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AO SF: Djokovic outmarathons Murray 6-3 3-6 6-7(4) 6-1 7-5

41K views 418 replies 191 participants last post by  Paylu2007 
#1 ·
Was Nadull playing in the first 3 sets? More than 3 hours for these sets.

Djokovic nearly choked the match from 5-2 in the 5th. Murray didn't take the gift at 5-5 blowing mulple BPs.

Hopefully Djokovic is fine for Sunday.
 
#357 ·
Bad quality match although very dramatic. Nole was serving horrifically and could barely get a first serve in at times. Murray really should have won this match, but I'm sure that if Nole had played better it would have been over in 3 sets.
 
#359 ·
Rome, all over again. An amazing match, that I though Murray should have took, but Novak just too strong. He is a machine. This is the best matchup in mens tennis by far, it made the other sf look like a couple of qualifiers.

If Rafa, serves about 80%, he might keep it close. Novak's return of serve is scary good.
 
#360 ·
This is the best matchup in mens tennis by far, it made the other sf look like a couple of qualifiers.
Last year they played only 3 matches against each other with one retirement. I hope they're going to play 5-6 matches this year because indeed, their match up is exciting on many different levels.
 
#364 ·
What a match, excruciating to watch! :eek:

Big kudos to both players for such an amazing display of fight and bravery.
I bowdown to them. Nole too good in the end.

:bowdown: :bowdown:
 
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#375 ·
What a match, excruciating to watch! :eek:

Big kudos to both players for such an amazing display of fight and bravery.
I bowdown to them. Nole too good in the end.:bowdown: :bowdown:
Not really. Andy placing routine shots into the net at 15-40 5-5 in the fifth had little to do with Novak. I fear this could be a stain on Murray's mind similar to the Wimbledon semi against Nadal last year :eek: This match was in the bag.
 
#366 ·
What a match!

Credit to both guys, it could have honestly gone either way which is something I didnt think I'd say before the match started. I honestly didnt think Murray had much of a shot, thought he would maybe take one set but not take it so close as it was. Murray shouldnt take this as a negative at all (and by the looks of thing in interviews etc he's taking it very positively), he's proved he can go toe to toe with the best player in the world and have opportunities to beat him. All he needed to do was take one or two more of his chances and he would have had that match.

He did so well to come back in that final set and make it as close as he did, showed great heart and great fighting spirit. Credit to Djokovic, he came back from 2-1 down to win and fought as hard as he could. I think he wins this tournament against Nadal. He plays so well in tight situations, best player in the world no doubt.

I predict fantastic seasons for both Murray and Djokovic. Honestly I feel these two are the future, Nadal and Fed are going to decline and Murray will only get stronger mentally with Djokovic continuing to play as well as he did.
 
#369 ·
I'm just in and logged on for the first time after the match so no time to read all of the thread but after a quick scan of the media (BBC, Yahoo etc) did Murray win the match today?! The British media certainly seem to think so! never has a loser been so lauded for losing a match. Great for Murray to have played such a huge part in a fantastic match but come on he still lost after being 2-1 up in the match. Well done to the winner Djokovic and to the beaten Murray who played his part but let's leave the praise for Murray at that surely?!
 
#373 ·
OK, once and for all to all these idiots accusing Novak of acting about his problems and fooling Murray:

Q. How well were you aware of his physical presence, especially in the fifth set? He was breathing heavy.

ANDY MURRAY: He's done it many times before. He runs very well even when he's breathing heavy. That's something we spoke about before the match.

Even if he looks tired or he's breathing heavy, you just kind of got to put your foot down on the accelerator and not wait for him to miss because he's hitting the ball so cleanly, as well.

If he is tired, which both of us will have been tired at different points during that match, you know, he's hitting the ball so cleanly, he's going for shots and making them, shortening the points.

I was ready for that. He was similar in the last match. But he moved fine.
you can read, right?
 
#374 ·
andrew the incredible.

andrew stands on the cold blue hard court- every toe in his trainers is stinging. his hands are aching- his vision almost blurry now- but focused on one last task

win this point and he defeats the best player in the world- books his place in the final and becomes a legend for his heroics- maybe the slam is almost assured

how did it come to this....

a quick look up to his box- what a contrast with the box of the serb
iron will cold hard ivan, not an emotion on his face. maybe one of the few men andrew respects
a better father figure than a drunk scot who doesn't know a thing about tennis- and certainly better than his overbearing mother trying so damn hard to take over every facet of his life
a cold hard czech- the only man who can understand him is in his box- by his side

jelena plays every point with her man- if there is such a thing as love then jelena and novak are perfect descriptions- she watches his every match- cheers his every point- jelena cant believe her luck to land the most available bachelor in serbia- and she knows it.

and then andy notices kim- if he is really quiet, he wonders, will she finally fall asleep this time
such a contrast- even her cheering seems forced.

andrew, for a change, decided to not be the spoilt brat who has been given the kingdom because he is the only chance britian has of destroying its curse

he has actually fought tooth and nail for every point and instead of feeling that he has deserved it, he has grabbed it- he has earned it

on the other side of the net is the best player in the world- and for most of the match murray has outplayed him in every single way
even when he was down- murray has fought steel with steel, fire with fire
murray has throw as many shots as nole has- worked just as hard, and forced nole into the biggest crisis of his tournament

one more point- thats all he needs

not minutes ago- he was 2-5 down- he was dead, he was buried- another close run they would say- he simply isnt good enough-

but here he is- 5-5 break point- murray wins this and he can serve it out- he "will" serve it out- he will destroy the undefeatable- the nadal killer

one more point-

.....

and then it finally hits- the relevance of the point- the importance of what he is about to do

the man on he other side hits just the same but all of a sudden it feels like bullets are exploding into his racquet- every shot feels like his arm will fall off- his legs so light a second ago- now lead

andy cannot risk a shot- instead he turtles into his shell- he holds back- let nole make a mistake his mind tells him- dont throw this away= play it safe

play

it

safe.

