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Post Info TOPIC: French Open rd1 - Murray v Monfils
Who wins the rematch........? [24 vote(s)]

Andy gets over 70% first serves in and wins in 3 !
12.5%
Andy gets 60-70% first serves in and wins in 4 !
54.2%
Andy gets 50-60% first serves in and wins in 5 !
12.5%
Andy barely gets 40% first serves in and looses in 3 !
0.0%
Andy can only muster 50% first serves in and gets dumped in 4 !
12.5%
Both play like Donkeys but Monfils pulls through in 5
8.3%


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RE: French Open rd1 - Murray v Monfils


Murray holds his serve and takes the 1st game of the 4th set..

30-30 so far on the Monfils service game..

-- Edited by Vonce at 14:18, 2006-05-30

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Monfils breaks Murray and leads 2-1..


Norman took the 2nd set against Massa 6-3 and leads 2 sets to love.. So if Murray goes through it's most likely going to be Norman he's going to play in the 2nd round.

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Monfils takes the 4th set 6-2..
Now 2 sets all..
So it's going to a 5th and final set.

Murray 0-30 down on his serve in the 1st game of the 5th set..

15-30 now..
15-40..
30-40..
Game Monfils.. *sigh*

-- Edited by Vonce at 14:53, 2006-05-30

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5-1 down now .....

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Monfils takes the 5th set 6-1 and wins the match...

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That was an amazing match - first two sets were brilliant. Really high quality with some amazing points by both players and then, I don't know what happened but it turned into a 'last man standing' contest with Andy's back basically hobbling him (I didn't see what speed he was serving at in the last three sets but I think Dementieva could have given it a run for it's money ;)) and Monfils struggling with cramp in his legs and his brain. It's a real shame - I was really enjoying that match before the injuries.

Full credit to Andy though - loads of guys would have chucked it, and the fact that he kept playing despite being in so much pain is a big credit to him. It was nice seeing him playing so attacking at times and some of the points the pair of them came up with was great and it's a real pity that they couldn't keep it up. I'm looking forwards to many more matches between the two of them in the future to be honest.

Despite the result, I think it was pretty encouraging to see how well Andy played in the first two sets on clay. You can see he does have a little potential on the surface.

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Is this injury long term?

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johnnylad wrote:

Is this injury long term?



They've not mentioned it. He's been carrying it for a few week so who knows?

Remember when he got his fitness once over in the off-season they identified the reason he was cramping was because of a weakness in his lower back? I just wonder if it's the same problem here only, instead of cramping, it's now just back pain.

Hopefully not. With him still growing though, back pain will be a problem.

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Whilst I didn't see the match, and could only follow the scoreboard for the first set and a half I don't think this was a bad loss. And the fact that he played on, right through 3 sets with an injury shows one of his best qualities, the desire he has. I just hope it didn't do any further damage.


A good week and a halfs rest and I think and hope he could have a good grass court season (depending on how he handles the media).



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An epic match that started in the rain and finished in sunlight, ultimately decided by Andy's back preventing him from serving at full power and limiting his movement around the court, enabling a tired Monfils to ease home.


The opening couple of sets were dominated by long attritional rallies; few unreturned serves and even fewer aggressive returns, meant both players had to work hard for almost every point. Monfils' athleticism in the slow playing conditions made it difficult for Murray to strike winners, aggressive forehands flew wide or long as Andy tried to generate the extra pace to breakthrough.


Missed break point opportunities cost Andy in the first set. Nine chances to break, break point opportunities in every Monfils service game but only one taken and that through an error from Gael. Andy lead 3-0 but each game had been tight and the scoreline was somewhat deceptive. A chance to break again for 4-0 went just wide and Monfils took five close games to lead 3-5, Murray held then had 15-40 as Monfils served for the set; yet again his touch deserted him, the passing shot went wide and the opening set went to the frenchman whose extra firepower was the difference.


Both players found holding serve much easier during the second set. Just a couple of breaks and few other break point chances. Murray had chances at 1-0, broke for 4-2, only to concede his serve to love as he chose this moment to try out a new tactic of rushing the net: Monfils' passing shots were measured to perfection. A long game at 5-5 went from 40-0 then 3 break point chances for Monfils only for Murray to hold on somehow. A huge forehand winner saved set point as Gael held to take it to the tiebreak.


By this stage Andy had come alive; a couple of double-handed backhands down the line suggested he was beginning to find his form and so it proved in the tiebreak. Aggressive play throughout allowed Murray to dominate and despite a couple of poor errors he took the tiebreak 7-2 finishing with a backhand winner to level the score at one set all.


Two double faults gifted Andy an early break in the third set. Serving at 1-0 his back seemed to trouble him though he survived then broke again for 3-0 before the trainer came out for treatment. Monfils' game went to pieces for much of the third set as he surrendered it 6-1 despite a clearly injured opponent. Murray looked to finish the point as early as possible, striking the ball far better than he had at any point uptil then, though his ability to serve at pace had gone and his movement was laboured.


