Nadal too strong for Murray, but the Scot remains positive
The schedule and the stormy weather were working against Andy Murray in New York this week, but in the end his quest for a maiden grand slam title was ended by a more familiar foe.
For the third time this season Rafael Nadal ended the Scot’s hopes of winning a major title, and it is the Spaniard who will now face Novak Djokovic in tonight’s US Open final.
Nadal’s aggressive play proved very difficult to deal with for Murray, and the Scot found himself two sets down before he began to assert his authority on the match.
In the third set the momentum of the match swung back and forth as the pair traded breaks, and eventually it was Murray who was able to secure the crucial break and then serve out the set to reduce Nadal’s lead.
Murray had a chance for an early break at 1-1 in the fourth set after fighting back from 40-0 down but Nadal was able to hold on and then regain control of the match with some heavy hitting from the baseline that allowed him to break for 3-1.
The Spaniard was brimming with confidence by this point and Murray had no answer for his power as he closed out a 6-4 6-2 3-6 6-2 victory, a disappointing but not unexpected outcome for Britain’s number one.
An already difficult task was made even harder for Murray last week when the US Open organisers opted to have him start his campaign on Wednesday, two days after Roger Federer and one after Novak Djokovic and Nadal.
Some wet and wild New York weather caused further disruption at the start of the tournament’s second week and as Murray resumed his fourth round match against Donald Young on Thursday he was facing the possibility of four matches in four days to reach the final.
After defeating Young in straight sets Murray had a more testing encounter with big serving American John Isner, eventually coming through after four gruelling sets 7-5 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-2). Nadal’s path to semi-final was less tiring; he dumped both Gilles Muller and Andy Roddick out in straight sets.
Murray cited tiredness as a possible reason for his semi-final exit but was also effusive in his praise of Nadal in his post match press conference.
He said: “I felt I did pretty well considering I had to play three games over three days. In my opinion Rafa is the best ever so you have to play great against him if you want to win.”
Despite the disappointment of another slam defeat to Nadal the Scot should be praised for becoming only the seventh player in the open era (and first Brit) to reach four grand slam semi-finals in one season.
That shows a great level of consistency, and the fact that four of those seven players are currently active on the tour is testament to the widely held belief that this is a golden age for tennis.
He will have other chances in the big tournaments but his career should not just be judged on how many grand slam titles he has won. Murray has come to terms with the possibility that he may never win one, but is still determined to give it his all.
Murray said: “It has been a good year. It’s difficult to take each time you get to that stage and come up a little short.
“Winning a slam is something I want to achieve but if you want to judge someone purely on slams, I would have had a terrible career. But I don’t really feel like I have, there have been other things I have done really well.
“I’m getting a little bit closer each year; this season was my best in the slams.”
The other half of the men’s top four met in the other US Open semi-final and produced a classic as Novak Djokovic came back from two sets down to beat Roger Federer 6-7 (7-9) 4-6 6-3 6-2 7-5.
Federer held two match points while serving at 5-3 up in the fifth set but Djokovic produced a dazzling forehand return on the first and eventually fought back to improve his 2011 record to 63-2. It is the second grand slam in a row where Federer has lost a match from two sets to love up, and incredibly before his loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Wimbledon his record at two sets up was 178-0.
The form of the sport’s top two players suggests that we could be in for a classic in the final tonight, which is due to start at 9pm BST. Djokovic has the edge, he has beaten Nadal in each of their five meetings this season, including in the Wimbledon final, and will be looking to join an elite group of players by winning his third grand slam of the season.
However, Nadal should never be written off. He has a huge hunger to regain the world number one crown and could set himself back on that path with victory tonight.
Murray grinds out win to keep Flushing Meadows dream alive
ANDY Murray booked his place in the third round of the US Open in New York tonight, but he was made to work hard for the victory during a thrilling five set contest against Robin Haase.
His Dutch opponent looked to be on the brink of a massive upset as he clinched a tight first set tiebreak and then raced to the second set, but Murray clawed his way back into the match and eventually prevailed 6-7 (5-7) 2-6 6-2 6-0 6-4.
Murray’s US Open credentials will come under scrutiny after he came so close to exiting the tournament at this early stage, especially given the ease with which rivals Djokovic, Nadal and Federer progressed, but he again proved his mental strength after securing a win from two sets to love down for the sixth time in his career.
