Tie breaker first mini break to Ancic after Andy decides it's a good time to bring out the stupid drop shot, in fact double break as he puts a volley just wide, big trouble now.
Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive.... those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience
Good play from Andy gets both breaks back so he decides to try and throw it away again with the drop but luckily Ancic messed up as well. Andy forces 2 match points with some decent play but Ancic saves one on his serve and Andy df's to lose the next. Couple of mini breaks swapped and then Andy hits one wide to hand the match to Ancic. Why do i bother?
Indeed, double fault on match point. Pathetic, what a waste of time.
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Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive.... those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience
o my God that was a disaster! Im really starting to think that Murray is not the real deal anymore. He just isnt good enough. His game is not good enough for the very top( very poor serving etc...this never seems to really improve bar 5 or 6 matches in a year.) and nor is his attitude. Maybe we are all expecting too much.
Ok some might say he lost a final set tie break and it was close. fair enough. However someone of Andys supposed talent should have won this in straight sets. Ancic didnt play particularly well at all! Andy threw it away. You cannot give anyone a one set lead because you arent ready to play! He was shocking in that first set. Then he should easily have lead 5-2 but messed up in the final set.
Maybe this is a good thing that he lost. If he'd have won, we'd all be relieved and some would be congratulating him on coming back from 4-1 down in the tiebreak. The truth is he didt really deserve to win this and im glad he didnt in a way because maybe he will start to re-consider his options. When he was with Brad Gilbert last year at the Madrid masters, he demolished `Chela and others in the early rounds. He has not doe this all year and though he has won 2 titles, he almost lost in the early rounds at some point.
Poor all round, tennis and attitude. Something has got to change now!
To me, Andy has two fundamental weaknesses, which in the last 2 years, don't appear to have been addressed.
1) Inconsistency. Perhaps it's attitiude, but whatever the reason I just don't see the top ten guys having nearly rank poor matches on a regular basis. Until he gets his head round eliminating the "could lose to any player in the top 100, even if they're not playing all that well" matches that seem to pop up 4th game or so, he's going nowhere.
2) The serve. Frequently drops below 50%, with a 2nd serve that is begging to be clobbered by any good returner in the top 20. He's 75th in the 2008 ATP 1st serve percentage table at 56%, and 32nd in the 2nd serve points won table at 52%. Those two combined is a recipe for disaster, and a millstone round his neck for any serious improvement
Just seems to be going backwards at the moment. Very hard to watch these last few matches that he should have won - Davydenko, Haas and now Ancic. He plays such fantastic shots sometimes then double faults at match point. Sometimes it's very hard to have faith in him and where he's heading but guess we'll all still keep watching and staying up late. Tortuous though.
I did watch the match despite not feeling well (feverish cold). It did not make me feel any better! Pathetic really, especially the first serve %.
I told you I was worried about this match! I had a bad feeling about it. A "good draw" is not a good draw if you close your eyes to the fact that the first match is a bananaskin! Does anybody else feel that a first-round bye for seeds is not really an advantage? They are coming in cold while the opponent has a match under his belt and is used to the courts and conditions.
I was prepared to give the "Team Murray" idea a chance, but I am being forced to the idea that he needs a better coach. Preferably one who will slap him around the face with a wet haddock when he persists in playing drop-shots.
Serious point though Mad, how many drop shots were there!? Seemed like at least every other point. There was one where all he had to do was put the ball away into open court and tried to be clever with a drop shot and put it into the net!
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Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive.... those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience