01-16-2020, 06:51 AM
LONDON -- Imagine what the reception will be like for Andy Murray on Monday when he first strides onto the green grass of Centre Court at Wimbledon. A year ago, Murray became the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the singles title at a tournament the locals refer to simply as "The Championships," ending a nations long wait and sparking talk of a knighthood. This year, Murray gets the defending champions honour of playing the fortnights first match on the most famous tennis court in the world. Seems safe to say that 15,000 or so of his closest friends will greet him with a full-throated roar. "As the time gets nearer, and, you know, I get ready to play the first match on Monday, Ill definitely ... be excited about it," Murray said. "I will be nervous. It (is) an experience; something I have never experienced before. Players have talked about it in the past, that its a great experience. But it can also be a nerve-racking one." Murray had a slow start this season, coming off back surgery, and he hasnt reached a final since Wimbledon 50 weeks ago. But he showed hes on the way back to peak form by reaching the semifinals at the French Open. Performing that well on clay would seem to bode well for what he can do on grass. "I expect to play well there. Im really looking forward to going back. I think it will give me a lot of positive energy," Murray said. "Im glad Im back playing to a level that was able to get me through to the last stage of Slams." As for how Murray will handle whatever jitters accompany his first trip back to the site of his most significant victory, his peers think hell be just fine. "The way hes got himself back into shape again, I think he can really believe again. Thats whats most important now," said Roger Federer, who won seven of his record 17 major championships at Wimbledon and is coming off a grass title at Halle, Germany. "(Being) defending champion is never an easy thing. But then again, he played so well on grass the last few years. ... I would feel comfortable if I was Andy at this point." Novak Djokovic, the 2011 champion and runner-up to Murray last year, agreed. "Im sure that Andy, with all the experience he has playing in the big matches, and especially here in front of his home crowd, understands and knows the way how to handle the pressure and expectation," Djokovic said. "So I expect him to do well." The other reigning singles champion, Frances Marion Bartoli, will not try to defend her title, announcing her retirement at 28, less than six weeks after the 2013 final. That actually fits well with the quirky career of Bartoli, who certainly did things her way, down to her two-fisted strokes for forehands, backhands and volleys. While Murrays baseline game is rather conventional by todays standards, his coaching decisions have been groundbreaking. After parting in March with Ivan Lendl -- whose hiring was followed by those of fellow past greats of the game Stefan Edberg (by Federer) and Boris Becker (by Djokovic) -- Murray picked former womens No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo as a replacement this month. "All Im interested in is to be able to help him (reach) his goals," Mauresmo said. "Thats about it." Murray, who grew up in Dunblane, Scotland, has made plain that those aims are primarily about winning more Grand Slam trophies. He earned his first at the 2012 U.S. Open, shortly after winning a gold medal at the London Olympics. Those triumphs followed his loss to Federer at Wimbledon that year. In 2013, Murray beat Djokovic in the Wimbledon final to end the 77-year drought. Scotlands vote in September about whether to break away from Britain -- Murray has steadfastly avoided weighing in -- will be a popular topic of conversation around London this summer, and with Englands early elimination from the World Cup, the attention on "Our Andy" at Wimbledon figures to be as strong as ever. "Anytime you taste what it feels like to win it once, you obviously want to win it again. So theres an element of pressure you put on yourself, for starters, because you sort of want to see what that feels like at least one more time," said ESPN analyst John McEnroe, who won Wimbledon three times. "From that standpoint, hes going to be feeling pressure. Clearly now once people know he can do it, theyre going to think he should do it again." Solomon Thomas Super Bowl Jersey . Their 9-19 record remains identical to the crosstown rivals in Brooklyn and trails both Toronto and Boston in the Atlantic Division. 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His stated reason for abruptly resigning as head coach of Canadas Olympic womens hockey team was he felt there were doubts about his ability to coach the team to Olympic gold in February.MOSCOW - Thomas Mueller fired Bayern Munich to a 1-0 win away over CSKA Moscow in an empty stadium on Tuesday in the Champions League.Mueller put Bayern ahead from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute, after Mario Goetze was fouled by CSKAs Mario Fernandes as he dribbled into the box.The Germany striker slipped while taking the penalty, but still managed to hit it straight and avoid injury.The spotkick earned Bayern a second consecutive 1-0 victory in Group E after beating Manchester City earlier this month.Group rival Roma, which opened with a 5-1 victory over CSKA, played City later Tuesday. The Russian champions are bottom after two defeats.The match was played behind closed doors at Arena Khimki near Moscow as CSKAs punishment for racist behaviour by its fans during a match against Viktoria Plzen last season.Bayern dominated the first 25 minutes and could have scored more in the early stages, notably on 11 minutes when CSKA goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was forced to turn a shot by Arjen Robben round the post.After Mueller put the visiting team ahead, CSKA responded well, taking advantage of Bayerns high defensive line to threaten the German champions on the counterattack.Finnish midfielder Roman Eremenko came closest for CSKA, hitting the post with one curling shot from the edge of the box and also sending a similar effort just over the bar.ddddddddddddAhmed Musas pace caused Bayern problems as the Nigerian forward charged in behind the German teams defence and hit a shot that Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer parried. With Neuer out of position, Zoran Tosic missed the target with his follow-up.Bayern nearly went into half-time 2-0 up after Akinfeev stopped a shot from Goetze and Robert Lewandowskis follow-up effort was blocked.Bayern coped better with Musas pace in the second half and succeeded in starving CSKA of possession for long periods, while using possession to slow the game down.Late on, Mueller could have scored his second, but lost the ball as he tried to round goalkeeper Akinfeev.CSKA management has said it expects the Russian champions other two group stage home games to be played without fans as punishment for pending UEFA charges of fan racism and violence during the defeat to Roma earlier this month.Last years match between Bayern and CSKA in Russia was also played under a partial stadium ban after UEFA ruled that CSKA fans had racially abused Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure.Bayerns next Champions League match is a trip to Roma on October 21, when CSKA hosts Man City. ' ' '