It was a decent match overall, not due to any outstanding quality from either side of the net, but rather the mental battle being waged by both players to shake off the mediocrity that plagued them during the match. Federer was the better player but would habitually miss easy put-away volleys at net, which were truly uncharacteristic of him. Murray too was showing only fleeting moments of quality, with his baseline play normally so consistent, letting him down more often than not.
Federer ended up winning the match in straights sets, after coming back from 2 breaks and 4-1 down in the 2nd set to win 6-3 7-5. It was at this point that it dawned on me... Murray was 2 breaks up and needed to hold serve 2 more times to win the set and he didn't even make it to the tie breaker! That was a fairly tame way to go out for a player who until a couple of days ago had a winning record against arguably the greatest player of all time. Murray doesn't seem like himself lately, he's lost to the Fed twice this year and hasn't beaten any of his traditional big four rivals this season. So I did some digging and found out that he hasn't done any of the following since winning Wimbledon in 2013:
- Beaten anyone in the top 10
- Won a tournament
- Been to any finals
Further more, this year his best performances have equated to reaching semi-finals, which he's done on only two occasions out of 13 tournaments entered. His ranking has dropped from 3rd in the world to 9th; Its safe to say things have gone a little downhill for Andy since the crowning moment of his career just over a year ago at the All England Club.
In his defence he has been hampered by a back injury that required surgery last September and it looks like he is still not 100% as yet. Having said that, Murray himself has gone on record to say he is fully fit now. Now maybe the final hurdle for Murray is psychological. Personally, I have a theory as to what's been ailing him since making his comeback from injury.
I think one of the factors stopping Murray from being anywhere near his best is motivation. This is a man who was brought up in the tennis world knowing he was the 'great white hope' of British tennis. He had the weight of a nation on his shoulders every time he stepped onto a tennis court, because he had the talent to break the streak of non-British winners of any of the grand slams which had lasted for approximately 3/4 of a century. That is a lot of pressure to deal with year after year, but its also one hell of a motivational factor to get the proverbial monkey off your back. Once this was achieved by winning the US Open in 2012, and subsequently, Wimbledon in 2013, Murray could conceivably retire today and would be the most successful British tennis player since Fred Perry.
And that's the thing, the pressure is now gone, anything he achieves in tennis at this point is a bonus and I'm sure the atmosphere going into any tournament now is a lot less tense than it used to be. He's also playing in a golden era in terms of the quality of the top men in tennis, having to beat a combination of Federer, Djokovic and Nadal is the requisite to win any major tournament. That's a tough thing to do and Murray is only the 4th man in this era to win multiple slams. I don't think people appreciate just how hard it is to win major tournaments in this era of tennis, Murray is the first man (outside of Roger, Rafa and Nole) to win multiple slams since Marat Safin in 2005! Thats over 9 years and approximately 36 slams ago. I only state this to illustrate just how competitive the era he plays in is, and why every little edge you can bring to the court makes all the difference. I am starting to wonder if Murray possesses the will and the spirit to push himself over the limit like he once did.
Another fact one must consider is this; How much success beyond this point will actually have any real impact on Murray's standing in the history of the game? Lets say for arguments' sake that he wins another 3 slams (which isn't totally unrealistic, but will be fairly difficult to do) that would leave him with 5 slams in total which is less than Djokovic's current tally of 7 and one would expect Nole to win a few more himself before he hangs up his racquet. So even if Murray maximises every last drop of his potential; he will also lag behind the top 3 men of his era. That would be demotivating for anyone especially as these are the guys you are competing against.
This isn't to say Murray won't win another slam. I do expect him to win maybe one or two more at least before his career is over, but I also would not be shocked if he didn't (due to the aforementioned reasons). What Murray needs is to find a new source of drive, as I am in no doubt that the pressure of carrying the hopes of all of Great Britain gave him a slight edge that maybe he's lost. No matter what Murray does he will be remembered fondly by British tennis fans and all fans alike as the junior member of the current big 4 in tennis, and a hugely successful and talented tennis player. However knowing his place in history is secured might also be his undoing.
He must find a way to kick on now, find other means of motivating himself such as catching other all time greats and not just the ones from his era. Murray could set himself targets like catching the likes of Boris Becker & Stephan Edberg (6 slams each) or John McEnroe & Mats Wilander (who won 7 slams each). If he really pushes the boat out he could set the target of catching his ex coach Ivan Lendl with 8 slams. These are all stellar names in tennis and by getting close to them, Murray would etch his name in a higher echelon than he currently resides in tennis folklore. Another target he should aim for would be to get to World No.1 in the ATP tour ranking, a feat he has yet to accomplish, and a feat all the greats mentioned in my post have achieved at least once.
Murray is at a crossroads in his career, and needs to find a new lease of life after already achieving more in tennis than anyone from his country for over 7 (SEVEN!!) decades. But there is still plenty to play for. Hopefully his new coach Amelie Mouresmo can help to inspire him to new heights and help find new reservoirs of desire and motivation. The talent is unquestionably there for Murray, its all about the mind. Barring injuries there is no reason he can't reach the heights of the greats of yesteryear, whether that is enough to drive him onto more grand slam glory remains to be seen.
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You can follow me on twitter @kwamberto
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