FOR what had been expected to be a close contest, it was, in the end, a rather one-sided tie. For a so-called grudge match, there was little in the way of real venom from one side of the net at least. Andy Murray was simply too strong for Jurgen Melzer in every department of yesterday's first singles rubber, and ran out a four-sets winner after the Austrian No 1 ran out of steam.
As the Scot had been taken to five sets by Melzer at the US Open, the predictions of a tough encounter were understandable – all the more so after a minor war of words had broken out between the two in the run-up to this Davis Cup match. In the event
, however, Murray won 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, becoming more dominant the longer the rubber went on.
It was evident that Murray wanted the victory badly, and that he wanted to refute Melzer's suggestion that he would not be able to handle the pressure. He did so in style, and with a display of controlled aggression that subdued his opponent for all but brief periods of the contest.
Murray's victory at least kept the tie alive going into the final singles match, but it remained a moot point whether the decision to omit him from Saturday's doubles had been justified. John Lloyd, Great Britain's captain, had decided to rest the 21-year-old because of a slight abductor strain, reasoning he would need to conserve his energies for the match with Melzer.
The margin of victory might have suggested that Murray could have played on Saturday – as Melzer did – and still have had enough in him to win on Sunday too. But in addition to the stamina factor, there was also the worry that another match on grass would exacerbate Murray's muscle problem, and the opening stages of yesterday's match showed it was a very real worry.
It was in the third game of the first set that Murray complained about the slippery conditions underfoot, and Melzer backed him up in the eighth game with a fall while stretching for a shot. By that time, the Austrian, who had opened serve, had been broken, and Murray maintained the advantage to close out the first set.
In the second, Melzer began to snatch at some shots, apparently too anxious to get back on terms, and he was broken again to get 3-2 then 4-2 behind. After that, though, he succeeded in focusing correctly while his opponent lost some of his concentration, and it was soon a set apiece.
That was as good as it got for the Austrian, however, as Murray reasserted himself in style in the third and fourth sets. There was an exchange of breaks at the start of the third, but after breaking again for a 4-3 lead Murray made no mistake and closed the set out.
He drove home his dominance by breaking again in the first game of the fourth, and broke yet again to take a 4-1 lead. Serving for the match moments later at 5-1 down Melzer had nothing left to offer. He was broken again, and Great Britain, albeit only for another couple of hours, were still in the match.
"He was playing like he had nothing to lose," Murray said later. "I felt like I was playing someone who didn't really believe he was going to win. I just had to stay focused – he was struggling towards the end.
"The same thing happened in the US Open. After three sets, he got tired and tried to win points quickly. By the end of the third he wasn't running about nearly as much."
The full article contains 637 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
