by KERRY GANLY , Derby Evening Telegraph

And Rushby, now a coach at Duffield Tennis Centre, is confident that Murray can handle today's last four clash in the men's singles, having watched him at close quarters since they were youngsters.

Indeed, Rushby and Murray were junior doubles partners for three years, the highlight being a semi-final appearance at Junior Wimbledon in 2003.

Now, Murray is on the brink of senior glory after booking another semi-final place. He faces American Andy Roddick on centre court today for a place in the men's singles final on Sunday.

Should the Scot beat Roddick, seeded sixth, he would become the first male British player to reach the Wimbledon final since 1938.

Rushby, who lives in Hilton, was at Wimbledon earlier in the week to watch his friend book a place in the quarter-finals following a titanic battle under the new roof against Stanislas Wawrinka.

"Knowing Andy, he will be handling all the pressure well," said Rushby. "He's a chilled guy.

"He is playing some of the best Tennis he's ever played and I'm very proud to say that I've had first-hand experience of playing alongside him.

"There seems to be a lot of pressure on Andy this year. The public are desperate for a Brit to win Wimbledon.

"But Andy seems to cope very well with it all.

"I really think that he can beat Andy Roddick - he's done it before - but it will be a difficult match.

"However, Andy will have had more time to rest after his straight sets win over Ferrero on Wednesday, while Roddick played a big game against Lleyton Hewitt a few hours later that will have taken a lot out of him."

Helping Murray to perfect his game and raise the bar have been his new coaching staff; Tennis coach Miles McClagan, physio Andy Ireland and fitness trainers Jez Green and Matt Little.

"Matt also trains juniors with me at the LTA Academy in Loughborough, so I know him well," said Rushby.

"Matt and Jez are both very different trainers and have worked hard to get Andy looking as good and as muscular as he does.

"He'll probably be preparing for today's match by doing some light hitting and relaxing with his family, who are so supportive of everything he does, especially his mum, Judy, who is fantastic.

"They're a nice family."

Rushby first played alongside Murray at the age of 14 and the pair reached the semi-finals of junior Wimbledon back in 2003.

"That has to be a highlight," said Rushby. "We also won doubles tournaments in the USA, Austria and Bolivia.

"And I remember going to watch Andy in the US Junior Open with his mum and brother, Jamie and thinking how great he was.

"That was just as he was starting to grab everyone's attention.

"We also used to play together against Spanish juniors - that included the likes of current Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal.

"I have some fond memories of playing with Andy. He's also a very good footballer and can play golf, too.

"We used to play football in between Tennis matches for fun. He is one of these people who is good at everything he turns his hand to, which is why I'm confident he can reach the Wimbledon final."

Seeing Judy Murray, mum of British number one Andy, in the stand at Wimbledon makes Jane Rushby think what could have been.

Rushby, mother of Tom, has spent many an hour on the side of the court comparing notes with Murray's mum when the boys were younger.

"The boys were first paired together around the age of 14," she says.

"Tom was ranked number one for his age and Andy number two, although they frequently alternated, so it was natural that they should be paired together in the doubles.

"They would meet up at various Tennis tournaments and Andy and Tom both won the Derbyshire Open in 1997.

"We were at Wimbledon the other day and seeing Judy in the stands makes me think 'that could have been me'.

"I used to know Judy quite well because of all the time we spent together when the boys were younger.

"Andy and his brother Jamie used to come and stay at our house in Hilton when they were competing in tournaments in the area.

"The boys used to go on a lot of trips abroad together to compete in international events."

Rushby and Murray parted ways shortly after reaching the semi-finals of junior Wimbledon back in 2003, with Andy wanting to take part in more singles matches.

Murray's meteoric rise to fame came after an 18-month training camp in Barcelona, which Rushby also had the chance to attend.

"I think this was a real turning point in Andy's career," said Jane.

"Both he and Tom had the opportunity to spend 18 months out in Spain on the clay but it was around 800 Euros a week, which was too expensive.

"Judy managed to get funding for Andy while I couldn't get any help for Tom and I think that is where they both started to drift apart, with Andy clearly improving after the coaching in Spain.

"If Tom had got sponsorship, then who knows what could have been?"

Copyright 2009 Derby Evening Telegraph All Rights Reserved
	Terms & Conditions     Privacy Copyright © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.