ATP: Andy Murray faces battle after Nishikori loss
He is going to need all the strength and nous he can muster if he is to reach the semi-finals now.
The round-robin format of the event means that yesterday’s 6-4, 6-4 defeat by the Japanese is not the end of the world. But it also means that he now needs to win his next two matches – and win them well – if he is to finish in the top two of Group B and go through to the next stage. Alas, the two men he has yet to face are Roger Federer and Milos Raonic; one is one of the greatest players the game has ever seen and the other possesses a serve that ought to be banned under the Geneva Convention. Murray has been in some tight spots on court this year but this time he is being squeezed until the pips squeak.
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Hide Ad“It’s harder to qualify when you lose your first match – that’s pretty obvious,” Murray said. “But unlike the other events, you still have a chance to go through. If this were anywhere else, I would be out of the tournament. You need to try to forget about today, work on some things tomorrow, and hopefully play better on Tuesday.
“Now I need to win my next two matches more than likely, and win them well if I want to go through. That’s going to be tricky because Milos obviously played fantastic last week in Paris, and Roger always plays well at this event. So I’m definitely going to have to play better if I want to get through.”
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By the standards he sets and after the way he has played himself into title-winning form since September, Murray would struggle to play any worse than he did against Nishikori, the world No 5 and the US Open runner-up. In their three previous meetings, the Japanese had failed to take a set from Murray but their last encounter was almost two years ago. That was before Nishikori employed Michael Chang as his coach and before he started to believe that he could compete with the big boys.
“He hasn’t made big changes to technique or any of his shots particularly, but he’s playing with more confidence,” Murray said. “Because of that, he’s able to take more chances and be a little bit more aggressive than he was previously.
“But he’s always been a tough guy to play against because from the back of the court, he’s able to take the ball early. He can change direction of the ball. He’s got a lot of talent in his hands. Even when you get the ball in difficult spots on the court, he’s a good shot‑maker. He’s always been able to do that. But with the confidence, he’s a bit more consistent throughout the course of the match, as well.”
All that is as maybe but Nishikori was as tight as a drum as the match began. The 17,000 who had packed into the O2 Arena in London’s east end had come to see Murray and they roared their support for the Scot as he made his entrance – it was enough to put the wind up a seasoned campaigner and Nishikori, a debutant at the Tour Finals, was looking edgy and tense as he got to work. But Murray still could not make the most of his chances.
As world No 6, Murray is one of the best returners in the game and yet when faced with a bloke who could barely land a first serve in the first set, he could not take advantage of his rival’s nerves. Murray may not have been playing well but he should have been able to punish Nishikori for his errors in the opening games and yet as soon as he got the first break of serve, he immediately dropped his own serve to love. He did it with two double faults, to boot.
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Hide AdThere did not seem to be a clear game plan or, worse still, any sense of fight or urgency. This was grim stuff from the Scot who knew that a decent run this week could lift him back into the world’s top four. That goal may have to wait a while until it is reached.
“I didn’t serve well enough today,” Murray said. “I would say that was the biggest difference in the match. And when you’re not serving well, obviously on your own service games you want to be looking to dictate the points.
“When you’re returning, you kind of dictate when you have the opportunity. You don’t always have the chance if someone’s serving well. And I didn’t serve well enough.
“He was able to dictate a lot of points, especially behind my second serve. That was the part of the match where he had the upper hand. That was the difference.”
Still, Murray now has a day to work on his serve before his next match tomorrow – and Amélie Mauresmo and Dani Vallverdu have 24 hours to drum a little confidence and belief into their man.
As tight spots go, this is about as pressurised as it gets, but if Murray plays at his peak, he could yet get out of Group B and into the semi-finals. But, as he has all through the autumn, he will be doing it the hard way.
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