MURRAY IN AUSSIE FINAL

 

Well, Andy Murray's 2009 US Open wasn't really worth talking about and GB's Davis Cup form is turning into a complete disaster so roll on 2010. Andy was in Oz early on to compete in a GB team for the mixed gender Hopman Cup and after that, well it was time for the Australian Open once again. This time around GB's main man was the 5th seed for the tournament - given that his form in the back end of '09 was hit and miss. Still, it was Grand Slam time once again. In theory this should be one of Andy's better Slams as he likes hard courts but his record down under has always been iffy, be it due to injury or his opponents catching him on an off day.

First up was South Africa's Kevin Anderson. Well the omens weren't good for the South African opponent as Andy went 5-0 in the first set and easilly took it. It was more of the same in the second set with Anderson being given a serious reality check. Andy took his foot off the gas a bit in the third, allowing his opponent to be halfway competitive but ultimately, this match proved to be a demo session for the British start, he won 6-1 6-1 6-2. Amazingly it was the first time in Andy's career that he'd pulled off back-to-back appearances in the Australian Open second round, with his tournament debut having come in '06, and his Grand Slam debut the previous year.

Next up came France's Marc Gicquel in the second round. And again Murray appeared to have no trouble whatsoever in the first set, going 4-0 up before the Frenchman even attempted to put on the brakes. With the opener in the bank, the Brit took his foot off the gas, maybe a little too much. He still won the set, but slightly messily. More problems came in the third set but still, Andy managed to pull through to avoid hanging around too long 6-1 6-4 6-3. Again it looked likely that Andy was on course for one of his better Aussie Opens but really, making the third round of any Slam should be straightforward for him given previous experience.

In the third round came another Frenchman - Florent Serra. The first round of this match turned out to be a rougher ride, Serra able to break the Murray serve though Andy was still able to pull it out of the bag. The second set proved to be a lot smoother for the Brit. In the third set, well Murray seened to be cruising untill suddenly he took his foot too far off the gas and allowed Serra to come right back into the picture but still held on to win 7-5 6-1 6-4. That meant that Andy was able to match his '09 run and still he had yet to so much as lose a set in this tournament! An awesome performance from the British number 1 so far and the question was starting to be asked "could it happen?"

Well in the 4th round came Yank John Isner - a very tall guy whose height tended to cause his opponents headaches. Sure enough, Andy couldn't do anything on his opponents serves and was forced into a tiebreak whicch he won. The second set looks straightforward on the stats pages but in fact contained plenty of marathon games. Still, Andy pulled it off. Finally Isner ran out of fuel in the third set allowing Andy to prove his class yet again to the tune of 7-6(7-4) 5-3 6-2. That confirmed this tournament as Andy's best Aussie Open so far but amazingly he became the first Brit since David Lloyd in 1985 to get this far down under(didn't even know Lloyd was still playing in the mid 1980s).

Anyway in the quarter finals, out came the big guns. Enter Rafa Nadal, reigning champion. Well the Brit just found his overdrive and the first set was amazingly straightforward for him. The second set was more interesting though, not least due to the curiousity of a stoppage in play for an "Australia Day" fireworks display. Andy had a rough ride, had to deal with a tiebreak, but came through. The third set was when Nadal had a rough ride, the Spanish star picking up an injury and eventually having to retire with Murray leading 6-3 7-6(7-2) 3-0. Well at least Andy can say he deserved the win though it's never good to see your guy go through purely due to the opponent retiring. Still, Murray became the first Brit to reach the Aussie Open semis since Lloyd in 1977!

The semi saw Murray theoretically go down a gear against Marin Cilic, but then again the Croat did knock Andy out of the '09 US Open so nothing could be taken for granted. That was proved when the Brit had a sluggish start and Cilic took the first set. Andy continued to have a rough ride early in the second set but out of nowhere came up with a break point and from there, levelled the match. The match was nowhere near done yet though, with both players managing to break serve before Andy turned the match round. There was still a fourth set to deal with but by this point the Brit could not be stopped! Cilic was blown away to the tune of 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-2, matching Lloyd's effort in '77 and giving Andy a first Grand Slam final since the '08 US Open.

So this was it. The Australian Open final. And there was only going to be one guy he could possibly face. Roger Federer, making this a rematch of that US '08 final. Unfortunately this match went the same way. First, Federer cruised his way to the first set. Then he continued to have Murray's number in the second. In the third set that looked to change but Andy just couldn't finish the Swiss star off. He took the battle into a tiebreak though and he certainly made Federer work. Bottom line is though, he lost 3-6 4-6 6-7(11-13). Given that Andy does have a generally positive record against Federer, I don't know just how the Swiss star always seems to outclass him in Grand Slam finals.

 

So, Roger Federer is the winner of the 2010 Australian Open, the best possible start to the year for the man recently described as "tennis royality". It's the first time he's won the tournament since '07. Three years may be a long time but at this point he's not going to care. Fact is, the guy has nothing to prove and is already statistically the greatest player in tennis history. So, how many more Slams can he win this year? Well Pete Samprass doesn't think he can pull off the "calender year Grand Slam", and the American legend has a point - back in the day Samprass seemed invincible but four Slams in a year proved beyond even his capabilities. Still, Federer will be there or therabouts - he always is.

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