The new ATP season is finally upon us, and it all started with a bang. Andy Murray crushed James Blake 6-2, 6-2 to set up yet another match against Roger Federer. Andy Roddick also lost (to Davydenko), which means Nadal will get a chance to exact some revenge on the Russian.

I have Nadal vs. Murray for the final. What’s your pick?

Nalbandian is in full form today again late season as he completely outplayed a red hot Murray to reach the semis of Paris masters. The first set was tight but Nalbandian won it in the tie-break and had a chance to completely steamroll Murray in the 2nd set. Credit to Murray as he fought back and made it a bit competitive but he lost the 2nd set 6-3 in the end.

Federer was scheduled to face Blake today with the winner facing the winner of Tsonga-Roddick match. But Federer has pulled a muscle in his back and is out of the tournament. Blake needs to reach the final to get to the Masters Cup. He may have to go through his friend to do that.

I have been meaning to post about Andy Murray and his achievements of late. He has simply revolutionalized himself by beating Nadal, Federer, Djokovic (2 times) in a matter of a couple of months. Sure. He was awfully spanked by Federer at the U.S. Open, but that was partly due to his inexperience and lack of consistent serving. But he served a treat by serving bombs at Federer and edging him at Madrid Masters.

Murray is currently No. 4 in the world and is getting close to Novak by the minute. But if you take out the losses to Nadal and Federer, Murray has actually outperformed Novak in the second half of this year. With Djokovic going out to Karlovic last week, Murray had further chances to cement his position as the real No. 3 in the world. So here is the question for the rest of this year. Can Novak catch Federer at No. 2 or will he fail again like he did against Nadal and let Murray take over No. 3? The next Masters Series will reveal a lot about this question.

As expected, this was an amazing match. Both guys came to play, but Murray was a bit better in returning, and that made the difference. Murray had lots of chances to win it earlier but finally broke through in the 11th game of the third set to break serve and served it out easily to win the match. I can’t wait for a rematch with Nadal!

Update: Nadal could not come through against Gilles Simon and fell 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 to bow out of one of his favorite tournaments. Gilles Simon looked as if he was going to pass out after the 2nd set but he hung on and now faces a fresh Murray in the final. Not looking good for him.

Murray did it again. This time beating the Djoker 7-6, 7-6 in the final of Cincy masters to lift his first “sort of” major trophy. Djokovic was playing not so well throughout the match, and it seemed he was tired after only 10 games. Murray did have a chance to close out Djokovic easier but had to go through a close tie-break to beat down Novak for the 2nd time in as many weeks. With the win, Murray is now the new No. 6 in the world with the legitimate chance of making it to No. 4 by the end of the year. Congratulations Andy!

Andy Murray joined his friend Novak Djokovic in the losers lounge when he lost to Mario Ancic in three tight sets 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7). Murray had multiple match points in the tie-break, but blew it all with some dubious shot selection. So who will be the next seed to fall? Roddick was close, but maybe Federer? We shall see!

I can’t believe what I witnessed today, but Roger Federer managed to only win a handful of points on his opponents serve and was thoroughly defeated by the youngster Murray not in the final nor semi final but the 1st round of Dubai Championship. The way Federer is leaking ranking points at this point, it is only a matter of weeks before Nadal or Djokovic catch himin the rankings. Federer lost 7-6, 3-6, 4-6, but the score was more than flattering to Federer as he should’ve lost the first set had it not been for Murray choking a commanding lead in the tie-break. In other results, Youzhny also lost to Santoro.

If Murray ever had a chance to beat Federer again, next week’s match in Dubai will be his best chance yet. Federer is coming off a long break, and he will have to face Murray in 1st Round. That mean that he won’t have time to find his usual rhythm. It also means that if Federer loses, we are looking at a real crisis for Roger as he will be going 3 months or so without a title in the new year. Due to the fact that Murray is rather inconsistent, and Federer wants to show he is not done yet, Federer should be the firm favorite, but Murray has the ability to upset the rhythm of the World No.1, so don’t be surprised if Federer loses in 3 or even 2 straight sets.

So much for Andy Murray being in the shadow of Gasquet nad Djokovic. He won today against Stan Wawrinka, but Gasquet and Djokovic both lost, to Soderling and Simons respectively. If Murray plays up to his abilities, he should win the event, but we will see, won’t we?

Anyone who has had a chance to watch Andy Murray’s matches can tell you that he plays a style that is often frustrating for his opponents, but at the same time interesting to the fans as he has the ability to come up with some outrageous shots once he is pushed to the limit. It seems now that he is the best chance the Britain has of having a British champion. But will he rise to the occasion like Djokovic did or will he keep going out in the 4th routhers or the quarterfinals?

Andy Murray definitely played the match of his life to push Rafael Nadal to a 5-set in the last year’s Australian Open, but that was all she wrote since then. We have not see anything special from Andy for a while now. He was a favorite to get to the quarters of the Australian Open this year. Instead he lost to Tsonga in the first round. I know people have made excuses for him that Tsonga was just too hot, and he was the eventual finalist, but that’s where Andy should have been.

Unfortunately, I believe Andy’s body is prone to injuries. At least he seems to be the unluckiest dude on the block as he keeps getting injured before or right after big tournaments, which sets him back in other tournaments. Andy has more talent than Tim Henman. That’s for sure. However, in today’s tennis, you not only need talent, but heart and also health to be able to compete with the big boys week in and week out. Federer has been the No.1 due to the fact that he has not really missed a significant tournament. Sure, he is the best player of all time, but you can’t be that unless you are healthy as a horse. Andy has a great future but I believe the post-Federer era belongs to Nadal and Djokovic. Thoughts?