TENNIS AUSTRALIAN OPEN:THROUGHOUT THIS Australian Open, Andy Murray has flirted with the notion of letting his attacking instincts take over from the calculated tennis that has carried him into Sunday's final.
There were moments during his four-sets win over the gifted Croat Marin Cilic in yesterday’s semi-final when he succumbed to the temptation. Those were the moments we will remember. Who could forget, for instance, his crazy-eyed pursuit of a ball nobody had a right to retrieve, 15 feet beyond the tramlines, and then the low, whipped forehand that curved through the gap between the net post and umpire’s chair into a space that had already been given up by Cilic in the fading moments of a tense match?
There followed that open-jawed celebration by Murray, the like of which has not adorned his tennis in the five years of his senior career, a scary snapshot of delight and conviction. Cilic was devastated, physically and mentally.
But that flickering image and other moments are not necessarily the ones Murray will go to when he sits down to devise a strategy he hopes will win him his first Grand Slam title – and Britain’s first for a man in 74 years.
While it will be a relief to him and everyone else when people can refer to any final he is to contest without dwelling on that cursed statistic, the longueur that has plagued generations of fine players, Murray is not much concerned with history now. He is in the only moment that matters, the one that involves immediate victory.
When he wrenches the weight of the past off his shoulders, he will be free then to express himself. Not yet, though. Not when the prize is so close.
First, he wants to face Roger Federer – not that he does not respect Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the Swiss’s opponent in the second semi-final today.
But beating Federer, which he has done several times – although not in a Slam, as the world number one keeps reminding him – is the validation he craves. For at least 18 months now, Murray has been utterly convinced he deserves to be in this company, and winning majors.
This, he said during the lead-up at the Hopman Cup in Perth, is his time. He said winning a major is not the goal, it is just the beginning. And he has never been better placed to do so than in this tournament.
Murray arrived in Melbourne in better shape than probably 90 per cent of the field, straight from a strenuous camp in Miami, where he cranked up his stamina and strength in 100-degree heat.
He got to the semis without dropping a set, while Cilic had struggled in three five-setters. As the match unfolded you could see the Croat’s long legs were losing their spring, as Murray remained revved up.
Cilic struck early, looking for a knockout and had Murray reeling at 6-3 in the first set. An upset loomed. But Murray rallied quickly, keeping the game tight.
“I’ve been a set down before in slams,” he said. “Even in the best-of-three-set matches – but you’ve got a lot more time to turn it around in best-of-five. You’ve got time to work things out, change your game plan a little.”
Which is what he did. He slowed his first serve, upping his percentage of first strikes in play from 50 per cent to 76 per cent and making Cilic work harder on his return. He hit deeper on his own return and started to find the angles when moving in behind his serve.
Until then, Cilic had looked gigantic at the net and some of Murray’s more adventurous chips and lobs had been mercilessly cut down. As Cilic tired, though, Murray’s attritional tennis drew him clear.
The Croat found himself lagging in his wake, a second or two off the pace in each exchange.
Murray took the second and third sets 6-4 and gave up only two games in the fourth. It looked easier by the shot. At the end, Murray’s dominance was complete.
“This is the best I’ve played at a Slam,” he said. “Obviously the match against Rafa (Nadal in the quarter-final) was great. Tonight, the majority of the game was great as well. I feel good. Physically, I’m going to be fresh for the final.”
It is significant that he wants Federer, not Tsonga. It reflects the most supreme self-belief. It has always been there, but his deeds have not always matched it.
Now, pragmatic and shrewd, Murray has the ability to make best use of his considerable arsenal of shots. If it means waiting at the back for a break, that is what he will do.
If, as against Cilic, he has to risk being passed (as he sometimes was) to impose his will on his opponent, he will choose his moment.
As he said after beating Nadal: “You want to surprise your opponent.”
He has surprised more than his opponents in Melbourne. All of tennis is watching Murray now, and wondering what he will do next.
GuardianService
