After latest Australian Open heartbreak, is Andy Murray the unluckiest man in tennis history?
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ByEurosport
Updated 31/01/2016 at 19:09 GMT
Having emerged in the Roger Federer era, Andy Murray now finds himself the best supporting actor in Novak Djokovic's domination of the sport. Valiantly competing against two of the greatest ever to play the game, will the Scot go down as one of the sport's unluckiest competitors?
Djokovic beats Murray again to claim sixth Australian Open crown
Image credit: Reuters
After Sunday’s defeat in the final of the Australian Open, Andy Murray has now lost to Novak Djokovic as many times in his career (22) as Roger Federer has.
That’s Roger Federer, to many people the greatest to ever play the game, who – as eagle-eyed fans will notice – also lost to Djokovic during the semi-finals this past week in Melbourne. That seems to be the fate of all the top players these days, losing to Novak Djokovic on the big occasion - whether you are arguably the greatest to ever play the game or a brilliant tennis player unfortunate to ply his trade in the same era.
Federer’s loss to Djokovic was all the more notable because Djokovic now leads their head-to-head 23-22; his victory over Rafael Nadal in Doha at the start of the year means he now has more wins over the Spaniard (24) than vice-versa (23).
Federer and Nadal may have dominated the Serbian when he was still emerging into the star he is today, but the roles have now reversed back to equilibrium – with Djokovic surely likely to surge further into the lead as time continues to pass. When it comes to retirement, that record - as imperfect a measure as it may be - could end up being used by many to explain why Djokovic is really the greatest of all of them.
Murray, a contemporary of Djokovic down to their week of their birth, has also seen an improvement in his performances against the Swiss and Spaniard – to the extent he is now pretty well established as the world’s No. 2 player – but has found Djokovic an altogether tougher beast to pin down. If anything, he has become accustomed to being the fall guy against a player he actually beat 6-1 6-0 in their first match as 12 year-olds.
Since beating Djokovic in that famous final of Wimbledon back in 2013 (a straight sets success, no less), Murray has lost 11 of the next 12 meetings between the pair – his only triumph coming in the final of the Canadian Masters last year. Of their 30 career meetings, 23 have come in the semi-final or final of a tournament – with eight of those being in Grand Slams. In overall Grand Slam meetings, the record now stands 7-2 in Djokovic’s favour.
It is not necessarily that Murray is bad against Djokovic – although on Sunday he did shout “this is the worst match I have ever played” in the direction of no-one in particular – but rather that Djokovic is simply too good ... against everyone.
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Serbia's Novak Djokovic kisses the men's singles trophy after winning his final match against Britain's Andy Murray at the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park, Australia, January 31, 2016
Image credit: Reuters
THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN HAS NEVER BEEN TOO KIND TO MURRAY
The Australian Open has never been a particularly kind tournament to Murray, which may seem as an odd thing to say about an event he has reached the final of five times – including his very first appearance on such a stage.
But disappointment, as we know, has greeted all those matches – the last four times against Djokovic and the first against Federer, who dispatched him in three sets back in 2010. "I can cry like Roger,” Murray said in a tearful loser’s speech, “it's just a shame I can't play like him."
That was when the Swiss was coming to the end of his peak, and since then Djokovic has entered his (the Serbian’s 2011 campaign was one of the finest in history). His defining experiences Down Under seem to more broadly sum up Murray’s career – unlucky enough to be perhaps the one elite player whose career has fallen into the shadow of two (or three) others who will go down as three of the five or six best to ever play the game.
Djokovic will almost certainly go down as the best player in the Australian Open, with his record-equalling sixth title surely not going to be his last. History may look kindly on Murray if he adds to his four final meetings with the 28-year-old, and will perhaps recognize that he was unlucky to be a great hard-court player in the era of a transcendent one.
“I feel like I’ve been here before,” as Murray joked at the start of his latest loser’s speech. But the fact he keeps putting himself in that position should not be denigrated as an achievement all of its own.
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Studio analysis: Murray couldn't cope with 'genius of Djokovic'
SUNDAY’S STRUGGLES
At least the way Murray tells it, Sunday’s final was not actually that one-sided – bar the first set, of course.
Speaking to the media afterwards, Murray pointed out that unforced errors had ultimately been all that separated the sides (although, in fairness, that conveniently ignores the fact that is essentially what all tennis matches at this level can boil down to), and added that the length of the three-set match indicated that it had been hotly contested for large parts.
“I don't know how far off I was,” Murray said. “The first set I wasn't there but the second and third sets I do think were very close.
“I do think I could have played a bit better and I didn't think I hit my forehand as well as I could have done.
“When I did in the third set, that helped me out a lot. I was able to get myself into the net more and I was able to play more offensive tennis.”
