French Open Day 4 - Will Elgin lose his marbles, or is it grand Larsson-y? And how should we Treat Huey?

Schedule - http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/

No rest for Andy Murray he is third on Philippe Chatrier with two women's matches preceding him.  I feel a little sorry for Andy Murray, yes I know he is worth over $100 million and has a hobby for a job, but he seems to be under a lot of press intrusion recently.  Look I am happy to talk, praise and criticise Andy Murray on this forum - but this is essentially private talk amongst like minded individuals interested in sport.  It is different to the journalist tactics in getting a story and making a nuisance of themselves.

Yes but Andy is not alone in that NS. The press just love to see the top boys wobble a bit on their pedestals and are there with their cameras waiting for the fall. Look at the last year with Rafa every time he lost ..predicting his demise, pushing him for explanations. Andy has to do what Rafa did, pull himself up by the shoe strings, get out there and prove them wrong. Yes easy for me to say..but its the penalty he has to pay. He is under pressure we know, but then I think this tournament is putting a few players under the microscope this year.

Unfortunately tennis at pro level is a publicly observed sport...hence the large amounts of money on offer. With that comes media coverage and their love of finding an "angle" to sell columns.

As HN says, its the price these guys have to pay for where they are in the sport and public eye. Earning these vast amounts of money puts them on a completely different pedestal compared to the rest of us...and so the many focus on the few...its always been that way.

Yes it goes with the territory of being a player at the top of the game and also being British (in GB at least). Might have worded that badly but I suspect that Serbian, Spanish and Swiss people etc outside of  the tennis fraternity are not that bothered about him. In GB and in this case France  due to Mauresmo's nationality there is an interest.  I would hope now that he has addressed it in public it will die away and tennis will be the focus.  

As said though he earns a lot from tennis and has had some pretty good achievements.  So has made himself newsworthy. Dealing with it is something he has to do. He keeps his private life very private. So outside of tournaments there is very little to write about him.

Kuznetsov a break up on Nishikori...I give him a chance of pulling off an upset here.

Oh god no not the nish

13th seed Kuznetsov-a hammering Heather Watson in terms of current score line (5-1 first set). But I suppose that is to be expected.

Watson looks to be exiting unless she can muster up a break here at deuce on Kuznetsova's serve.

Watson crashes out 6-1 6-3.

Guest82 wrote:Kuznetsov a break up on Nishikori...I give him a chance of pulling off an upset here.

Haha. He's barely won a game since I cursed him.

Nore Staat - Andy might be under a fair bit of press 'intrusion', sure ; but he is (as you say) doing something he loves and I'm not sure he needs too much sympathy from any of us.

I think that the intrusion and/or pressure which high-achieving - and hence very high-earning - sports stars feel is wholly different from the sort of pressure experienced by ordinary mortals in their daily quest to earn a living. Many working folk have to cope with constant stress, unreasonable (or even incompetent) bosses ; not to mention the often real possibility that their job could potentially disappear overnight, with all the financial ramifications that would result.

My favourite anecdote on the subject of pressure came from legendary golfer Lee Trevino who, as a scruffy young kid, would challenge wealthy amateurs at a top local golf club. Being from a very humble background, Trevino lacked the resources to actually join such clubs, and as a total unknown his prodigious natural talents were often severely underestimated by the affluent members. He would hang around and offer to play with anyone who turned up alone, and then suggest they should put money on the result - 'just to make it interesting.......'

In later life, Trevino was asked by a reporter how much pressure he felt when needing to sink a putt to win a Major :

"Well, none really. That's not pressure. Not if you already have a few million sitting in your bank account. But ..... when you've bet a stranger 100 bucks that you're gonna beat them, and you don't actually have 100 bucks ...... THAT'S pressure.

Ive just come in on Stan's match .. what the hell is happening again

Thanks for that Lags - I've made a mental note on "must find out more about Lee Trevino". I have heard of him but know nothing of his background nor attitude to life.

Ok Stan is looking like he is gonna lose the first set

Saved set point

Ps one of my sporting heros is Graeme Obree.  I have also heard of Beryl Burton who also seems to have been an inspirational figure (road cycling).  These are people committed to sports in the past in which they didn't get paid or receive much if anything in prize money etc.

Stan now has set point tb

Stan takes first set

I would be surprised now if Stan didn't win in straight sets from here and he'd like it done inside two hours if possible.

Stan through unscsthed in straight sets in 2 hours 10 minutes. Murray in second gear takes first set 6-2. A real marathon going on between Karlovic and James Thompson. They are into the fifth set and on serve with play nearing 4 hours.

