Every draw on clay seems to be ridiculous for arguably the greatest clay courter of all time, Rafael Nadal. The world No.1 was yet to lose a set on the red dirt since his defeat at the hands of Robin Soderling in the 2009 Roland Garros fourth round, till his encounter with Andy Murray in the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters.
In the wake of the recent losses inflicted on Murray by qualifiers since the Australian Open final, Rafa entered the match as heavy favorite to cruise into the final. Though the consequence was all the same as expected but it was Andy whose clinical performance pushed Rafa to the limits, leaving the Spaniard gasping to breathe in his own courtyard.
Three hours of scintillating tennis and for the crowd, it was a stunning spectacle. The Brit’s intention to attack was clearly visible right from the moment the match commenced. The pace of the crushing cross court backhands slammed by the racket of Murray was enough to make the ‘King of Clay’ shrug his shoulders in disbelief.
Murray’s performance just revealed that the Scot does possess the ability to adapt his game to any surface regardless of the variations that the surfaces pose. Instead of going for “hit-hard-to-his-forehand” shot, it was heartening to watch Murray going for loopy forehands into Nadal’s backhand corner which elicited some nice openings for him. The different rallying patterns were executed against the Spaniard to near perfection.
The accuracy and precision of the groundstrokes that was on display did hurt Rafa and the forehand down the line proved increasingly effective. The forehand was the most impressive shot along with some big serves that made him outclass Rafa on various occasions. But at the end, the reality dawned and Nadal finally showed why there are only a few who can outlast him in long matches.
The 6-1 scoreline in the last set may invite criticism about Andy’s rash and impulsive shot selection. It may indicate the collapse of his strategy or for that matter, his lack of mental strength to endure pressure in crunch situations. His performance, nonetheless, if not superior to, was at par with the best player of the world at the moment. The display of tennis artistry from Murray, amidst reports of nagging ankle problems which at one point threatened his participation in the match ,certainly deserves accolades. For a major chunk of the match, it was watching Murray at his best.
Tennis pundits and Rafa fans may be singing paean and showering praises on the Spaniard after his seventh straight Monte Carlo title, but it was the exhilarating encounter with the Scot that took everyone by surprise. No doubt, it is Murray who would be brimming with confidence to have found his form right at the beginning of the clay court season.
Though his elbow injury has kept him out of Barcelona, the manner in which he came close to beating Rafa on clay would definitely give him some relief from the ghosts of Melbourne that still seemed to have haunting him.
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