Australian Open: Andy Murray looks to hold court in Melbourne

Published on Friday 27 January 2012 01:30

BRITAIN’S world No 4 Andy Murray is acutely aware of the damage Novak Djokovic can inflict on the blue hardcourts at Melbourne Park as he prepares to face the world No 1 this morning for a place against Rafael Nadal in the final of the Australian Open.

Last year, the Scot entered his second successive Australian Open final hoping to become the first British man to win a grand slam title since 1936 on what is considered his favourite surface. Instead the Serb wiped him off the court in straight sets, then used the victory to kick-start his impressive 2011 when he won three grand slam titles and compiled a 70-6 record.

“After the year that he had, the loss didn’t look so bad six months later,” Murray said ahead of the semi-final. “I’ve always liked playing against him... and it would be a good marker to see how I’ve improved since last year.”

Djokovic had troubles with his breathing and felt his hamstring during his tough four-set quarter-final victory over David Ferrer, although he dismissed any fitness concerns heading into the semi-finals.

The pair have played each other eight times on hardcourts with a 4-4 record. Djokovic holds an overall 6-4 record against the Scot, who is hoping that his consistency in grand slams will finally be rewarded in Melbourne.

Murray’s progress through the rounds has almost been serene, compared with some of the scraps his principal rivals have been drawn into. While Nadal has the luxury of an extra day’s rest ahead of the final, he nevertheless expended a lot of energy and physical effort in seeing off Roger Federer in four sets yesterday. Djokovic too has hardly had an easy ride to reach this stage. He found himself in a slugfest with former world No 1 Lleyton Hewitt, whose never-say-die attitude can wear down opponents. He came through that, but then had to battle past David Ferrer – another rival known for his tenacity. So, Murray will arrive on court – on paper, at least – the fresher of the two men.

Murray claims to be in great shape. He added: “I haven’t played over two hours for the last few matches so I feel fresh. Hopefully that will be to my advantage going into the weekend. I will have to play a lot of rallies against the guys that are still left in the tournament so I’ll need my legs to be fresh for the next couple of matches.”

On Wednesday, the Scot advanced to his fifth successive semi-final in the majors with a routine 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over Kei Nishikori.

A maiden grand slam title continues to elude him, though, and if he is to break his duck here he will certainly have earned it with Djokovic and, if he gets past him, Nadal lying in wait. Although a place on the winner’s rostrum remains the sole target, Murray was nevertheless pleased he was regularly putting himself in position to challenge for a trophy.

“It’s been a good run, it’s not easy to do,” he said. “It’s good to see that I’ve been playing my best tennis at the slams because that’s something the last couple of years I wanted to make sure I was doing. That wasn’t always the case and it’s good to see it [the hard work] has been paying off. I’ve been preparing the best I could for them and thankfully the tennis has been good as well.”

Murray acknowledged his progress through the tournament so far is as smooth as any grand slam he has contested, his only dropped set coming in his opening match against Ryan Harrison. But he accepts things will get much tougher against Djokovic, who beat him convincingly in last year’s final.

Murray said: “You have to play great tennis and try to take his legs away. I will need to have a gameplan, stay focused and try to do better than I did last year.”

The Scot was impressive against Nishikori with only his serve requiring improvement – he managed just 44 per cent of first serves in play. But Murray revealed a minor neck problem may have been a factor. “I could have served better, that’s for sure,” he said. “I’ll need to serve better in the next match.”

Murray was unimpressed with his match against Mikhail Kukushkin in the previous round, describing it as “boring” with the Kazakh unable to compete properly due to a hip flexor problem. But he felt the Nishikori encounter was much more entertaining.

“There were quite a few good rallies. A lot of the long points, the fun rallies he was winning, he came up with some great shots,” said Murray. “But I was just a little bit more solid and probably had a little bit more in the tank than he did.”

Murray might find this morning that fun is in short supply, with Djokovic – battle-hardened from this tournament already – representing a major step up in class.

Murray is hoping his record of going deep in the majors will stand him in good stead.

“I definitely have more experience than I did at this point last year,” he added. “I don’t necessarily feel more relaxed but I am more used to being in this position because of my experience.”

• Andy Murray’s semi-final clash with Novak Djokovic will be screened live on terrestrial television this morning on BBC2 at 8.30am. Live coverage on British Eurosport begins at 7.45am, while ball-by-ball radio commentary can be heard on BBC Radio Five Live. Scotsman.com will carry a report and picture gallery immediately after the match.

Related Articles

• Murray faces battle to keep place among young guns

  JUST over two weeks ago it seemed 2008 was stretching out in front of Andy Murray like a tantalising piece of land just waiting to be claimed. As empire builders through the ages have discovered, however, the path to ultimate conquest rarely runs smooth.

  0 Comments

• Nadal triumphant after epic match

  RAFAEL Nadal became the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open title after another epic battle with Roger Federer.

  0 Comments

Comments

There are 2 comments to this article

Order by:

• Newest first
• |
• Oldest first

Page 1 of 1

• 1
• Show all

2

dg seville

Friday, January 27, 2012 at 02:38 PM

Andy really proud of you nearly winning in the 5th set, he's getting closer, Lendle will make the difference. Well done Andy.

• Report Unsuitable

1

Fly

Friday, January 27, 2012 at 02:33 PM

Murray goes down again to Jocko but battled well in 5th set. He's getting closer but consistency still a problem. How can he lose a set 6-1?

• Report Unsuitable

Order by:

• Newest first
• |
• Oldest first

Page 1 of 1

• 1
• Show all

Logged in as:

Comment here. Start typing your comment here:

Post comment

Please adhere to our Community guidelines

Your view

Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.