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The Murray Mafia

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The Murray Family may sound like an adorable folk band or murderous Californian cult, but it is not. Instead Andy, Judy and Jamie, who came out of a small town, have taken over British Tennis and are now setting their sights high, infiltrating all areas of the game. Andy Murray could make it another major in Australia this month as one of the favourites and with a child on the way, the family is only getting bigger. Much like the Cosa Nostra in their quest for expansion of the New World, the Murray’s are taking over Tennis, and it seems they are profiting hugely from their ‘raqueteering’.

 

Don’t Hate the Players

On the playing side, the Murray’s have two world beating foot-soldiers. Andy was always going to be the star child once he left for Barcelona as a teenager. He grew up there playing Djokovic and Nadal, which gave him the schooling he needed to get to where he is today. And today is certainly looking good – two Olympic medals, one US Open, a Davis Cup and  the Wimbledon win. It has not been an easy ride however, there have been plenty of losing battles too. Being a runner-up of 5 majors, Andy has experienced plenty of trials, but it is always about how you react. Murray has become a record breaker in British Tennis and given hope to a nation who have lived in the shadow of almost-man Tim Henman for too long.

Jamie is often the forgotten brother, (Jelena Jankovic didn’t even know who he was when she met him in Miami. He asked her to partner him at Wimbledon 2008) but has forged a road all on his own in Doubles, and like his brother, has seen unprecedented success for British Tennis. Jamie won the 2008 mixed doubles at Wimbledon and has also been the first brit in decades to reach a US Open doubles final too. He has always been at the side of his family, and at the 2015 Davis Cup he played an important role, winning the Doubles matches alongside Andy. Jamie Murray has achieved 13 ATP tour titles and will no doubt be at the forefront of the doubles game even after his playing career is over.

 

Mamma Mia

Like all good Mafia families there is a strong matriarchal character – enter Judy Murray. Born to a professional football player Roy Erskine, who played for Stirling and Cowdenbeath in the 50’s, Judy was always destined for a sporting life. Unfortunately for her it wasn’t going to be her. Despite a short stint as a pro in 1976 and playing against the likes of Debbie Jevans and Mariana Simionescu, she failed to make the grade. She could not stay away from the court long though and has lived her passion through her sons. She was their coach before finding success, and has continued her coaching to this today. She is currently helping Heather Watson as her interim coach and captains Great Britain’s Fed Cup team.

She seems to be the business brain of the Murray’s too, with an extravagant plan for a development near her hometown of Dunblane. The development which would include a Tennis Academy, Museum, Hotel and Visitor Centre would be a true legacy of the Murray’s achievements. Crucially though it was being built on greenbelt land, and the council have shown little enthusiasm for it, rejecting the initial bid. The plans also hid the fact there would be a golf course and 19 luxury homes in the development, which drew 1,000 complaints from residents. This has not stopped the Murray’s pushing for a change in the decision with a likely appeal pending. Like any self-respecting Mafia they brought in their celebrity pals to help, no not Frank Sinatra, but Sir Alex Ferguson and Colin Montgomerie who have put their backing to the idea. They will be hoping to give the council an offer they can’t refuse.

 

Keeping It In La Famiglia

Family is always number one in Mafia and the Murray’s are no different. Andy not satisfied with the amount of tennis in his life married into it this year. Kim Sears may seem like an another beautiful WAG, but her and Andy actually met through her father Nigel Sears – a British Tennis coach. He has worked with the likes of Amanda Coetzer, Daniela Hantuchová and Ana Ivanovic in his career, and his daughter Kim Sears married Murray in april last year in Dunblane.

Andy has claimed that he will fly home from the Australian Open if his wife goes into labour, as he understandably wants to be there for the birth. With the Murrays excelling in every side of singles, double, coaching and business, it is scary to think about the potential of any new member to the family. One thing is for sure, they have had an incredible impact on British Tennis and dragged the fans with them, creating a whole new level of optimism in Britain. It seems the next step will be creating a legacy, and with more Murray’s on the way, not even their rival Tennis family the Williams’ can compete at the moment.

