New coach Ivan Lendl will have his job cut out to improve Andy Murray’s mental toughness after watching him butcher his Australian Open semi final against Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park last night.
Djokovic, the undisputed world number one and defending champion won 6-3 3-6 6-7 6-1 7-5 in a tick under five nail-biting hours.
Lendl looked totally bewildered watching Murray go from serving strongly supported by exhilarating strokeplay to serving double faults and playing plain dumb tennis.
The extremities. Lendl was never like that capturing eight Slam singles titles during his stellar career.
Lendl was world number one when Murray and Djokovic were born a week apart in 1987 – Murray the eldest.
The difference now is Djokovic survives on mental toughness, Murray implodes without it.
How could Murray lead two sets to one, and turn off in the fourth set to be flogged 6-1 in just 25 minutes, looking like a weekend amateur?
It doesn’t make any sense. Murray was in command, but soon wasn’t as Djokovic sniffed victory from left field.
The match stats don’t make any sense either:
Aces – Djokovic 11-9.
Double faults – Murray 10-9.
Unforced errors – Murray 86-69.
Winners – Djokovic 49-47.
Break point conversions – Djokovic 11 of 26 (42%), Murray 7 of 24 (29%).
Total points won – Djokovic 184-161.
I lost count of the number of times Murray led 0-30 on the Djokovic serve, only to lose the game by dumping regulation returns into the bottom half of the net. Dumb tennis, not concentrating on the job at hand that accounted for most of Murray’s horrific unforced error count of 86.
It was interesting watching the reaction of Australia’s tennis royalty to this extraordinary semi final.
With 51 Slam singles between them Margaret Court (24), Rod Laver (11), Ken Rosewall (8), Frank Sedgman (5), and Neale Fraser (3) looked stunned.
As was the full house with 155 unforced errors between Djokovic and Murray.
Sure there were many fantastic rallies of between 30 and 42 shots at full bore, using all the court. Then there were the unforced errors that brought gasps of disbelief.
Djokovic will need to lift his consistency in Sunday’s final against Nadal, even though the Serb has won their last six meetings.
Both singles finals have unusual and unwanted features.
Today’s ladies final between Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka brings together the sport’s most piercing screamers with every shot.
The men’s final between Djokovic and Nadal the two worst offenders at time-wasting – Djokovic with his 12-20 bounces before serving, Nadal with his fidgeting and fiddling with his clothing, and ball-bouncing, before he serves.
It’s high time the screaming and the time-wasting were dealt with heavy penalties.
Walt
Guest
Murray is a great player and he WILL have his day. He wanted to keep his energy and try and outlast Djokovic and his gamble didnt pay off. But he has the game, he could have won last night. He has made two AO finals so he is not an also ran - he just needs that little bit of extra mental game. He will get his trophy, it has never been harder with three of the all-time greats in Federer, Nadal and Djokovic to beat. But he is capable - and I am on the bandwagon. Hasnt the bottle? What a joke.
Brendon
Guest
Lendl was 24 when he won the French Open. Same age as Murray now.
Gucci
Guest
You can take it either way though. Aren't there also plenty of examples of people coming back from behind and then "taking the momentum" to continue winning?
sheek
Guest
Hi David, This was a much improved & tougher Andy murray compared to previously. But that 4th set implosion was something else. And it continued into the 5th. By the time Murray 're-awoke', the game was just about gone. Very strange performance from Murray. Djokovic won on guts, his rhythm was missing for long periods. Nadal or Federer would have beaten him last night, I think. Murray probably should have, but couldn't. It's going to be an interesting final. You could say Djokovic has got his "bad" game out of the way. But if he plays like this again in the final, I would suspect Nadal to win. I like both guys, so I just hope the tennis is worthy of the final.
stabpass
Guest
Murrays forehand to a right handers backhand has no great angle on it, unlike the majority of players, he cannot seem to take a right hander out of court with it, must work on this, i think they call it a inside out forehand. Murrays best forehand is to another right handers forehand - cross court forehand. Federers inside out forehand is great, with plenty of angle on it to push the opposition out of court.
Swampy
Guest
I think you are being harsh on Murray. He came from behind in the second set, again in the third, even saving a few set points before holding then breaking Novak to tidy up and take the set easily in the tie breaker. At this point the match had already gone 3 hours. Smashed in the 4th but had breaks at 5-5 in the 5th, after coming back from 2-5 down, is hardly choking or giving up. I'd be more inclined to assess the loss as stamina based - further evidenced as suggested by the number of unforced errors. NBA legend and ex-commentator Rick Barry used to frequently refer to the 'deep hole syndrome' when commenting on NBA broadcasts. The meaning of was when a team fell behind they would expend so much energy in clawing their way back, when they drew level or were in touching distance of the win there was nothing left in the tank. Invariably the front runner would take the win. I've always thought the 'deep hole syndrome' applies across many sports and sums up last night's match very well. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
Gucci
Guest
Completely agree. There's something in the champion players that Murray doesn't have (maybe at the moment). Nadal and Djokovic will fight at the critical moments. Even Hewitt still has that fighting quality albeit it he physically can't do it any more. But the way Murray lost opportunities was exactly the same way Ferrer did it last round, only Murray is all round a better player than Ferrer. Does he need a sport psychologist?
MattRusty
Roar Pro
So easy to criticise from the armchair David. He's trying to win a major in an era that possesses two all time great talents in Roger and Rafa and a third (Novak) who credits his talent to Roger and Rafa who have pushed him to those levels.
Reece Jordan
Roar Pro
Give Lendl some time, I have faith in him. Murray's a work in progress mentally, but once (or if?) he controls that he'll be a real force to be reckoned with.
Brian
Guest
Having got to 5-5 in the 5th set with 2 break points its a bit much to suggest Murray could not have won, Murray is less ciomposed than Djokovic but that does not mean he can win a Slam. There are many facets that go into winning a Slam. Federer is generally a poor bet in tight situations but he has won 16 majors.
stabpass
Guest
Murray is a great player, but in the context of the top 3 above him, he is a bit off a loose cannon and choker, maybe Lendl can address this.
jamesb
Guest
I think murray will win a major at some point. But I do think it needs to happen in the next 2 to 3 years. If Murray doesn't break through and is 27 or 28, than I think he's missed the boat. Murray might struggle to win at the French, but he does have a good chance at either the Australian, US or Wimbledon. It's hard to judge last nights match. Is Murray making ground on the top 3, or was Djokovic physically not at 100% as he showed in that QF victory of Ferrer. Time will tell. Tip: Nadal
Margaret R.
Guest
David, I agree with you completely .... somethings effective should be done about the screaming and time wasting. The ladies can scream their hearts or lungs out today..... I won't be watching.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
Ivan Lendl lost four Grand Slam finals before his breakthrough win at the '84 French Open and 6/7 before entering his dominant '85-87 period. He lost three straight US Open finals before winning three in a row and could never win Wimbledon despite years of trying. Murray's problem is of the four top players in the world he is fourth. He really needs to catch a break to win a Grand Slam by avoiding having to play two top seeds in the semis & final. The same can be said for Roger Federer, but in Murray's case he's only 24 and it doesn't look at as though Djokovic and Nadal will keep winning forever. A window of opportunity is about to open in the next couple of years and if Murray can stay up there in the top 4 he will have plenty of chances to win a major.
AFL is no 1.
Guest
Was a great game of tennis. Like every great sport their are ebbs & flows within the match, Djokovic took more advantage when he was on top. The amount of shrieking and grunting in professional tennis is over the top, might give the women's final a miss.