London 2012 Olympics: Andy Murray heads for two finals in a day

HE ALREADY has two silver medals in the bag, but Andy Murray will be playing for gold today when he faces his arch-rival Roger Federer in the ­Olympic men’s singles tennis final.

The two players will do battle on Centre Court in a replay of the gripping Wimbledon championship final last month, when Federer defeated Murray in a marathon four-set match that left the young Scot emotionally and physically drained.

But instead of putting in some gentle practice ahead of today’s big match, Murray spent most of yesterday on court in two back-to-back mixed doubles matches with his Team GB partner, Laura Robson.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Their victory over an Australian pair in the quarter finals and a German pair in a thrilling semi-final won Murray and Robson a place in the mixed doubles final today and a guaranteed silver medal. Their match will be played after Murray’s singles final.

While some claimed that yesterday’s matches would serve as a good warm-up to today’s final, others raised concerns that playing so many games in such a short time could put Murray at a disadvantage to his Swiss opponent. Federer was knocked out of the doubles at an earlier stage and spent yesterday doing some “light hitting” on a Wimbledon practice court.

Fans took to Twitter to voice their concerns that the workload could affect Murray’s chances in such an important match.

Nicola E wrote: “I think it’s bit unfair andy murray has to play qtrs and semis doubles in 1 day and single gold match tomorrow. Will he be too tired?”

However, David MacDiarmid, board member with Tennis Scotland, said that Murray would not be affected by the situation.

“It’s a lovely problem, and I’m sure that Andy would agree that it’s a great one to have,” he said. “It was always going to be a possibility, with some longer matches than usual which you can never legislate for, that the programme was going to be pushed back.”

Murray’s success at the Olympics is electrifying Wimbledon but it is also being celebrated in his home town of Dunblane.

Tom McLean, owner of the Dunblane Hotel, said his performance in the Games had generated real excitement among locals, and they felt there was something to get excited about: “We had a good crowd in for Andy’s semi-final against Djokovic, and that really got them whipped up because he played exceptionally well. I think that he’s looking to exact revenge on Federer for Wimbledon, and tomorrow just might be the time to do it.”

After the British pair’s victory in the semi-finals, Murray’s mother, Judy, tweeted: “I can honestly say I have NEVER been more excited in my life. Unbelievable kids!!!!!!”