- and that is the career of someone who will never be great because he played it safe
 
#383 ·
That guy really needs to shave.
 
#391 ·
Great effort from Nole. Truly greats of the game never know when they are defeated and thats what exactly what he did. I saw him huffing and puffing at the start of the third set and he showed incredible reserve to win it. He really is a fourth set Goat.
As for murray he has to take the final step. For some reason he doesnt believe he can win the whole match when he is ahead. Its a small but a crucial one that he needs to fix. And i hope he does because he is too good a player to lose out
 
#393 ·
Cross-era H2H: Djokovic one, Lendl zero.

A big caveat for all the analysts, journalists, coaches, serious fans and the like: You can analyze Nole's weaknesses day in and day out, you can even devise the ways to exploit them, and you would probably get it all right - but you can BENEFIT from all that ONLY if he lets you to.

As for Lendl, it is now obvious that, for Murray, he's nowhere near a gene therapy. He's mere botox.
 
#395 ·
That 3rd set had nothing to do with Murray. Usually after Djokovic loses a tiebreak (or a tight set), he has a tendency to go for broke. Here are some perfect examples from last year:

Australian Open: Lost second set tiebreak to Dodig. Next set: 6-0 to Djokovic
Dubai: Lost first set tiebreak to Berdych. Next set: 6-2 to Djokovic
U.S. Open: lost second set tiebreak to Tipsarevic. Next set: 6-0 to Djokovic
U.S. Open: lost 3rd set tiebreak to Nadal. Next set: 6-1 to Djokovic

The 6-1 set with Murray was NID
 
#396 ·
That 3rd set had nothing to do with Murray. Usually after Djokovic loses a tiebreak (or a tight set), he has a tendency to go for broke.
That's one of reasons he is the best in the world. He is prepared to stay focused no matter which the scoreline is. Usually TB changes the momentum, and a player who loses needs a couple games to recover, Djokovic is able to erase from his mind an unfortunate set and begin the following with very positive attitude (Nadal can to that as well).
 
#398 ·
Only saw the last set of the match, so I cannot really comment on the nature of play up to that point.

Obviously I'm pleased that Muzza made a match of it, when potentially Djokovic would win fairly comfortably. However, I'm disappointed with that 5th set, and that alone demonstrates the area where Muzza MUST improve his game/approach...he needs to really develop that killing instinct to beat Djokovic/Nadal/Federer in Slam matches.

It was predictable that Muzza would fold first in that fifth set and, whilst I was encouraged that he fought his way back into it (to get to 5-5), he let Djokovic off the hook again when he didn't convert on one of those 3 bps...TWO of those were winnable. He might not have won the match had he broken for *6-5, but at least he would have forced Djokovic right up against a wall. It was a shame he couldn't manage that.

In all, it was another encouraging effort from Muzza, and he needs to remain patient in his search for a first Slam. It won't happen at the French Open, and it is unlikely to happen at Wimbledon either.

Like last year, he needs to hope that Djokovic and Nadal will battle each other into the ground over the course of the season, and start to tire in time for the US Open. If the USTA follow up on their intention to speed up the courts again (after last year's laughably slow surface), it will be a bonus for him (although also for Federer, principally).

The best thing Muzza can do for now is to focus on his next events, and aim to: (a) win matches; (b) win without playing himself into the ground. Another post-Slam slump won't do him any good, and he needs to work on developing a bit of a 'fear factor' to reduce the threat from some of his nearest rivals (Del Potro, Berdych, Tsonga etc).
 
#405 ·
I'm under no illusion to think that if it goes into a long fifth set that it would automatically qualify as an epic match. I honestly think that this was a high quality game that was extremely tight. It was compelling to watch. I don't see how you can justify saying it was shit up until the fifth, but maybe you have your own reasons. It was certainly better than the other semi anyway.
 
#408 ·
How can you be serious and say it was a high quality match is beyond me. I will again quote someone from the livescores thread who said "Highlights from the 1st set should be 20 seconds of black screen". Up until 6-3 2-0 Murray was not even there mentally and he couldn't find his shots. Even worse, Nole didn't even do anything to get that lead. When Murray finally decided to play, Djokovic's poor stamina (which later in the match magically improved) got exploited. Third set was full of Murray's choking when it was obvious (or at least most of people thought so) that he should easily take the set due to Djokovic being injured or whatever. 4th set was a complete turnaround with Murray becoming the poor one giving up the set, with Djokovic slightly improving and finding his rhythm.
I really struggle to see how can that qualify for a quality match, even more considering the players' rankings and that it was a slam semi-final.
 
#410 ·
To my recollection it was a great match. I'm not going through the hassle of breaking it down bit by bit, but I believed it was high quality, enjoying the tennis throughout (granted apart from the fourth set). Just remember this is MTF, and people are extremely critical of many aspects of tennis on this board. They would call a good match a poor one concentrating on all the negative aspects of the game. I seem some great shotmaking, excellent defence, and high drama. So yeah, I really enjoyed it.
 
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