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Miami Open Daily Preview: Jannik Sinner Plays Daniil Medvedev in the Semifinals

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Jannik Sinner on Wednesday in Miami (twitter.com/miamiopen)

Semifinals in both men’s singles and women’s doubles will be played on Friday.

The men’s singles semifinals feature three of the top four seeds, but they do not include top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, who was upset by Grigor Dimitrov on Thursday evening.  Dimitrov will face Sascha Zverev on Friday for a spot in Sunday’s championship match.

The other men’s semi is a rematch of the epic Australian Open final, as well as a rematch from last year’s Miami final, between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev

And in the women’s doubles semifinals, it will be four Americans, two Italians, and a Canadian teaming with a Kiwi.

Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule.  Friday’s play gets underway at 1:00pm local time.


Daniil Medvedev (3) vs. Jannik Sinner (2) –  Not Before 3:00pm on Stadium Court

In the championship match of January’s Australian Open, an exhausted Medvedev, who had already played three five-setters, started out unusually aggressive.  It caught Sinner off-guard, and won Daniil the first two sets.  But Jannik showed an extreme amount of composure for someone down two sets in his first Major final, and rather comfortably claimed the next three, as well as the biggest title of his career.

Overall Medvedev leads their head-to-head 6-4, with all 10 meetings on hard courts.  However, you can divide their history into two parts.  Medvedev won the first six matches, with the most recent coming in the final of Miami a year ago.  Since then, Sinner has taken the last four, which all took place between this past October and January. 

In the absence of Djokovic, and with Alcaraz only winning one title since last July, these two are definitively the best two hard court players the ATP has to offer.  Since last summer, Sinner has reached six hard court finals, while Medvedev has reached five.  Yet notably, their results in those finals tell contrasting stories.  Jannik has gone 5-1, while Daniil has gone 0-5.

Sinner has been the ATP’s best big match player across the past six months.  And on Friday, he should be favored to earn his fifth consecutive victory over Medvedev.


Grigor Dimitrov (11) vs. Sascha Zverev (4) – Not Before 7:00pm on Stadium Court

Grigor Dimitrov just may be playing the best tennis of his career.  He simply outhit and outshined Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday night, mixing highlight-reel winners with a mature and composed demeanor.  Grigor has only been broken twice through four matches in Miami, and is into his third Masters 1000 semifinal out of the last four.  With a victory on Friday, the 32-year-old would return to the top 10 for the first time since 2018.

2018 was also the last time Zverev reached the final of this tournament.  But he’s just one win away from a repeat appearance, and has won all eight sets he’s played this fortnight.  Sascha has only been broken once to this stage, to reach just his second Masters 1000 semifinal since an ankle injury cut his 2022 season short in June of that year.

This rivalry has been nearly completely one-sided.  Dimitrov won their first matchup, a full decade ago when Zverev was still ranked outside the top 100.  But ever since, it’s been all Sacha, as he’s won the last seven.  The German will also be the much fresher player on Friday, as he’s spent considerably less time on court.  And as high as Grigor’s level has been, he remains just 2-8 in Masters 1000 semifinals.  I give the edge to Zverev to advance.


Other Notable Matches on Friday:

Asia Muhammad and Alycia Parks vs. Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe (2) – Muhammad and Parks are infrequent partners, yet have survived three deciding-set tiebreaks to reach this stage.  Dabrowski and Routliffe are the reigning US Open champions.

Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands (ALT) vs. Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini (OSE) – Kenin and Mattek-Sands already won a title this season (Abu Dhabi), as have Errani and Paolini, who were victorious in Linz.


Friday’s full Order of Play is here.

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Undeterred Danielle Collins Hits Back At Those Questioning Retirement Decision

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Danielle Collins is two wins away from claiming the biggest title of her career in Miami but no matter what happens she will still be retiring later this year. 