Can't see the match myself. How is Andy actually playing? Is he hitting the ball any better?

temporary21 wrote:Can't see the match myself. How is Andy actually playing? Is he hitting the ball any better?

Patchy if truth be told. Like I said it is like he is in second gear. Missing more shots than I'd expect. Workmanlike shall we say.

What I see is him going from a break up to a break down. Pray tell what Mr murray is playing at?

Ok right. Has he picked up an Injury or something?

This is rather pathetic from Murray TBH, from 6-2 2-0 looks like he's going to lose six games in a row, hitting with no intensity whatsoever and untold errors, he's let his opponent right into it. Awful...

5 games in a row... What the bloody hell is actually going on here!!!!

3 points won in 5 games (three of which were on his own serve!).

No injury that I can see. Just looks non-plussed for want of a better word. He was 6-2 and 2-0 without playing anything special and perhaps he switched off and it has cost him the set by looks of it. Credit his opponent but really disappointing by how passive Andy is here as he loses the second set.

It's like 16 points in a row isn't it?

So it's just overconfidence. Doesn't think his opponent is worth his second gear... Well put your hand in the gear lever Andy and show your opponent the respect required

There's a very high chance he's gonna lose this you know...

Okay .... wrt my earlier post .....think I've just found another definition of pressure - as in 'putting yourself under pressure' : losing six games on the trot to a guy ranked 126. And you're the number 2 seed......

If this looks as bad as it sounds in the radio, then murray looks finished in this match

Oops .... his ranking is even lower than that .....??

Make that seven games in a row with two DFs, dreadful. Yes he's tired, and moving a bit slowly, but that doesn't excuse this complete meltdown.

His serve has gone walkabouts and he just looks in a sorry state at present. He needs more positivity, more aggression and more assertiveness. Double faults galore and Bourgue breaks at the start of the third set.

Two doubles... He's done I think. I can only think he's hurt he's way better than this

Mathias Bourgue looks to be a complete nobody - an average Challenger Level player.  Andy Murray will win this it is just a question of him "getting back into the match".

Is he injured or just depressed? The turnaround was sudden and there was no indication of a problem?

I don't want him to. His RG needs to end now, he's either hurt, or he needs to take a week off and recharge, this just isn't worth it

I'm not watching, but unless he's properly injured, no way will Murray lose this match. He does this all the time.

Not like this though. This is atrociously poor. He's being out rallied by challenger level players. He might need to retire the match by the sounds of it

Not watching so have no idea but what the Hell? I had him as one of the favourites for this event, and the draw only made it better. To get a draw with Djokovic & Nadal ready to batter the Hell out of each other in the semi and pick up a weakened opponent in the final is an opportunity never to be repeated.

Very annoying. Mentally abysmal by the sound of it.

He's higher calibre thank this, even when he's nervous. Injury is all I can think of

His only chance is for his opponent to choke. He shouldn't need that but he will

He's gone mentally. When he loses his focus, even for a very small amount of time - I can only assume that negative thoughts set in and he is unable to break out of that negative mindset.
I've often thought - maybe even posted on here at one point - that some serious sports psychologist sessions would be valuable.

He doesn't look injured, he just looks extremely weary, both physically and mentally. Not sure why TBH, the Stepanek match shouldn't have taken quite this much out of him. Hope he can get a second wind, because Karlovic and Thompson have just finished knocking all sorts out of each other, with Karlovic taking it 13-11 in the fifth. No way he'll be in much state for the next round. If Murray can somehow get back to his first set level, which wasn't all that good, he'll win this easily, but at the moment looks like no chance...

This guy is holding like he's federer. It's almost unlistenable

The only reason why Bourgue is in the French Open is because he was given a wild card.  He has never beaten a top 50 player and the ATP ranking information has him never having played a single match on the ATP world tour before this tournament.  He is 22 years old so not a youth.  Commentators are suggesting he is just under the weather and feeling sorry for himself - maybe because of the Mauresmo affair and the journalists raising his on court behaviour issues.  Commentators saying no indication of an injury but that he is looking muted and resigned on the court.

JuliusHMarx wrote:He's gone mentally. When he loses his focus, even for a very small amount of time - I can only assume that negative thoughts set in and he is unable to break out of that negative mindset.
I've often thought - maybe even posted on here at one point - that some serious sports psychologist sessions would be valuable.

This is all connected to the ridiculous outbursts, especially at the team. I got slagged off here for saying he was being ridiculous but there are some who think that kind of behaviour is ok, even admirable. It's not, it's a sign of mental fragility.

However, plumbing these depths is something I never expected.