Murray is king of the tennis courts
British star’s convincing win over Djokovic in ATP final proves point
LONDON — They used to say that Andy Murray would never win a major. Then they said he would never get to No. 1 in the world. And finally, when he did reach the top of the rankings chart, they moaned that he had done it by default, without beating the best players.
Well, Murray has scotched that theory. After Sunday’s 6-3, 6-4 victory over Novak Djokovic at the O2 Arena, there can be no doubt that he now sits on the throne of tennis.
This was the first time that two players had reached the last match of the year with the No. 1 ranking on the line.
And the opponent was Djokovic, the man who came into the grasscourt season holding all four grand slam titles.
For Murray fans — an increasingly numerous group — Djokovic has long been the villain.
Here in London, the odds seemed stacked in his favour as he swept through group matches against a pair of debutantes and a facile 65-minute semifinal against Kei Nishikori in Saturday’s semifinal. Murray — who twice broke the record this week for the longest match played at the O2 Arena — arrived in the final with an extra three hours of court time in his legs.
Yet Djokovic was the man who floundered.
And it was a surprise, because had given every sign that he was rediscovering his best form, match by match.
Both players found a strong early rhythm on serve, so strong that there were only two rallies — exchanges of more than a single shot — in the first 12 points.
But when the ball started to spend more time in play, there were signs that Djokovic was short of his usual poise.
The backhand is normally his trustiest servant, but it kept dipping into the net or floating long of the baseline.
Murray sensed the weakness and began pounding away on that flank. Backhand-to-backhand rallies are normally a non-starter against Djokovic, tactically speaking, and it seems implausible that Ivan Lendl would have send his man out to work this angle.
But Murray, whose ingenious mind is as strong an asset as his 130 m.p.h. serve, was smart enough to readjust his plan on the hoof.
He broke for the first time in the eighth game with the help of three botched Djokovic backhands, and followed up with another two breaks from his next three attempts.
Leading by a set and 4-1, any leg-weariness must have been cancelled out by a lightness of being: was this really going to be straightforward?
Not quite. Djokovic prides himself on not going quietly, and he tapped into his deep well of experience in these big matches. A rare lapse from Murray, a double fault, triggered a mini-run of eight straight points from the defending champion. He had clawed his way back to 4-3, and the match was alive.
But Murray was on a 23-match winning streak, and it would take more than this to stop him.
He was still up by a single break and he was not going to allow it to slip. The final game held echoes of that 2013 Wimbledon final as Djokovic staved off two match points with powerful returns of second serves, setting up the rally in his favour.
On the third attempt he had another chance as Murray still could not find the decisive ace he desperately needed. But this time the return skewed long and wide, and the season was done.