The former world No.7 caught many off guard during the Australian Open in January when she confirmed publically for the first time that 2024 will be her last season. Her announcement came shortly after a tough three-set loss to world No.1 Iga Swiatek and at the time some questioned if she made that comment in the heat of the moment. However, the 30-year-old has her mind made up as she enjoys her latest surge in form. 

At the Miami Open, she has defeated seeded players Anastasia Potapova, Sorana Cirstea and Caroline Garcia en route to the semi-finals. Making it the second time in her career that she has reached this stage of the tournament after 2018 when she did so as a qualifier. In her latest match, she dropped only five games during her 6-3, 6-2, win over a in-form Garcia. Garcia defeated Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff earlier in the tournament. 

Following her latest victory, Collins faced more questions about her decision to retire. Once again she reiterated her results on the Tour would have no impact before questioning why she has to keep justifying herself. 

“I think it’s really interesting how in a lot of different situations I have had to kind of justify the reasons behind retirement,” Collins points out. “I’m living with a chronic inflammatory disease that affects your ability to get pregnant. So that’s a deeply personal situation. I’ve kind of explained that from time to time.
“This is my personal choice. This is so much more to do than just tennis and my career. I’m enjoying my career. I’m having a lot of fun; I love coming out here and competing. But at the end of the day, like, this is a really big life decision. I think that that should be pretty understandable.”

Collins, who turned 30 last December, says she feels there more scrutiny about her decision to retire because of her gender. 

“I find it interesting because I kind of felt like when I was announcing my retirement everyone has been congratulating me and so excited for me, but then on the other hand, I feel like I have had to justify my decision a lot. I feel like if I was a guy, I probably wouldn’t have to justify it that much.” She commented.

So far in her career, Collins has won two WTA titles which was during 2021. The following year she reached her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open. 

In Miami, the American will play Ekaterina Alexandrova for a place in the final. 

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‘A Great Challenge’ – Daniil Medvedev Ready For Sinner Showdown In Miami

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(credit Miami Open/Hard Rock Stadium)

Daniil Medvedev says his semi-final clash with Jannik Sinner at the Miami Open provides him with an opportunity to improve his game further. 

The defending champion booked a showdown with the Italian after beating Nicolas Jarry 6-2, 7-6(7), on Wednesday. It is the 14th time that Medvedev has reached the last four of a Masters 1000 event. In his latest match, the Russian hit 12 winners and won 80% of his first service points. 

Medvedev’s next challenge will be the formidable Sinner who has won 20 out of 21 matches he has played so far this season. It will be their first clash on the Tour since the Australian Open final where Medvedev won the first two sets before losing in five. 

“He’s playing better and better,” the reigning Miami champion Medvedev said of Sinner. “He’s confident, some matches where you look on TV, where he’s maybe a little bit in trouble, he manages to find solutions – that’s what champions do.
“It’s a great challenge for me to continue improving my game – I’ll try to show my 100 percent and go for it.”

Overall, the two tennis stars have faced each other 10 times on the Tour before this week. Medvedev dominated their rivalry early on by winning all six of their first matches played. Then it was Sinner’s turn to dictate proceedings with the 22-year-old winning their four most recent meetings. 

Another factor in their rivalry is the competitiveness between the two with more than half of their matches (six out of 10) going the distance. 

“It’s going to be a very tactical match potentially because I have to be ready if he starts off in a similar way as in Australia.” Sinner said following his 6-4, 6-2, win over Tomas Machac. 
“I have to be ready and try to understand it (Medvedev’s game) before. Maybe he’s gonna change a couple of things. So let’s see. It’s going to be an interesting test for me. Hopefully, I can show some good tennis.”

Medvedev is aiming to become the man to defend their title at the Miami Open since Novak Djokovic in 2016. It would also be the first time in his career that he has won the same tournament twice. 

The upcoming semi-final clash is set to take place on Friday. 

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