not
accustomed top position. Nobody was
“I’m a real fan
helped. But the battle to hold the No.1
too shocked when the man from Majorca
these days and it
spot on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour since
again won the French Open but he the retirement of Justine Henin a year
surprised many by adding the Wimbledon
stands to become
ago has been intense.
title. After all, no player had managed to
a very, very special
so successfully make the tricky transition
year for tennis.”
This year alone, nobody has managed to
from clay to grass since Borg. But for hold on to top spot for very long. First
Nadal that was just the start and for
Bjorn Borg
there was Jelena Jankovic, the outgoing
good measure he added an Olympic gold Serb who caught the British tennis
medal in Beijing. January’s Australian Open provided public’s imagination as she seemed to publicly flirt on
another stunning final and once more it was Rafa court with Jamie Murray on the way to the Wimbledon
who took the prize. mixed doubles title a few years back. Then Serena
Williams reclaimed top spot on the back of an emphatic
Djokovic, the dashing young Serb who finished last year title victory at the Australian Open. Next it was Dinara
victoriously in Shanghai with the tour’s calendar ending Safina, the tall Russian destroyed by Serena in the
finale the Tennis Masters Cup in his grasp, took a while Melbourne final but on top by virtue of consistency
to get into his stride and had initial problems coming to over the course of a year.
terms with a new racket. He finally got things together
with a big win in Dubai. However, it was Murray that Tennis-wise, 2009 has all the ingredients to be totally
really underlined his position as a true contender for fascinating. As ever, it winds around the world, from the
the big prizes with some stunning results. Arabian desert to down under in Australia and to some
of the most spectacular spots in the United States before
Murray registered early year victories over both Federer an annual tour of Europe’s hot spots; Monte Carlo,
and Nadal, winning titles in Doha, Rotterdam and an Rome, Madrid and Paris. But nowhere is brought more
exhibition event in Abu Dhabi that paid lucratively but into focus than the months of June and July in Britain
didn’t count when it came to the world rankings. with Wimbledon, which remains the most prestigious
tournament in the world. Bring on the big matches.
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