Haase, ranked 41st in the world, took an early lead in the match but was then broken as he served for the opening set. Murray, however, failed to capitalise on the shift in momentum and let a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak slip with a number of uncharacteristic errors as Haase clinched it 7-5.
Murray’s backhand was causing him problems and an early break in the second set for the Dutchman did nothing to settle Scottish nerves. Haase was growing in confidence as Murray’s frustration mounted and an error-strewn service game from the Scot at 5-2 down saw him concede the second set.
The third set started in better fashion for Murray, and he let out a huge roar as he battled back from 40-0 down to grind out the first break of the set. It turned out to be a big turning point as Haase’s level plummeted and he received treatment for a back injury as Murray claimed the third 6-2.
The Dutchman looked uncomfortable and frustrated as Murray secured another early break in the fourth and his mind wandered as the Scot raced easily to the fourth set 6-0 to take the match into a decider.
Murray built a commanding 4-0 lead in the fifth, on the back of 13 games in a row, and looked to be cruising to victory before Haase incredibly fought his way back into it. With nothing to lose the Dutchman went for broke with some big shots and was able to recapture some of his early match form, levelling the fifth set at 4-4.
The allegiances of the crowd were swaying back and forth and Murray had a few choice words for some spectators cheering against him as he crucially broke back to serve for the match at 5-4. Haase then saved two match points, including one with a challenge that landed millimetres inside the line, and carved out a break point of his own before Murray eventually clinched the match when a Haase forehand drifted long.
It was relief as much as celebration for Murray in the immediate aftermath of this amazing contest, one that looked like a lost cause at two sets down, a certainty at two sets all and eventually turned out to be one of the most topsy-turvy matches you’re ever likely to see.
Feliciano Lopez now awaits Murray in round three on Sunday. The Spaniard was swept aside by Murray in straight sets at Wimbledon in June and has never beaten the Scot in five outings. After this evening’s twitchy drama, a more comfortable Sunday would be very welcome.
It’s alright, everything mellows in sunlight
I have a lot to thank the Dalai Lama for. Or at least that’s what I think anyway.
On Monday night, and for the third time in 2011, I was dumped. It has become a peculiar trend, as up until this year it had never happened before. Though I’ve never really had a particularly serious relationship, even on the occasions where it’s been anything slightly resembling so I have always been the one to press the eject button.
It is therefore a strange and new sensation to be kicked to the kerb for the third time in such a short space of time. This won’t be a whiny, self-pitying post about how I worry that things will never work out for me. In fact, quite the opposite, I have been able to get over these knockbacks in a matter of hours. Or even minutes.
In fact, right after I left this girl’s flat off Duke Street in Dennistoun I put a Shins album on my Ipod and by the time I passed the Royal Infirmary I was over it.
As much as I would like to claim that this is all down to the incredible strength of mind that regular meditation and study of Buddhist philosophy has given me it has a lot more to do with my heart not really being in it. Earlier in the year when something similar happened I remember actually feeling relieved about it when it was all over.
Suddenly it’s like you’re free to do anything you want (even though you always were) and it’s a nice feeling. It’s pretty strange behaviour that I’m willing to feel constrained by the limits of a pretty poor month-long relationship, but perhaps recently I have been either too patient or too polite to be the one to pipe up and say “hang on, we have very little in common and don’t find each other particularly amusing or charming”. Even if that’s what I’ve been thinking for weeks.
I have listened to friends struggle to come to terms with failing relationships, even held some in my arms as they wept about things breaking down, while not being able to fully understand the situation. I suppose it is pretty lucky on my part that I have never had my heart broken, though perhaps unlucky for never being in the situation in the first place.
Instead my recent relationship cycle seems to be a much shorter one. I get in, realise it’s not that great but I might as well put up with it and see what happens and then a short time later I’m given the heave-ho presumably for not being interesting, funny or attractive enough.
"Hi, I'm George. I'm unemployed and I live with my parents."
I can’t compare these six weeks of indifference and awkward silences to the pain that some of my friends have been through after the breakdowns of serious relationships, but right now I have nothing else in the locker.
Indeed, it is not my intention for my life to resemble a sitcom but my unsuccessful dalliances with the fairer sex this year are making me feel more and more like George Costanza. They’re fraught with niggly little issues, several hours of awkward conversation and then it’s over before the tea gets cold.
Seinfeld is and probably always will be one of my favourite programmes but I think the comedic element will diminish if I start identifying too many similarities in my own real world relationships.
