Nourish don't neglect

The sporting focus this Sunday was centered on two of Britain's brightest sporting stars, Andy Murray and Rory McIlroy. Of course, when they are enjoying more than their fair share of success, they are British, but when they slip up, they are obviously Scottish and Northern Irish. But that is a different matter. There was success for Murray at the weekend (albeit not on the sport's biggest stage) although McIlroy fell just short. But his time will come, and he is clearly a prodigious talent. The 21-year-old Ulsterman fell an agonising one shot short of forcing a three way play-off with potential Ryder Cup team-mate Martin Kaymer and American outsider Bubba Watson, to finish tied for 3rd at the USPGA. A missed put for birdie on the 18th cost him his chance to win, but after tying for 10th at the US Open last year, and also finishing 3rd at the USPGA last year and achieving the same position at the Open last month, it is surely only a matter of time before he wins his first major. There is certainly time on his side, and he is a confident individual. This was portrayed in his post-round interview, where he drew the positives from his performance, and looked ahead to the challenges ahead - most notably the Ryder Cup this October: 'I came close but it just wasn't meant to be. I really tried to go out there with a positive attitude and not let anything get to me and I did a pretty good job of it. But I'll get over it and be fine.'
This attitude means the likely pressure (which will increase following his efforts at Whistling Straits) should not faze him. It is shuddering to think he is still only 21, after bursting onto the professional scene at the age of just 18. Since then, comparisons with TIger Woods have flooded in, and the great man even invited him to play in the 2007 Target World Challenge. Despite being thrilled about the recognition, McIlroy declined the invitation, as he felt there were more important challenges to take on at this stage in his fledgling career. That shows something about the character of McIlroy, and can only stand him in good stead in the years to come.
The diminutive star also proved his worth as a human being - despite his own disappointment at missing out on his first Major title, he showed genuine compassion towards his competitor Dustin Johnson. The American missed out on the chance to compete in a play-off with Kaymer and Watson after a two shot penalty for grounding his club in a bunker in the last hole, having missed a chip which would have given him the win outright: 'if I was in the same situation, I might have made the same mistake. He broke the rule. He grounded the club. But I think it's a stupid rule.' So magnanimous, amazingly talented, and wise beyond his years - McIlroy clearly has a bright future ahead of him, if he is moulded by the right team in the right direction. Many young stars, in a variety of different sports have fallen off their chosen path after promising careers as juniors. Athletics' Mark Lewis-Francis is a shining example. But the difference between McIlroy and so many others is his temperament.
McIlroy's effect on the state of golf will probably be greater (and easier to quantify) than his effect in his home country. The sport has been dragged through the mud since the end of last year with the highly-publicized shenanigans of the sports' star, Tiger Woods, off the golf course. The emergence of McIlroy as a genuine Major contender could not have come at a better time. His is a game which is still developing - he is a brilliant (and accurate) striker of a ball, but his short game, on and around the greens, is improving all the time. But he is also charistmatic and looks like he should still be in school, and it is this which has convinced a host of companies to use him for sponsorship and advertising. Despite this being the third time he has finished 3rd at a Major, it is the first time he was in serious contention. And although he fell up agonisingly short, this will do him the power of good in terms of his maturity and experience. So here's to good times ahead!
His efforts last week moved him up to a career high seventh in the world rankings, and guaranteed his spot for the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor at the start of October. There is bound to be pressure on a rising British sports star. This is mainly because there are so few proficient stars who we can pin our own hopes of glory on. Andy Murray is another who enjoys similar (or even greater pressure) than McIlroy, but this is not just the case in team sports. The likes of Wayne Rooney, David Beckham and Andrew Flintoff have felt the weight of expectation on their shoulders - some thrive, some flounder, but Murray is certainly thriving, as he proved by beating Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in consecutive days to win the Rogers Cup in Toronto.
