USO R2 - Murray v Llodra

ForeverDelayed · Grand Slam Champion

RE: USO R2 - Murray v Llodra

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Dammit Andy had match points but couldn't convert, and we are into a tiebreak.

ForeverDelayed · Grand Slam Champion

TB.... Murray's score first

1-0* - Ace
2-0* - second serve, good return, bh is netted
*2-1 - good s/v and he puts the bh volley away at the 2nd attempt
*2-2 - short 2nd serve, Llodra chips charges and Murray misses the bh pass (this TB will come down to who makes the most 1st serves)
2-3* - same as the previous point, but this time Llodra puts the fh volley away.... Murray's 2nd serve has to improve!
3-3* - Llodra doesn't serve/volley... and misses a fh into the net... bizarre decision from him
*4-3 - great volley from Llodra on the baseline, but he misses an easy overhead (although the sun may have affected him)
*5-3 - bh pass from Murray, but Llodra has in control of the point but played a poor approach
5-4* - DF... as Llodra was standing on the service practically ready to chip charge it
5-5* - unreturnable serve out wide
*5-6 - good s/v point and Llodra puts the bh volley away (but from outside the doubles court!!!)
*6-6 - horribly short second serve but the chip charge just sits up, and a fh pass winner
6-7* - Murray puts a fh long
7-7* - Llodra drags a fh into the net - passive Murray, and Llodra is trying to rally to the his bh
*8-7 - shocking volley miss into the net
GSM Murray - Murray always in control and hits a fh winner away

Murray wins 6-4, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(7)

murrayman650 · ATP level

0-15
0-30
15-30
30-30
30-40 match point
40-40
adv liodra
40-40 blake is through
adv llodra
6-6

1-0
2-0
2-1
2-2
3-2
3-3
4-3 mb
5-3
5-4
5-5
6-5
6-6
7-6
8-6
gsm murray

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Well, hallelujah. GSM Murray 6-4 1-6 7-5 7-6 - I lost count of the tiebreak points, but I think it was 9-7

mjd · Challenger qualifying

Easy Peasy biggrin

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

mjd wrote:

Easy Peasy

My reply to that would be unprintable.

I need aspirin. And tranquilisers.

It may not get any easier - Melzer next, and he absolutely trounced Vanek.

Edit - I told you in my post at the start of the thread that Llodra might be tricky!

-- Edited by Madeline at 20:59, 2008-08-28

goldfish · Futures qualifying

Thank goodness for that. When you see some of the shots Murray plays, you wonder why he gets himself into that position. Well, no you don't - poor 1st service in set 2 and very slow and ineffective 2nd serves totally punished by Llodra. Very relieved that didn't go to a 5th but still think I can sell my nail scissors.

ForeverDelayed · Grand Slam Champion

If I was Llodra, I'd be very disappointed to have lost that match, and would be kicking myself, especially in the tiebreak.

Llodra played one of the most brainless tiebreaks you'll see.... his plans included...

- serve and staying back and then hitting to the backhand
- chip and charge, but only to the service line
- rally to the Murray bh, not the fh, even when he's just made an error on in
- missing an easy volley at 7-7
- taking a smash in the air when the sun is in your eyes

Murray didn't play a good tiebreak, but Llodra just played a dreadful one and gifted Murray it really.

And judging by the comments from Jonathan Overend/David Lloyd on the BBC text report, they weren't overly impressed by Murray's performance either.

That said, he survived the banana-skin against Llodra and is in the 3rd round, and with Melzer next, shouldn't have too much trouble, but he is playing some of his best tennis at the moment, and is essentially a lite-version of Llodra...just with a less powerful serve, but much better groundstrokes (and if it gets close, Melzer WILL choke)... probably another 4 set win, or maybe 3 sets with a couple of close sets

And that second serve... he's had 2 weeks to work on it since the Olympics, and if anything, it looks even worse... you can almost stand on the service line to return it, it is that short... as soon as he plays a decent returner, he'll get killed on it and will win about 20%, if that, on the 2nd serve.

-- Edited by ForeverDelayed at 21:05, 2008-08-28

ForeverDelayed · Grand Slam Champion

Madeline wrote:

It may not get any easier - Melzer next, and he absolutely trounced Vanek.

-- Edited by Madeline at 20:59, 2008-08-28

Vanek is one of the worst players ever to play a Grand Slam

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Oh, good. I did hear he was a hard-court clown. Melzer might not be in such good form as it looked, then.

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

Apparently the average speed of Andy's second serve was 81mph; it looked more like 8mph to me.

He won. The match didn't go to five sets (somehow). Llodra was great to watch. Best not to devote any time and energy trying to make sense of Andy's tactics because you could be here all day and still not be able to figure out what he was doing.

Next!

-- Edited by kundalini at 21:32, 2008-08-28

XCW4EVA · County player

I swear Llodra isn't always that entertaining. Does he always attack the net because it was great to watch.

indiana · Tennis legend

OK, Vanek may be a hard court clown ( whether he is quite one of the worst players ever to play a Grand Slam I 'm not really sure ), but anyway Melzer did certainly do the business with him.

What may be more of a clue to Melzer's current form is his vicory over Lopez in the 1st round, and Lopez is certainly nobody's hard court clown, anything but, with amongst many good hard court results his last 16 appearance here last year.

In fact Melzer has had a relatively successful last few months and his rankings has been coming back up quite a lot.

So. let's not set up Melzer as a potentiallly rreally easy game, so that Andy isn't given much crdeit if he wins and is the pits if he loses.

I didn't see any of Andy's match v LLodra, but 2 statistics certainly stand out.
1) As FD and Kundalini have been saying that 2nd service average speed of 81 mph and evidently from what is being said not even well placed, and ( loathe as I am to always to read too much into unforced error stats ) a quite remarkably low unforced error stat for Andy of 13 ( Llodra was 46 ). While he is to be applauded on his control, I am more than a bit concerned that passive Andy may have been too much in evidence, and some iof the posts on the thread seem to bare this out. Please, Andy gett back into a more even balance of attack and defence that you were showing in Canada and Cincinnati.

S&V · Club Coach

I saw a lot of it and Llodra did a great job of jumping on the 2nd serve then rushing in and volleying. Andy struggled with this, he may be more at home with Melzer. I hope so.