World No. 1 Andy Murray’s poor form in 2017 has continued after going down 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 6-1 at the hands of Stan Wawrinka in the French Open semi-final.
Despite Murray taking a two-sets-to-one lead, 2015 champ Wawrinka had the better of the match and would have wrapped it all up in straight sets had it not been for some reckless unforced errors and some great defensive plays from the Scot.
The Swiss maestro was too strong on the day, however, and advances to his second Roland Garros Final in three years despite racking up 77 unforced errors.
In a rematch of last year’s semi-final where Murray won in four sets, Wawrinka got his revenge on the back of some aggressive play which saw him notch 87 winners compared with Murray’s 36.
The four-hour 34-minute slug kept the crowd engaged with lengthy rallies and deft touches the order of the day.
The result means Murray has failed to reach a Grand Slam Final in 2017 after his disappointing fourth-round exit at the Australian Open in January.
Quite frankly, he only has himself to blame.
After putting on a serving clinic in his quarter-final trouncing of Kei Nishikori, things couldn’t have been more different for Murray as he landed just 58 per cent of his first serves on his way to being broken a staggering nine times.
(AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)
If you want to compete in Grand Slams, you just cannot put up those kinds of numbers.
What will be more disappointing for the 30-year-old, however, was his second serve. Murray won just 47 per cent of his second serve points, as opposed to Wawrinka’s 61 per cent.
Murray will see this as a missed opportunity to widen the gap between himself and fierce rival Novak Djokovic who himself suffered an early exit, going down in straight sets at the hands of Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem on Wednesday.
Since being named world No.1 in November 2016, niggles and illnesses have been a constant burden for Murray. His 21-8 record, or 72 per cent winning percentage in 2017 is not what we have come to expect of the Scot who had an outstanding 2016 season where we finished 78-9 with a winning percentage a tick under 90 per cent.
Despite these struggles, Murray still leads Djokovic by almost 3,000 points in the ATP rankings in a season where tennis’ two top players have fallen flat.
We’re six months into the year and I sure hope we see some improvement out of the pair.
But for now, Murray must return to the drawing board as he looks to rediscover the form from 2016 which saw him claim the World No.1 ranking and earn a Knighthood.
Come on Sir, you can do this.
Ed Nixon
Roar Pro
The grass conditions will give Murray a chance to recapture his form from last year and so I hope this semi-final run gives himself a bit of confidence. His game mechanics aren't quite right but he showed glimpses in this game that he can push on later in the year. Stan has been fantastic this tournament and will be a great game against Rafa.
Ed Nixon
Roar Pro
Because by his lofty standards it is. In 2016 he was reaching the final in pretty much every tournament he played in, and was doing it in a convincing manner. This year he has struggled immensely, largely due to his health. I just hope this is just a minor dip in form for him and he can come back and finish 2017 on a high.
Ed Nixon
Roar Pro
As an Andy Murray fan it was great to see him play so well in 2016 and really brought his best tennis to the court. In 2017 it has been a completely different story. Along with Djokovic, he has fallen flat of expectations and I sure hope he can bounce back before Queens and Wimbledon!
tsuru
Roar Rookie
Ed, I really disagree with your summation of the match and of Murray's progress. At the start of the year Murray seemed strangely lacking in confidence, particularly in his attacking game. I now learn that one reason was due to his having shingles. Over the course of the French he has steadily showed more attacking awareness and he moved Wawrinka around well for 4 sets. I think his loss in the 5th set was due to him succumbing to Stan's barrage of heavy and accurate groundstrokes taking it's toll after 4 hours. Add to that some very deft dropshots from Stan and his ability to produce a big serve whenever he was in trouble and I think it's pretty understandable that Murray lost in the end. But remember that Murray did lead two sets to one and only lost in the tie-breaker in the 4th. (Btw you got the first 4 sets backwards when reporting the score). I'm predicting Stan will give Nadal a run for his money in the final, and I'd even give him a fair chance of winning. After all, Stan has never lost a final of a major. I'm predicting this will prove a big turning point for Murray and his win percentage will rise signifIicantly over the grass- and hard court seasons.
Swanny
Guest
How is losing in the semis of a grand slam to wawrinka seen as a fail by this author . Weird article
Mitcher
Guest
While completely understanding the world number 1 and constant contender would be aiming for nothing less than winning majors. I really do question whether going down valiantly in a grand slam semi final deserves the overtly negative slant of this piece.