Murray v Novak: Tokyo Rd1

Stew_B · Intermediate Club Player

RE: Murray v Novak: Tokyo Rd1

Vonce · Club Coach

What a shocker from Andy.

Oh well onto the Master Series in Madrid and Paris then it is for him.. Hopefully he can do well in the doubles this week to ease a bit of the pain of this loss.

aria81 · Club Coach

Really bad loss :( Tim was talking about how fast the courts were (needless to say, he loves it) but I guess that would have been like a nightmare for Andy.

I think he needs to take a wee bit time away from doubles after this tournament and just concentrate on his singles for a few weeks. I'm sure the doubles isn't to blame, but he's not really used to playing so much doubles and as a result maybe he's made adjustments to improve his doubles and hasn't really worked out how to switch back to purely singles mode. No excuses though - he really should be taking care of a guy like Novak.

Never mind - a good run at one of the AMS events and it won't really matter too much. I think Shanghai was a really optimistic goal anyway and there wasn't really any chance. Andy should just look at consolidating a top 20 finish and then see where that takes him.

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

I was very disappointed when I saw this result. This was surely a match Andy should have won.

Here's hoping he sorts himself out (or Brad sorts him out) for the indoor season.

Sheddie · administrator

This was a match which on paper Andy should have won but I think it was always going to be trickier than people thought and the result is by no means disastrous. Although Novak is ranked quite low, his actual standard is a lot higher than that, he can still produce the tennis which took him to no 5 in the world and within a few pts of a Grand slam final - to achieve that you have to be a pretty special player. He would have been really up for the challenge of taking on a top 20 player and as we saw at the US Open he can still trouble the best in the world with his game.

The courts in Tokyo would have been ideal for him and definately not in Andy's favour. Andy's still struggling to go through a match without being broken even though his serving is improving and with Novak serving that well it was always going to be tricky on a fast court even for a player of Andy's exceptional returning abilities.

I remember when Henman took on the Czech Republic in a Davis Cup world group tie on clay in 2000, the 4th rubber was against Novak. That day Novak was unstoppable, he hit a purple patch for 2 whole sets in which he hardly missed and was hitting winners left, right and centre off both flanks.

Some are suggesting that the doubles is responsible for Andy's two defeats in the last couple of weeks. I don't think that's the case, he's just been unfortunate to come up against two players who were on red hot form and on courts which suited them a lot more than him. Both Henman and Novak served exceptionally well which neutralised one of Andy's main strengths, his ability to break his opponent at any time. Even if he's not serving well, he can still come through a match as he can create chances to break his opponent in almost every service game. In Bangkok, Henman was hitting his forehand extremely well, dominating rallies with it, Queens is the only other time this year when he's hit it like that.

Playing more doubles will improve Andy's game I think as it will give him more confidence in his volleying skills and it'll also ensure that he's more willing to come forwards in singles which adds an extra dimension to his game. Also, in doubles, you have to get a lot more first serves in than in singles, that's crucial. That will also surely help Andy's serving in his singles matches.

Sheddie · administrator

Speaking after the match:

"Every single young player goes through a patch where he's not playing well," said fourth seed Murray. "You can't expect to get to the semi-finals every week - unless you're Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal.

"They are the only two who can do it. I wasn't looking that far ahead." "It's not like I lost to bad players," said Murray. "Henman has been at the top of the game for a long time. Novak was number five in the world (in 2002).

"I did well to fight back into the match but unfortunately I couldn't quite turn it around."

Sheddie · administrator

Newspaper reports:

"Murray picks short route out of slump"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2006/10/05/stmurr05.xml

"Murray crashes out of Japan Open"
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/tennis/story/0,,1887205,00.html

imoen · Admin: Moderator+Tennis Legend

UltimateBoggoFan wrote:

Playing more doubles will improve Andy's game I think as it will give him more confidence in his volleying skills and it'll also ensure that he's more willing to come forwards in singles which adds an extra dimension to his game. Also, in doubles, you have to get a lot more first serves in than in singles, that's crucial. That will also surely help Andy's serving in his singles matches.

I absolutely agree, and the benefits of playing doubles were beginning to show in the davis Cup. Andy came to the net far more than I've ever seen him do before and to good effect. He does however need to improve the volleys and choosing his moment a little and doubles can only help that.

Sheddie · administrator

I agree, Andy looked so impressive attacking the net during the Davis Cup rubbers, whereas before, a good defensive shot from his opponent would have got him back in the rally, now Andy was at the net putting away the volley. Andy's always had great technique and movement at the net [if maybe not quite the touch which Jamie has], it's just been getting the confidence to follow the short balls in. He was getting some lovely angles during his match on day 1, I felt that he didn't come in enough against Stakhovsky, instead he played far too many dropshots.

-- Edited by UltimateBoggoFan at 00:15, 2006-10-07