By the start of the fourth set neither player looked fully fit though Murray's troubles were far worse and it was difficult to see how he could possibly win given his resticted movement. He held his opening service game then had a couple of game points the next time around but three desperately poor points cost him a break and the chance of victory disappeared into the distance.


Throughout Monfils looked stronger, fitter, faster around the court and in possession of the bigger weapons. He came up with a couple of aces to save break points, some fiercely struck forehands shot past Murray for winners at a time when the court was playing painfully slowly and Andy simply couldn't penetrate Gael's defences. Monfils' speed enabled him to reach countless drop shots, minimalising the damage Andy could do with this tactic. Crucially, he produced a collection of superb passing shots whenever Murray attacked the net.


To his credit Murray tried practically everything he could think of, in the hope of finding a winning formula; drop shots, slices, aggressive forehands, sneaking into the net to volley but without luck. The margin for error was slim and his touch was missing for large parts of the match. Only during the later stages of the second set and the early part of the third did he look a class player. For this brief spell he found he could nail the double-handed backhand down the line, and his willingness to be more aggressive on the return gave him the edge.


Looking back, an aggressive backhand return, targeted towards the sideline, off an inviting second serve at break point at 3-0 in the first set was the key moment for Andy. It was the right shot to play and it only missed by a fraction but the chance to gain a quick first set and perhaps victory, vanished as the ball bounced narrowly wide.


Not a bad display from Andy who seemed to have gained a slight advantage at the time he was injured. But watching the extended rallies of the opening couple of sets it was hard not to fear that fitness would determine the match and that Murray would be the one to crack. In truth neither player appeared fit enough for a five set match. Against a different opponent Monfils' tiredness might have been exposed and he was very fortunate to survive after his third set collapse.


Overall, yet another match that suggested that Andy has the potential to be a good player but over the extended format of five sets his lack of fitness makes it very difficult for him to win a match. Almost a year on from the Nalbandian match at Wimbledon not much has changed.


 



-- Edited by kundalini at 18:51, 2006-05-30

-- Edited by kundalini at 01:20, 2006-05-31

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Great report again Kundalini....


Your last line read....Almost a year on from the Nalbandian match at Wimbledon not much has changed.


I think that is slightly unfair....


* His ankle injury last year was nothing but bad luck..he did cramp also..but he was barely 18
* He has improved greatly....his ranking has risen from 359 to 45 in the last year....
* He has been in 2 ATP finals winning 1...

I know the point your are making but we must hi-light the positve steps he has made !



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I have this match recorded on my sky box and so it could be put onto a dvd if anyone wanted to watch it. However, it is taking up a lot of the limited recording space on the machine so it will have to be deleted soon.


If you would like to watch the match please could you either write a comment on this thread or send me a message as soon as possible - like next 24 hours. No promises but if there is interest I will try to transfer the match onto a couple of dvds and send them to anyone who wants to watch.


No fee involved but I would hope that anyone who received the dvd would be prepared to send it on to anyone else who happened to want to watch (and pay the postage involved)



-- Edited by kundalini at 21:53, 2006-05-30

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I understood the problem today was a back injury. Surely that is to do with the lower back problem which the medics identified as causing his cramps last year, and nothing to do with his fitness or lack thereof?


Anyway, I still say that we need to give him a couple of years to mature.


Edit - oops, I didn't have time to read the whole thread and just read Kundalini's report. Now I see that Aria81 has said almost exactly the same thing!



-- Edited by Madeline at 00:26, 2006-05-31

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I wrote lack of fitness in the sense that someone who has to wait for their bones to stop growing and therefore can't do the strength training needed to last long matches, lacks the fitness that other players possess. It's not his fault, and I suspect they are doing everything they can to minimise the problem but it's the current state of play and from the sound of his postmatch interview it isn't going to be resolved soon.


So expecting him to win matches in grand slam events is probably a bit unrealistic. Another thing I noticed was how big Monfils' muscles were. Previously I've been aware of Nadal's but this is another area where Andy is currently at a significant disadvantage. He looked the smarter player but right now that's not enough to compensate for the physical edge that his opponents have over him.


I agree with Madeline's point about waiting a couple of years for him to develop. Though I'd like him to use the time to build a game that could challenge the top players rather than simply playing within his own comfort zone.



-- Edited by kundalini at 01:07, 2006-05-31

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Fantastic analysis kundalini

I'd love a DVD of the Murray match and would of course be willing to send it on to anyone else. If there are enough takers, let me know and I'll pm you my address.

By the way, are you recording Henman-Tursunov ? I just ask as if Henman wins and you have recorded it, I'd rather have that match instead of the Murray one. Of course, again I'd be willing to send it on to any others who wanted to see it.

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