Well as a result of the mens singles final in Cincinnati it wasn't the one any of us was quite expecting as the much anticipated rematch of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic ended with the Muzza defeating the World No.1 not through closing out the match but through the Serb's retiral, with the final score being 6-4, 3-0 ret. This saw Djokovic's second loss of the year, with his win-loss record of 2011 now standing at 57-2. Sheesh that is some record!
But I suppose after having played nearly 60 matches and won so many titles that fatigue is bound to set in sooner or later, and the searing heat on court combined with a shoulder injury did nothing to help Djokovic's game. In fact as soon as Novak came on court we could see how fatigued he looked, he was a former shadow of his imperious self, and I think his arm injury had been troubling him throughout the tournament and I wonder if he carried on playing his match against Berdych even he would have retired if Berdych wouldn't have first! So it does prove one thing at last that Djokovic is human after all, so I think it is also safe to say that his incredible winning streak of 43 matches will probably not be repeated again, well not this year at any rate (which let's face it, is a good thing for the rest of the players on tour!).
But as the title of the post says a win is a win, and I have to give full credit to Andy Murray for his performance throughout the tournament, while it was patchy in places, he really looked quite strong after that first set against David Nalbandian. He also managed to come through the tournament without even dropping a set, which was even more impressive, and out of all the players in Cincinnati he looked the strongest and fittest, who didn't succumb to the searing heat of the court. I also think he played a terrific set of tennis against Novak in the first set in the final, as he returned so well, served fairly well and looked strong from both the back of the court and at the net. Its just a shame that Novak had to retire, but it was going to happen sometime given the physical punishment he has put his body through this year, so I think submitting to defeat was the right thing for him to do. But I do think also think that Andy has posed enough of a threat to Djokovic to show that he really is a contender for beating him, and possibly being the Serb's own nemesis. And I really do have to say that Andy totally deserved to win this title, as he came through it very well and looked quite strong right from the get go, and its also great to see someone else win a big title for a change! But I also think that if Andy had lost that first set to Djokovic, and then Djoky conceeded the win to him in the 2nd, then Andy's victory would have looked hollow, but thankfully Andy did win that set and that made the win more deserving.
So its a big congrats to Andy as it always great to see the Briton win a title, regardless of the manner of the win, and it adds to his Masters 1000 series trophy cabinet also, as that's 7 in the bag now, so Novak, Andy is catching up on you!! :-) And once again it proves beyond any doubt as I said before that Andy Murray is the best British player to have come along since Fred Perry. As an example Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski have won only 1 Masters title each, Andy has won 7, and his record at the grand slams speaks for itself, not to take away from Greg and in particular Tim as they are both great players in their own right. Yeah ok Andy is still to win one and its hard to tell if he ever will, but New York will be the perfect place to start.
So onto the woman's WTA final between Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic, the match delievered more than the men's final to an extent, but the match was also a highly inconsistent affair as both players kept exchanging breaks of serve. Sharapova also served many double faults once again, but Jankovic also served up a ridiculous amount of unforced errors and handed as many opportunities for Sharapova to get ahead as Maria herself did, but in the end it was Jelena who handed the crucial break to Maria and after a long battle the American sounding Russian won the match in 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 to take the ladies title. But it has to be said while it was great to see Maria win again (although I am disappointed for Jelena, and for once Serbia lost all round!!) it wasn't the most convincing win. Which I have to say was the real difference between mens and ladies final here, Andy looked very convincing, but Maria certainly didn't, as she served a ludicrous amount of double faults (as she does!). But it is a testament to Maria's sheer determination that despite her erratic game, can still make it through and pull out a win, but can she win a grand slam again with that type of play??? Hmmm I'm not so sure, but she certainly is a strong contender for the US Open and she has had an excellent slam record this year, but its just in those crucial moments she might drop her own serve to throw it away like she did at Wimbledon or the French Open semi finals where she double faulted to hand Li Na her place in the final.
So that leads us to the US Open which is the fourth and final grand slam of the year (its amazing its nearly upon us already!) where the mens and ladies will again battle it out for the ultimate prize. And both the mens and ladies game are in a potentially unusual place as with the ladies, Serena has recently re-entered the game again which makes her a strong favourite for the title, but lets not forget other potential winners like Li Na, Kvitova, Azarenka, Wozniacki, Sharapova and why not (as Rob Curling said on Eurosport) Bartoli (well for a start Bartoli has had a much better grand slam season than Caroline Wozniacki!). But of course Caroline isn't looking too convincing at the moment and her No.1 ranking really is questionable just now. Earlier in the year though she did play like a No.1, and despite her loss at the Australian Open semi finals to Li Na, she picked herself up and went on to win some big titles in Dubai and Indian Wells, and there she crushed alot of players, it was almost like she was the female Djokovic for that time. But as the year has gone on things have gotten more difficult for her, but it is hopefully a minor slump and we would like to see Caroline get back on the horse (so to speak) in the US Open, she has to, hard court is her best surface and she needs to prove that.
But as for the men, the field is limited to the top 4 guys really, and with Rafa having hit something of a slump this year, it remains to be seen what form he will be in for the US Open. Roger could well have another slam in him yet, and he wants to prove he can still do it, Djokovic claims he should be fit for the US Open but again what if his injuries plague him during the tournament?? So this does leave Andy Murray, and having just won Cincinnati, its the perfect preparation for going into the last slam of the year. But can he win it???? Its always the ongoing question that can't be answered till we see it, the last two years Andy has had a poor record at the US Open, having went out to Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka in 4th and 3rd rounds respectively. However I do feel he is playing significantly better tennis this year, but its just holding that mental strength together over 5 sets. Can he do it??? Yes he can, but it does purely depend on the luck of his draw and his mental belief, and if he faces Rafa he really will have to be ready for him, and the same for Djokovic, permitting Djoky can come through injury free. If Djokovic doesn't come through then that will increase Andy's chances dramatically. In fact it would be great for example to see a Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs Muzza rematch in the US Open final, now if Andy doesn't win that dream matchup in the final, he never will win a slam, but that's just a theory of course.
One troubling fact about Andy though is that in the three grand slam finals he has been in, he hasn't won a single set, having been soundly beaten by Federer and Djokovic in all three. If he does get to the final, this time he will have to up his game to the highest it can go, he should try taking a leaf out of Del Potro's book for example, having reached the US Open final back in 2009, he seized the title with both hands and played the match of his life against Federer over an epic 5 set match. And this is the sort of tennis he has to play if he is to have his chance. Andy already has showed potential winning qualities against Rafa at Wimbledon for at least one set, we saw a glimpse of what he can do even though it wasn't enough, and also in Rome against Djokovic where he came within two points of defeating him. And I also remember John McEnroe's previous comment that Andy's grand slam breakthrough will be at the US Open this year, will it be the case???? We'll you can but live in hope, even if it is blind hope! ;-)
So after that rather exhaustive post I'll leave it there, so well done again to Maria and Andy for their wins in Cincinnati and for once Serbia lost out, whodda thought that????
The end.
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