It may not have been a Grand Slam, but it was a Masters title, which is the next best thing. And beating Nadal and Federer in consecutive days if nothing to be sniffed at. Yet he is one of the most under-appreciated sportsmen we possess. You can hardly blame him for having an often surly attitude. He clearly identifies with his Scottish identity, but when he is enjoying success, he is British, but when it all goes pear-shaped, he is as Scottish as kilts and haggis. In all fairness, he hardly helped himself with his comments during Wimbledon in 2006, just his second appearance in the great tournament. He stated he would 'support anyone but England' in the 2006 World Cup. This led to rumours that he is anti-English, so of course when he crashed out of the tournament in the fourth round to Marcos Baghdatis, he was Scottish again. He has stated he is, 'not anti-English and never was,' and, 'the comments were made in jest,' but the stigma has stuck.
But this is no excuse for the way he has been treated by the crowd and English tennis fans on occasions. He has been branded a failure for failing to win a Grand Slam so far in this career. He has only just turned 23, and he has appeared in two Slam finals. He may have been well beaten by Federer, in the US Open in 2008, and the Australian Open earlier this year, but that should be no shame, and it is still a learning curve despite having been on the tour for five years. Federer and Nadal are two of the best players to have ever picked up a racket, and when you factor in the likes of Novak Djokovic, Robin Soderling, Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin del Potro, there are a number of talented youngsters in the men's game, and there is a also great depth.
For many British tennis fans, the season lasts for as long as the four week grass court season in June and July. Unfortunately, that is also the attitude taken up by all other British tennis players. The next highest ranked British male is Alex Bogdanovic, at 219, yet the Scot is still a failure, apparently. On the woman's side of the game, Elena Baltacha, at 55 in the world, is comfortably the highest ranked British woman. There are only two more ranked within the top 200. Murray has lost in the semi-finals in the last two years at the All England Club, to Nadal and Andy Roddick, and was defeated in the quarter-final the year before, again to Nadal. This can hardly be deemed a failure, when the only time British players compete in Grand Slams is when they receive generous wild cards at Wimbledon every year. Even then, they are lucky to advance past the first round. Murray has enjoyed his success in spite of the LTA rather than because of it. He learnt his trade in Barcelona after being sent there by his mother as a 15-year-old. He has described it as a 'worthwhile sacrifice', and it is hard to say if he would have enjoyed the same success had he stayed and trained with the LTA coaches. His all round game is solid, and weaknesses are hard to spot. Earlier in his career, there were doubts about his fitness as he seemed to get burned out during long five set matches. But those fears have now been eradicated, and he is one of the fittest men on the tour. He has evolved from an 'attacking counter-puncher' (as he was described by top Tennis coach Paul Annacone, to a more offensive player as he has developed the skills on his bow.
The two men who will know exactly how Murray feels are Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman. The former was very British when he reached the final of the US Open in 1997, before losing to Pat Rafter. But when his career started spiralling, especially the failed drugs test, he was Canadian and nothing to do with us. And Henman, despite reaching six Grand Slam semi-finals, was constantly criticised for falling at the penultimate hurdle. But no British man has won a Grand Slam since the great Fred Perry in 1936, and the last man (before Murray) to even reach a final was current BBC commentator John Lloyd in the Australian Open in 1977. Hardly a prestigious roll call, and the last Brit of any success to win sex was Virginia Wade, who famously won Wimbledon in the same year her current BBC colleague missed out at Melbourne Park. So we should be thankful of having Murray, and Henman and Rusedski before them, because the LTA has failed British tennis.
The difference between Murray and McIlroy is that McIlroy is appreciated due to the density of British golfers towards the top of the world rankings, and who challenge for Majors on a regular basis. This seems to be a distorted reaction, because when Murray fails to win a Grand Slam, there is no one to fall back on. He is deemed a failure, but this probably won't bother him. Both of these young British stars will probably achieve their major breakthrough sooner rather than later. For Murray, it may come at Flushing Meadows in the next few weeks, on his favoured hard courts, or he may have to wait until next year or further down the line. But they both share some similar traits - single-mindedness, ambition, good temperament and ability. And the rest of it - they won't pay the slightest bit of attention.