Everything has to be just so for the would-be grand-slam champion. In Rod Laver Arena yesterday, the numbers added up as Andy Murray, protected from the tempestuous winds and drenching rains that disrupted play in the rest of the grounds, completed the first of the seven steps required to win the Australian Open.
What is the numerical strength of the optimum player’s entourage? There were not such travelling circuses 30 years ago, when a player packed his bags and flew off, doing his own laundry as he went. Today, there are family, coaches, agents, kit suppliers, the PR and their next of kin to consider. So many calls on a player’s precious time and even more precious purse.
Three years ago at the US Open, Murray’s corner consisted of three: Brad Gilbert, then his coach, Patricio Apey, his former manager, and Roberto Forzoni, a psychologist. The year after, Team Murray had progressed from three seats to three rows.
Yesterday, the support group had been trimmed to consist of Miles Maclagan, his coach, one of his two physical trainers, his physiotherapist, two from his management team, his mum, Judy, and her beau. Murray’s Lucky Seven? We shall see.
With his 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Kevin Anderson, a South African who stands 6ft 8in on spindly legs, in the opening round, Murray did everything required of him, picking his shots and his moments with perspicacity and persuasive intent. All that happened on the court, with the roof closed to protect the occupants from the havoc on the outside courts, was of his doing. Anderson was a compliant means to an end. The No 5 seed toyed with the world No 147, as it should be.
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The first moments in any grand-slam tournament set a trend. Murray has had a couple of comeuppances Down Under that really hurt, first-round defeats by Juan Ignacio Chela in 2006 and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2008. How a player settles can make all the difference in the world.
“I spoke with a lot of the guys about it [the size of the group],” he said. “I like having everyone around. I get on great with all of them. But I have to make sure everyone who is here has a job to do. It is not like in the past [post Gilbert]. I felt there was way too many people, it is just one or two less. When we go out for dinner, it is not tables for ten, it is tables for five or six. It is just a little calmer and maybe we are not spending as much time together.
“Take Wimbledon, where I played well in the past, but there were so many people around. We have decided to have my coach, physio and fitness trainer here. When you put all the hard work in together and train for three or four weeks in December, it is nice to have everyone around at the big tournaments because that is where the success is judged. Maybe it will work, maybe it won’t.”
Against a player who had not dropped serve in the qualifying competition, Murray broke seven times. Yes, his first-service percentage was middling, but that will pep up as the event progresses. The game’s foremost judges, such as Darren Cahill, who has coached Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt to grand-slam success, were full of nothing but praise for Murray’s performance and his tactical and technical proficiency.
Of course, it does not matter how you start, it is how you finish the job that counts, so perhaps we can discount the edgy opening set of Rafael Nadal’s title defence. Had Peter Luczak, a fully committed Australian, finished off the many chances he created, the Spaniard would have needed to dig exceptionally deep. A reprieved Nadal (entourage numbering eight) does not need many second invitations and he eventually rolled off a 7-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory.
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Australia’s flag was secured in the second round by Bernard Tomic, aged 17, entourage: his dad. He did not allow the conditions to disrupt his momentum and defeated Guillaume Rufin, a French qualifier, in straight sets.