Andrew Murray: The New Tennis Master

The sky was soft blue offsetting the purple hues of the tennis court. The sun beat down relentlessly as the two 21-year old combatants slugged it out during the finals of the Sony Ericsson Masters Series Tournament in Key Biscayne.

The first set was over before it began.  Andrew Murray dismantled his oft-confused, oft-wrong-footed opponent, Novak Djokovic. The deep blue shirt and matching shoes of Nole emulated the mood of the swooning Serb as he fought off break point after break point with no success.

Djokovic fell behind, 4-0, in the first set as Murray parlayed winner after winner past the Serb occupying no man's land on his way to the net. Novak seemed nervous and unsure how to counter the pinpoint accuracy of his opponent.

Murray’s cross court passing shots were magnificent, reminding the tennis world of the brilliance and elegance of Roger Federer on his best days. They dipped past an unsteady Djokovic caught leaning the wrong way.

Murray mercifully ended the first set quickly at 6-2. 

Djokovic predictably called the trainer and complained of being tired and heavy footed, unable to move. There was nothing the trainer could do for the Serb. The heat was oppressive.

The second set, however, soared in favor of the now surging Serb as he broke Murray and took 3-0 lead. Murray seemed to lose his way temporarily. He let Novak back into the match. 

Nole delivered with some brilliant shot-making and it began to look as though a third set would determine the winner. He was up 4-1 in the second set before the wheels came off the comeback bus.

Murray fought his way back at that point and won ten of the final eleven points.  He broke back and evened it at 5-5. Then he broke again and went up, 6-5, serving it out to win the second set, 7-5.

Djokovic wilted at the end and had no comeback left when Murray evened the match, even producing a second serve ace to force acquiescence from his opponent.

Murray ended the match with 19 unforced errors while Djokovic paraded 43. He broke Novak five times, winning 10 of 11 points at the net. He also won 26 of 34 first serve points. 

What this means in terms of the men’s game is that Murray will close in on the number three ranking. 

He is the first man on tour to win three titles. Personally he holds a 26-2 record in 2009 and from last July he owns a 57-7 record, the best on the men’s tour.

Fortunately, Murray was able to play his best in the final where he seemed cool and collected with boundless energy while his opponent seemed nervous and drained of vitality. 

There can be no doubt in anyone’s mind who watched this match that Murray deserved this win. 

He played with pace and variety and skilled passing shots. He held his nerve and his resolve, putting the ball past his opponent on a regular basis.

Murray is definitely in that category—a force to be reckoned with. It will be interesting to see if he can handle the clay and continue his advance on the top players—those ahead of him in the rankings.

After the exorcism of the supposed Djokovic supremacy, there should be no question but that a new tennis master is honing his craft. Be ready...