Welly welly well, it just doesn't get anymore mouth watering than this for a prospective final on the ATP men's tour in the Cincinnati masters as Andy Murray is set to face the World No.1 Novak Djokovic tomorrow for the title.
So a bit more on the mens semi finals to begin with as the first match was between the Muzza and the American No.1 Mardy Fish who has really been on form lately and especially in this tournament, having defeated Nadal previously in the quarter finals. However what I actually expected to be another win for Mardy fish turned out to be quite the opposite as it was the first victory for Andy in their last four meetings. But as expected it was anything but easy, Andy edged the first set, breaking Fish's serve early on to take it 6-3, but in the second set it was a really topsy turvey affair (something that appears to have dominated this entire tournament!!) as both men shared breaks of serve, and it was very much a set of mixed quality, but the best was saved till the last with a nerve shredding tie-breaker. In the tiebreak Fish took the upper hand early on, until Andy broke back and at 7-8 it appeared Andy had match point but his return just went long by a gnats scrotum (so to speak!) but in the end Mardy couldn't close it out and sailed his return long after that with Andy finally sealing the win in 6-3, 7-6(8). In the other semi final between Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych, it promised much even in the first set Berydch was at one point 5-3 up until Djoko broke back to make it 5-5 and then win the set in 7-5. But unfortunately due to injury Berdych was forced to retire allowing Djokovic to make his 10th final of the year.
Now as we all know so far this season, Djokovic has had only one loss, which was to Roger Federer at the French open semi finals. But on hard court, he has had zero losses this year, none, nil, zip. So how do we reckon Andy's chances for tomorrow??? Hmmmmmmm, that's a big hmmmmmmmm, to be honest the Serb knows more than enough about how to win so I'm more than inclined to think that he will win this one. All we can hope for is that Andy gives Djokovic another thrilling match like he did in Rome, and not allow another trouncing like his defeat at the Australian Open. But I think Andy has also learned a few things since then, and there just might be that chance he could beat Djokovic and take that title. Andy's performance at this tournament has been mostly impressive but there has been some real dodgy stuff too, but to be fair Djokovic hasn't exactly played his best either, so that could even things out for them. It would be terrific to see Andy finally hand a loss to Djokovic, and its their third meeting this year, could third time be a charm for Andy?? We shall see.
He has also walked into this tournament with a similar attitude than he did at Queens club, where he was just looking to get a few grass court matches under his belt and then he went onto win title. Its the same here, Andy has gone in to get a few hard court matches for US Open prep, and he has played despite some poor stuff here and there, very well, so just maybe he could be in with a shout. Another thing about Djokovic is as I said, when he played in the Australian Open this year his performance was absolutely imperious, he only dropped one set that entire tournament, and when he played in Indian Wells and Miami he played with the same clinical precision, destroying players with great ease, and it took Nadal or Federer to break his serve, no one could come close. But he isn't quite playing at that level anymore, he is still playing a high high level but after so many matches, he certainly isn't as high flying as he was.
But today will let us see where not only Andy's tennis is but also Novak's. Another case in point was Andy's Wimbledon semi final this year against Rafa, he came out so strong in the first set and took it 7-5, but after he fired a forehand just long in the 2nd set at 2-2 break point on Rafa's serve, everything changed and Andy didn't recover. After that it became an embarrassing, painful match to watch, as Andy's mindset just caved in and he went for more aggressive shots and kept missing them. And that's what he really struggles with, its when making mistakes, its knowing how to recover mentally from them quickly. Or as Tim Henman said its having the mental adversity to deal with those mistakes, which Andy is lacking in, and this could also really hamper him today. He has been working on his compsure, and is slowly getting better at keeping his cool, but he does still have his moments, losing his temper, like he did against Mardy the other day when certain shots didn't work out. It wasn't as bad in the past but its still there to be seen, and Djokovic who used to do the same has greatly improved his attitude and adopted a far more composed attitude on court. And all it could take is that one point today if Andy gains momentum and drops the ball, it will be all over for him. But as Andy has won 6 Masters titles already, he might not feel the same pressure as he did in Melbourne, so it might not be as big an issue, but who knows.
But the Serb is overwhelming favourite without a doubt so we will have to wait for tomorrow, either way it should be a belter, or maybe just a straight set gubbing. Another factor that could work against Andy might be the searing heat on court, and yesterday it looked like he was having a little bit of bother with his hamstring, which doesn't bode well. Djokovic doesn't appear injured so he definitely could use that to close out the match quickly, I just hope for Andy's sake that it's not an issue.
But regardless of the outcome, Andy's in another final and that's his third this year and its a great achievement, win or lose regardless, and its also on hard court, so I think its fair to say his slump on this surface is over (well for now!!). Another thing also is that clearly Andy won't be expected to win this match, so hopefully that should let him go in and try and relax a bit more and try and play his best tennis regardless of the outcome. Andy has also said it will be a good gauge for him to work out where his tennis is and what he needs to work on going into the US Open. Already Andy is definitely showing that he is a better player than last year in 2010, when throughout that year he really struggled, Toronto and Shanghai being the exceptions, and reaching the Aussie Open final, Wimbledon semis and the ATP World Tour Finals semis.
On the WTA tour due to the time difference I was unfortunately not able to catch any of the woman's matches but I think they both looked pretty good, as Maria Sharapova took on Vera Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic faced off Andrea Petkovic, so I would like to see the highlights. Maria after being a set down against Vera, fought her way back into the match and closed it out in 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 securing her place in the final. Meanwhile Jelena Jankovic who has had a run of bad form this year managed to redeem herself further by beating Andrea Petkovic in straight sets, after a tight first set, Jelena breezed through the 2nd set to secure her first final of the year, winning 7-6(4), 6-1. So that's the ladies final setup also, and it promises to be a really good one, although Sharapova is the firm favourite as she leads in their head to head 5-1 against Jankovic. But I am really pleased for Jelena that she has reached her first final of the year and its great to see her play good tennis again, so I hope she wins. And it could be yet another glorious day for Serbia, but us Scots deserve our day too!! So it would be great if it was a great day for the Serbs and the Scots, i.e. Andy wins the mens, and Jelena wins the womans!
So predictions, Sharapova in 3 sets for the ladies, and Djokovic in 3 sets for the men (unless Andy is really hampered by injury or simply by awful serve then 2 easy sets). But I hope to God that Andy wins the title, however playing against a man who has won every single final he has been in this year, its a big big big ask. But as General Melchett from Blackadder Goes Forth once said "if nothing else works, then a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through!". So its in the hands of the two men and which one will falter more, so excitement and jubilation, or total frustration and disappointment awaits.
Baited breath, that's it for now.
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