In fact, do you remember the episode where Jerry is dating an aspiring actress who insists on practicing scenes with him? She is dreadful and he knows it. He talks with George about how his brain and his penis are having a game of chess, a game that his penis always wins. I’ve been thinking about that recently, though I am slightly bemused that I’ve been binned off before that even became an issue.
The time will probably come where things work out a lot better than this. And then when the KB follows it’ll probably sting pretty badly. But for now I’m really okay with this. A few days ago I was talking about how things were going with Jon, one of my best friends, and after I gave him my assessment he said that it sounded like it wasn’t worth the trouble.
Yesterday after playing tennis with my buddy Joss I remarked to him over the net that I was still into her but that I was “getting the overwhelming feeling that she doesn’t seem to care about anything I do or say”.
“That sounds like something that is not going to work out”, he said. He was right, of course, and obviously I knew he was. I knew it ages ago.
You can’t lose what you don’t have. So what have I lost here then? Nothing, I guess. 2011 looks like it’s shaping up to be the year of the short shrift painless breakup. That has a certain ring to it; I just wish that I could get the time back.
Vote Quimby!
It’s not the mayor’s fault that the stadium collapsed!
A sixth dose of Andymonium
Whisper it quietly, but Andy Murray could win Wimbledon this year.
Yes yes, I know. The hype over a potential British winner of the title after a long, agonising wait is about to reach its annual climax but even someone as normally cautious as I am about Murray’s chances cannot help but get caught up in the hysteria.
Murray's year? photo: dailymail.co.uk
I believe this despite the fact that this year’s tournament is being considered the hardest to win in a long time. Ahead of Murray there are three clear favourites: Roger Federer, as a six-time Wimbledon champion, is the bookmaker’s choice, Rafael Nadal is last year’s winner and you’ve also got Novak Djokovic playing the best tennis of his career with six titles and a 41-1 record to his name this season.
But there have been glimmers of hope in a few of Murray’s performances this year that suggest that he could be on the brink of something special. His ruthless thrashing of Andy Roddick in the Queen’s club semi-final was impressive and he followed it up with a gutsy three set victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to become the first British man to win the tournament for a second time since 1925.
At Roland Garros he played through the pain barrier to secure a fantastic comeback win in the fourth round against Viktor Troicki and then went on to secure a place in the semi-finals there for the first time. At the Rome Masters he surprised many by very nearly inflicting a first defeat of the season on Djokovic as he served for the match in the final set.
The crushing disappointment of his defeat in the Australian Open final had a huge effect on his early season results and for two months Murray struggled for form. Consecutive defeats against players ranked outside the top 100 at the Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami had fans fearing the worst.
However, a solid display in the clay court season seems to have rejuvenated Murray and it looks as if he’s ready to hit top gear just in time for the showpiece event of the tennis calendar. The pressure is building as a nation once again pins its hope on him but he seems to be taking it all in his stride and saying the right things to the media.
As many pundits talk about the huge burden of expectation that the home favourites face Murray has admitted that he actually relishes playing front of a home crowd. He told the BBC today: “In every other sport having home advantage is seen as a good thing. For some reason in tennis people think that there’s just so much extra pressure and it just isn’t the case.”
A semi-final berth is certainly within his grasp and from there, who knows?
Murray though will not be taking any early round victories for granted, especially given the difficulty of his quarter of the draw.
In fact, it is rather ominous how many former conquerors of him in grand slams that he has in his part of the draw. Marin Cilic, who thrashed the Scot at the US Open in 2009, is seeded to meet Murray in the third round, a potential fourth round opponent is 14th seed Stanislas Wawrinka, who beat Murray in the 2010 US Open, and in the quarter-finals he is likely to meet Andy Roddick, who shocked Murray with a four set victory in the 2009 Wimbledon semi-finals.
While Murray’s recent good form has got me believing that this could be his year, I think the smart money is still on Novak Djokovic, who at 4/1 third favourite seems like incredible value.
Novak Djokovic: the next Wimbledon champion? photo ndtv.com
In Federer and Nadal we have possibly the two greatest players of all time, but this season Novak Djokovic has done the unthinkable and emerged as the tour’s standout player. The manner in which he has defeated Nadal in four consecutive finals leads me to believe that he is ready to take the next step and capture his first Wimbledon title.
Nadal, Federer, Murray and the other 124 players in the draw will surely disagree with that assessment and be out to prove their own credentials. Whichever way the pendulum swings, we are surely in for another fantastic Wimbledon fortnight.
