Murray to Save the Day—Nathan’s Notice

Written by: Staff on 26th January 2012

Murray to Save the Day—Nathan’s Notice |

By: Nathan M. Cuny

Some are saying Murray will have a repeat of last year’s final in this year’s semifinal against Novak Djokovic. Others say Murrays new coach Ivan Lendl is like a lucky rabbit’s foot and the luck won’t wear off. Murray has had great success in the Australian Open so far beating everyone in his path, including the wild-card Kei Nishikori, whom he defeated 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 on Wednesday.

The match wasn’t an extremely difficult one for Murray, he said so himself, “I was just a little bit more solid today and probably had a little bit more in the tank than he did. He played three long matches. With the way that he plays, he needs to play a lot of long rallies. That was to my advantage today. I was hitting the ball better today. I could have served better, that’s for sure. I’ll need to serve better in the next match. But I was returning good, hitting the ball clean from the back of the court [and] moved forward well.” The match lasted a little over two hours leaving Murray still bountiful with energy and ready to prep for his semifinals match against the Super Serb.

Serving is usually one of Murray’s strength’s. Knowing he needs to work on that strength will make him a better contender in his next match. In the quarter finals against Kei, only 44% of Murray’s points were won on first serve compared to Kei’s 60%. Murray’s average first serve speed was around 109.36 mph with his fastest serve blasting off his racket at 131.11 mph. Now Djokovic averaged a consistent 115.58 on first serve, with a fastest serve clocking in at 123.65 mph in his quarter finals match against David Ferrer. Djokovic’s powerful serving speed, quick feet, better backhand, and forehand may mean trouble for Murray, but only if he lets it.

Murray has the physical ability to overcome Djokovic, but his state of mind is where he lacks. Hopefully his coach Ivan Lendl has done his job strengthening Murray’s mental game. Playing Djokovic marks the fifth Grand Slam semifinal for Murray and with a win he could play his fourth Grand Slam final. So far, Murray has not won a single set in any Grand Slam final.

2012 started well for Murray—he is the first to win 10 match-wins out of all the players and already holds one title under his belt. Murray’s determination is there and the Australian Open may become his first Grand Slam title, he deserves it. You can watch the match at 7:30 PM Melbourne time on Friday the 27^th. Even Nadal is excited to watch, recently commenting, “The level of tennis of both players is fantastic. … I’m going to watch the match, because it’s going to be a fantastic show.”

Topics: Andy Murray, Australian Open