Murray mania grips Wimbledon
The throng of 15,000 who packed Centre Court, swelled by the thousands who fought the darkness on Murray Mould (or Henman Hill for the traditionalists), helped Wimbledon finally wake up to their great British hope on Monday night.
Andy Murray's exhilarating five-set rollercoaster against Stanislas Wawrinka – the latest finish in the tournament's history at 10.39pm– gave the hordes of tennis fans that stayed to watch real reason for optimism.
It's no secret the often-misunderstood Scotsman does not quite fit the typical English mould at Wimbledon, his high-octane outbursts and fervent fist-pumping far removed from the quiet workings of Tim Henman, the last British player to reach the semi-finals.
And that's the thing about Murray: he's nothing like 'Tiger Tim' ('Tiger' having more than a hint of sarcasm attached to it); his style is completely contrasting to Henman's. The latter was a serve and volley machine, one of the last exponents of an art that has gradually died out with the introduction of new racquet technology.
Murray, like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro – three of the top five-ranked players in the world – is a ballsy baseliner, preferring to scamper across the back of the court and offload thunderous two-handed missiles from deep.
It's a game plan that suits the world No3's demeanour, both on and off court, and provides another dissimilarity with his former Davis Cup partner. Murray is criticised for his seemingly prickly attitude while Henman was the darling of the game, never controversial or contentious.
Even the reactions in the family enclosure on Monday proved a point. Judy Murray, sat next to her son's girlfriend Kim Sears, was just as affected with every major point as Andy down below her, constantly jumping out of her seat to cry 'C'mon!' whenever he fought back against his Swiss opponent.
It is hard to imagine Tony Henman pulling wife Janet up out of her seat during Tim's hey-day – not even the gripping semi-final against Goran Ivanisevic in 2001 could drag some enthusiasm out from the plain pair.
Surely Judy could offer them some pointers if Henman joins the Champions Tour someday. Murray, however, could be about to become champion this year.
His epic encounter with Wawrinka was followed by a comfortable straight-set victory against Juan Carlos Ferrero on Wednesday night and sets up a potential serve shoot-out against Andy Roddick on the main stage at SW19 tonight.
Should Murray come through unscathed, he will become the first British male since Fred Perry in 1936 to reach a Wimbledon singles final, usurping Henman as the most successful Briton of the past 73 years.
That is be the main difference between Murray and Henman: Murray is destined for greatness in the game, while Henman was the plucky loser, only a couple of matches away from 'making it'. Maybe the fans have now realised this and that's why they've finally taken to a Murray in mint condition.
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