Wimbledon 2011: Andy Murray’s hopes dashed again | Sport | The Guardian.
Poor Andy Murray. So close, and yet not. He has a winning record against Federer and good records against Djokovic and Nadal, but he can’t get past them when it counts, in the semis and finals of the four slams. I usually support Nadal, but today I was conflicted. I want Murray to get there, to break through and win one.
It’s Murray’s misfortune to be playing in the Federer, Nadal, and now Djokovic era. He may never be able to pass them to grab a major, despite his talent.
Today, Murray started beautifully, playing aggressive, accurate tennis to take the first set and go up a break in the second. But Nadal wore him down in the end and took the match in four sets.
Playing Nadal, must I think, be like playing against a terminator. He doesn’t give up, doesn’t stop, just plays and plays remorselessly until he creates an opportunity to win.
Meanderings and Musings 
I root for the underdog too. Maybe it ’cause I always felt a little down-trodden by the “top dogs” myself, and I like to see one of my own kind triumph against the odds.
Yes, I prefer the underdog too – I’ve even been known to support the Wallabies against the All Blacks and that’s a huge solecism in these parts (I always did it quietly, so that my family didn’t know – I’m quixotic but not foolhardy!). It’s just much more compelling, and as you say, much more like life.
Even my enthusiasm for Nadal, one of the best tennis players ever, has been based on seeing him as an up and comer, taking on Roger Federer.