Andy Murray must get ruthless to win Grand Slams
Roar Guru By johnhunt92, 29 Jan 2012 johnhunt92 is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- Andy Murray, Australian Open Tennis, Ivan Lendl, Novak Djokovic, Tennis
He never threw in the towel but Andy Murray fell short in an epic Australian Open semi-final AAP Image/Barbara Walton
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There is an episode of American comedy show ‘How I met you Mother’ where Marshall, who wishes to jump from his dreary apartment roof to the fancy roof 100m away, cannot make the jump because his mentality is holding him back.
The premise of the episode is a perfect analogy to explain Andy Murray’s tennis career.
Last week I wrote about how Sam Stosur struggles with the pressure of playing in Australia and being our best hope at a Grand Slam.
For Andy Murray, he lives in a sarcophagus of pressure as he is generally Britain’s only hope of ending a 76-year Grand Slam drought (Murray was the only Brit to win a set at the Australian Open).
There is no doubt about the quality of Andy Murray and his top five ranking. A brilliant natural player of the game, Murray has all the goods in at his disposal to be a world number one.
Against Djokovic on Friday, he showed his ability to mix it with the best players in tennis as he worked the world number one around the court.
But looking deeper into Murray’s tennis career, his record against the players he needs to beat to win Grand Slams is patchy.
He holds an 8-6 lead over Federer but is 5-13 against Rafael Nadal and 4-6 against Djokovic, who he is going to play more Grand Slam semis and finals against in the next 6-8 years.
More tellingly, he has failed to win a set in the three Grand Slam finals he has played (2008 US Open 2010-2011 Australian Open) and is three from eight in converting Grand Slam semis into finals.
So while he has all the technical side of the game down pat, Andy Murray lacks the crucial thing needed to be a champion: the killer instinct.
Like Marshall and his roof jump, Murray tells us he is going to make the next step yet he just cannot without that mental ruthlessness.
It was evident in the fourth and fifth sets of the massive semi on Friday night. After winning an epic third, Murray fell away and lost 6-1.
In the fifth, Murray twice led 30-0 in his service game before being taken to deuce. The first time he saved three break points but the second time he was broken for the ‘Djoker’ to go 4-2 up.
At those crucial times when Murray needed to step up, he went mentally missing. Federer Nadal and Djokovic have all have the killer instinct and the result is that they have won multiple Grand Slam titles.
In many ways it explains why Murray has hired Ivan Lendl as his new coach. Lendl doesn’t need to teach him how to play tennis or where to better his court coverage because we know Murray has mastered that.
Lendl has been hired to install a ruthless edge in Murray so when he is in the fifth set of a Grand Slam semi or final, he can power on.
Murray needs to make the move from a top five player to the world No. 1 by being ruthless against his biggest opponents.
Whether Lendl can instil and sense of ruthlessness is still up for debate but if he can do it, Murray will certainly be a Grand Slam champion.
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The Crowd Says (7) | Page 1 of Comments
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- Explore:
- Andy Murray, Australian Open Tennis, Ivan Lendl, Novak Djokovic, Tennis
January 29th 2012 @ 2:38pm
Sharminator said | January 29th 2012 @ 2:38pm | Report comment
cmon .. you´re joking arnt you? Murray is never going to win a grand slam .. just like all the other brits in the past 76 years …
January 29th 2012 @ 6:34pm
JJ said | January 29th 2012 @ 6:34pm | Report comment
murray’s window for winning a slam is now extremely narrow … he’s got 24 months, after which he has peaked professionally and will also have another wave of grand slam ‘talent’ to deal with. being aussie, i don’t weather to wish him luck so i will say … good luck to …………….. ummmmmmmmmmmmm …………… ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh………….. tomic
January 30th 2012 @ 9:48am
Farmer said | January 30th 2012 @ 9:48am | Report comment
I agree – I watched his match against Djokovic and came to the conclusion he lacked ticker or killer instinct, …whatever that special thing is that drives the very good players to get the result. When Murray was really put under the pump, he could not deliver, time and time again.
Poor Brits – they will not have a lot of joy waiting for Murray to get there.
The contrast between Murray and the 2 guys playing last nights epic final is black and white. Seeing Nadal come back from 0-40 in the 8th gane of 4th set to avoid going down 5-3 with Djokovic to serve for the match was what I am talking about. Mental toughness. Nadal is so impressive.
Not walking around the back of the court yelling abuse at himself and his Mum , coach and anyone else that supports him.
Murray will not win a Grand Slam event. He is not mentally strong enough.
January 30th 2012 @ 7:52pm
Trudy said | January 30th 2012 @ 7:52pm | Report comment
Sorry where we watching the same match???? I was there watching live, Murray came from 2-5 down in the final set if that isn’t having ticker I don’t know what is and as for yelling abuse at himself and his Mum i think you have the wrong competition, that was a long time ago all you need to do is read Djokovich’s post match interview to know how close that game was, and as for Nadal did he win?????? Andy Murray will win a Grand Slam this year mark my words.
January 31st 2012 @ 2:27am
Lyndy said | January 31st 2012 @ 2:27am | Report comment
Thank You Trudy , sometimes I dont think these people read what they write !!!!
Agree he showed way more mental strength in this semi than he has shown before . Give it some time with Llendl . If anyone can teach him to be mentally stronger Ivan can. Im looking forward to seeing him lift that 1st slam trophy.
January 31st 2012 @ 9:33am
Farmer said | January 31st 2012 @ 9:33am | Report comment
Trudy and Lyndy,
Let’s be honest here – Murray is not on the same page as the other 3 when it comes to mental toughness.
I watched the whole match. I was actually hoping Murray would do well. I was not a big fan of his efforts previously but he seemed to be playing better tennis this year under Lendl.
I was continually frustrated at his inability to convert. He got into position many times, only falling at the last hurdle. His lack of mental toughness was the conclusion I came to after watching the whole match. He tanked in the 4th set.
I cannot see him getting over Nadal and Djokovic.He might be able to match it on the tennis front but they are tougher than him. Very hard to teach that. Just ask Sam Stosur.
January 31st 2012 @ 12:06pm
Lyndy said | January 31st 2012 @ 12:06pm | Report comment
@ Farmer
not on the same page YET is what u should have written . Listen I was disappointed he let that match slip away , it could have been his if he had converted those points , but I think he has it in him , time will tell if Im right or you are