Well the tennis season is over for now, but I can't resist but say a bit more about a rivalry in the men's game that is taking shape very nicely in 2012, and it promises to become an even better one in future years to come. I am talking about the rivlary of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, both men were born in 1987, just separated by a week apart in their age (Andy on 15 May, and Nole on 22 May) and they grew up together on the tour circuit, having met in Spain where they trained with one another and they played friendly rival matches together.
However early on in their rivalry, it was Djokovic that made faster strides in his career as he defeated Andy four times in a row in so many meetings, and he made his breakthrough maiden grand slam victory at the Australian Open back in 2008, after he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final. Djokovic also went on to win the Olympic bronze medal in Beijing and finished the year with victory at the ATP Masters Cup final. However Andy has also had a few one ups over Djokovic in the past, especially when it came to Masters tournaments, as he won his first ever Masters title in Cincinnati in 2008, where he defeated Djokovic in straight sets 7-6, 7-6. He also went on to defeat Djokovic in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami in 2009, where he defeated Novak again in straight sets with a 6-2, 7-5 win. It looked to be like they were starting to even out in their rivalry.
In 2011 though Djokovic started his incredible run of form and he made an emphatic statement to the tennis world when he thrashed Andy in straight sets in the Australian Open final, with a bruising 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 win. And he carried on with an incredible winning streak that was finally ended by Roger Federer with their thrilling match at the French Open semi final. But during that streak, while Djokovic was demolishing players left, right and centre, there was only one man other than Federer, that came even close to beating him, and that was Andy Murray. This was highlighted in one of the best matches of 2011, where Andy and Novak faced each other in a 3 hour battle at the Rome Masters semi final. In the match Andy fought back from a set down to level the match, and he at one point in the 3rd was even serving for it, although a loose service game let Djokovic back in, and before we knew it the Serb emerged victorious yet again. But in this match this is where we saw their rivalry start to really take shape and showed us all glimpses of what could be in the future, as it was toe to toe stuff, and it also showed just how good Andy Murray really could be.
After this match however the two men would not meet again until the Cincinnati masters final, where it promised to be another cracking match. Unfortunately though, after a promising 1st set, Djokovic succumbed to injury as he was forced to retire due to a shoulder injury, which saw Andy lift his second title in Cincinnati. It could have been a great match and it was disappointing to see it end the way it did, and after this the two men would not play again until 2012. And what little did we know we would all soon by in for a treat.
When 2012 kicked off, Andy had appointed his new full time coach, Ivan Lendl, who helped him immensely throughout the year with his mental focus and on improving his consistency as a player. So when the first grand slam of the season came along, the Australian open in Melbounre, Andy and Novak were drawn on the same side together, and there were probably underlying fears that it would be the same story as last year. However their semi final proved to be anything but, as we suddenly saw an Andy Murray we had never seen before, as he really took it to Djokovic and pushed him to the limit over 5 sets, before falling to the Serb once again. It was a tough loss, coming so close, but it showed that Andy was getting that bit closer, and that as a player, he had finally turned a corner. Novak himself would then go and win his 3rd Australian open title by beating Nadal in an incredible 6 hour long 5 set epic, which considering the fact he had just played a five hour match with Andy, showed incredible almost superhuman endurance from the Serb.
As 2012 carried on, Andy and Novak met up again, and this time it was Andy that got his revenge in Dubai, as he snapped Nole's three year winning streak at the event, and beat him for the first time in a proper full match since the Sony Ericsson Open final back in 2009! Again we saw Andy step it up as a player, playing really aggressively and taking it to Djokovic all the way, breaking him twice in the opening set, and making the decisive break in the 2nd set to clinch the victory, although he would go on to lose to Federer in the final. In March 2012, Andy and Nole faced each other again in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open, except this time the tables were turned, as it was Nole that emerged the victor, playing the better tennis by far, and he won the title without even dropping a set! After such a momentous match in Melbourne it was a bit of letdown this one, but the two men still traded some great rallies in the 2nd set. Again we saw just how Novak was and is one of the greatest hard court players to have played the game, and that he was fast emerging as one of the all time great players also.
Their next meeting wasn't until August at the Olympics, in which they played a terrific and exciting match in front of a full capacity crowd on centre court at Wimbledon. Throughout the match Andy played his best tennis, but Nole put up some great resistance, but despite his best efforts, he was unable to break down Andy's defences, and his dream to win the Olympic gold medal was shattered after Andy defeated the Serb in straight sets to reach the final. This showed Andy's growing maturity as a player, and his ability to handle playing the big matches and the big points superbly, especially as he took one step closer to realising one of his dreams as an athlete to win an Olympic medal for his country. And after this they met in the momentous final of the US Open, the last grand slam of the season, in which the two men faced off each other in an epic battle on Arthur Ashe stadium. The windy conditions at times took away the ryhthym of the play, and made it sluggish to watch as well at points, but there were also some terrific moments and great points from both players. And in this match we saw again Andy Murray's sheer determination and self belief really come through, as he finally achieved his main goal to win a grand slam title, and beating one of the best players to have played the game in doing so. In this match, Andy really showed that he truly is one of the top four, and not like as the cynics might have said, the top three and Andy, in this tournamnet, he made that leap and surely more grand slams will follow.
In their penultimate meeting of the year in the Shanghai Rolex Masters final, the two men played their best match of the year, which was also arguably the match of the year, which saw Nole triumph, coming from a set down and saving 5 match points against Andy. In this final, we saw Andy and Novak's rival really blossom into something special and amazing to watch, as both men traded some incredible points, and produced some magnificent shot making which stunned the Chinese crowd. It was a match that was almost good enough to eclipse anything that Roger and Rafa have served up over the years together in their rivalry. It was also such a great match simply because it was so entertaining as well as enthralling, and there was alot of fun to be had watching these two men at the peak of their games. And in their final match of the year at the ATP world tour finals in London's o2 Arena, both men yet again put on a terrific display of exciting and aggressive tennis for the fans. And despite Andy's best efforts, it was Novak that won again, as he firmly re-established his foothold as the world's best player, and he went on to win the title there, by dethroning Roger Federer in the final. And the only set he conceded in the whole tournament was when he played Andy Murray in their match.
So there you go, in 2012 men's tennis has really been given something fresh and exciting to watch in the growing rivalry of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. Based on what we've seen this year, their rivalry promises to get even better in 2013, which is scary thought when you think about it, as what we have seen this year has been astounding. And hopefully next year we will see Andy and Novak fighting it out in at least one of the grand slam finals of the season, and here's hoping that the Scot will have a chance to win one more, and no doubt Nole will win at least one too (maybe even all four!). So let's hope in 2013 we continue to see the building up of an incredible contest between two friends and two superb competitors, which will hopefully become one of the best rivalries in the history of tennis. And if it carries on like it has, there's no doubt it will.
And on that note, I will leave it there for now.
