One would imagine that smashing a tennis racket comes at a moment of emotional weakness, when momentary rage overtakes one's decision-making process.
And while that may be true, Andy Murray said Monday that there is a method to his racket-smashing madness.
"A lot of guys sort of hold it by the throat and kind of throw it face down. That's how you would throw it if you didn't want to break the racket," Murray told the Associated Press. "Whereas if you just kind of go flat with the frame or if you just hit the frame like that, the racket's gone straight away."
Murray, enraged that he lost the third set to Stephane Robert after blowing four match points, reacted with calculated fury, and then calmly went on to win the match and move through to the Australian Open quarterfinals.
Things may get somewhat tougher in Murray's next match, when he faces sixth-seeded Roger Federer.