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Britain's Andy Murray (L) looks on as Serbia's Novak Djokovic speaks while holding the men's singles trophy after Djokovic won their final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park, Australia, January 31, 2016
Image credit: Reuters
He added: "Most of the matches we played in Grand Slams have been competitive. Whether that looks the same from the outside or not, I don't know. For a three-set match, two hours and 50 minutes, I didn't make it easy for him
I saw some of the stats. He won 27 more points than me and I had 25 or 26 more unforced errors and that’s the difference.
Djokovic certainly seemed to offer some agreement to this viewpoint, although how much of this was simply the magnanimity of the winner only he can truly know.
"He definitely made me work, there were a lot of long rallies, long exchanges and we were both breathing heavily towards the end of the second and third sets," he said.
But the bulletproof confidence born of recent results spurred him on: "I believe that I can win every match I play (and) I'm playing the tennis of my life in the last 15 months. The results are showing that.”
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THE DISTRACTIONS
In truth, however, this was not the best Melbourne meeting between the two – certainly a million miles away from the scintillating 2012 semi-final the two contested (which Djokovic won in five sets) or even the 2013 final, which Djokovic won in four sets after the pair split tiebreaks.
Partly this might have been down to outside distractions, with Murray’s wife due to give birth soon and his father-in-law having flown home from Australia after collapsing in the stands earlier in the tournament. Murray has not been afraid to acknowledge the stress imposed on him by those twin concerns, suggesting they also played a part in his sluggish on-court starts (he went behind against both Bernard Tomic and Milos Raonic, before losing the opening set against Djokovic 6-1).
But it is not unfair to suggest that the scar tissue from his previous meetings with Djokovic also affected his mindset, and perhaps ensured he entered the final already feeling he was doomed to lose. He certainly did not produce his best tennis, and neither did Djokovic, which perhaps makes the straightforward nature of his eventual victory all the more disappointing.
Murray’s decision to stay up late on Saturday night to watch his brother Jamie clinch a maiden Grand Slam doubles crown is also worthy of closer examination. “What are you doing here taking photos?” as an incredulous Jamie said in his victory interview. “You should be in bed!”
That was true and, while anyone can understand the desire to support a brother in a big moment, a critic may suggest Murray would not have taken such a step if he was the heavily-favoured man going into the next day’s match. If he was another of those expecting him to lose, however, then perhaps staying up seemed like less of a big deal.
Of course Murray probably got a long night’s sleep in the previous three final losses to Djokovic, and that did not do him much good. You could say he did the right thing to shake up his preparation – it is, perhaps, something that can be debated in endless ways.
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Highlights: Djokovic beats Murray again for sixth title
THE BAD LUCK
At 28 Murray still has a number of years left at the top level to add to his two Grand Slam titles – but then so does Djokovic. When all is said and done, however, we will surely look back on the Scot as one of the unluckiest men in sport’s history.
His nine Grand Slam finals to date have all come against Roger Federer (three) and Djokovic (six), men currently first and fifth in the all-time records (and they figure to be one and two, in one order or another, before they all lay down their rackets). He turned pro the year after Federer became the sport’s dominant force (he won three Grand Slams in 2004), became a Grand Slam threat around the time Rafa Nadal was bossing things (the Spaniard locking down one Grand Slam, the French Open, completely for nearly a decade) and reached his peak at the same time Djokovic took over Federer’s mantel (2011).
Of the eight times since 1970 that a player has won three Grand Slams in a calendar year, six have happened during Murray's career. In a related category, of the six times that a player has won three consecutive Grand Slams since 1970, five of those have happened since Murray turned pro in 2005. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have all contributed to those stats - in the Open era, the sport had hardly seen three players that dominant across 30 years, let alone three at the same time.
Murray has been the perennial bridesmaid to three of the greatest of all time, the proverbial Arsenal – always fourth, commendable but not impressive – to the oscillating higher peaks of Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City.
But Arsenal, after a decade in that position, might finally be about to reach the summit. That is what Murray must now do – keep pushing forward and hope his luck will eventually change.
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Andy Murray - Open d'Australie 2016
Image credit: AFP
THE FUTURE
For Murray, about all he can do is use the pain of defeat to Djokovic to motivate him to work harder, to do more and search deeper to finally bridge the gap that has grown between them.
Of course, Djokovic knows that is what will happen – and will use that as his own motivation to keep putting in the work even when he has reached a point where he dominates an entire sport.
“It's much easier for the wolf that is going uphill and running up the mountain,” Djokovic said. “He was hungrier than the wolf standing on the hill.
“I believe that all the guys that are out there fighting each week are very hungry to get to No. 1. I can't allow myself to relax and enjoy [this title]. I mean, of course I want to enjoy, and I will, but it's not going to go more than few days.”
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