Meet Andy Murray.

Have I talked about my Federer love? Why, yes I have, I believe. *little smile here* And I've talked about my - er, dislike wouldn't be the right word - for Rafael Nadal, but let's move on!

I'd like to introduce you to Andy Murray! He's a Scottish lad who plays for Great Britain and who still occasionally bristles when referred to as "British". I think that's kind of adorable, having a bit of Scot in me, m'self.

Andy scored a win at Roland Garros today in the second round against Italian Potito Starace, whom I like to call "Potato Starch" (I have a habit of that - nicknaming players, that I've picked up from the various tennis sites I frequent). Anyway, it was a pretty impressive win, as the spud is a pretty good player who had leveled the match by taking the second set today, but Andy came through in 4 sets to move through to the third round.

Why am I a fan of Andy's game? It is kind of interesting, at least to me, since I'm such a big fan of Roger Federer and his "beautiful" game. I doubt if there is much, at least that strikes me anyway, in Andy's game that resembles the beauty of Roger's play on court. But still...this guy impressed me from the first time I saw him play live. He may not have Roger's cat-like movement, but there is still a grace to it, in my opinion. He's deceptively fast and fluid. His balance during his shots is really impressive to me - sometimes I'll replay a point just to watch him strike a ball because he doesn't look like he's going to get to it, but he does! And with perfect balance. That's why I call his movement deceptive.

Andy's got a really impressive serve as well when he gets in a groove. I love his service motion, actually - maybe more than Roger's. And his backhand, although a two-hander, which for me is not as aesthetically pleasing to watch, is a thing of beauty in it's own right. Solid and powerful. Again, almost deceptively so.

Unfortunately, Andy has a lot of haters. He can be very cranky on court and if you search the 'net for images of him, it's pretty obvious that he is a colorful guy during match play. Hee. I don't mind it so much if it's directed sort of inward, and I think that's mostly the case with him, but this kind of attitude on court has earned him a lot of haters. And really, if you take the time to listen to his pressers, he's actually quite charming and self-effacing. Humble and gracious toward his opponents with his comments post-match, too. Ok...and I'm a bit of a sucker for that Scottish accent...

So meet Andy...he's probably the crankiest of my faves at the moment. I'm lookin' forward to him being good and cranky (in a winning way, of course) against Nadal in the semi-finals of this tournament. Go, Andy!