Sunday, 30 January 2011

The Mystery of the Misery

I'm quite proud of myself. The Australian Open has FINISHED and this is the first time I've taken to my blog about it. In the past I've been something of an obsessive. Constant blogging. Non-stop updates. Gut-wrenching tears at missed points and double faults. Not anymore. I have my illness under control. To an extent.

However now, now is the time to write. It's been two weeks of blood, sweat and tears - and that's just me - over in Melbourne which finally culminated in Scotland's other favourite son crashing at the final hurdle. Again.

As patriotic as I am and as much as I will Andy Murray on in every tournament he takes part in, perhaps it's time to open my eyes a little and take a look at the bigger picture. Muzza is an outstanding tennis player - but the harsh reality is that - right now at least - he's simply not outstanding enough. You have to give credit where credit's due; yes, Murray did not play his best tennis in this final - in fact, he played some pretty shabby games at times - but he was simply outclassed by Novak Djokovic.





I've never been shy of the fact that I love Djokovic so this was a hard game for me to watch. My dream final between my favourite tennis player and my favourite Scottish tennis player. But in the end I really wanted Murray to win, I thought he deserved his moment in the limelight after a) last year's tournament, and b) the way he played throughout this tournament.

Every year it's the same. We're all very patriotic and we get behind the wee loddie from Dunblane because it's the right thing to do. And deservedly so - we're justified in all the accolades we present to Murray and to watch him win a Grand Slam title would be positively inspiring to every young would-be tennis player in our small, but wonderful, country.

But every time we build him up and we build him up until the pressure is literally weighing him down. As soon as he makes it past the first round in a GS these days the hype begins. "This is it, Murray is finally going to break his duct, this is his year, we believe he can do it." It's not long before that hype transcends into "Murray must become the first Brit since Fred Perry in 1936 to win a Grand Slam title, it's been 75 long years, will Britain finally have a new champion?"

No pressure or anything big man, but you better do it because it's been 75 years since the last one.

I have to say that, under these circumstances, I'm not surprised the boy cracks. There will be debate over whether he's actually "good enough" to win a major championship - I have absolutely no doubt that he is. He's proved in the past that he's good enough to go out there and beat Djokovic, Nadal and Federer. It's not that he can't beat them - he has done and he will again. It's that he can't get past them in a Grand Slam final.

I think for Murray it's less about skill and talent, and more about mentality. I hate to use the word bottler because it's not a fair reflection of him but he loses his nerve under the pressure of a big final. He can wipe the floor with the big three in an ATP Masters final - but put him up against Federer or Djokovic (he's yet to face Nadal in a slam final) and he loses his way.

And I believe the only way he's going to get over his nerves is to finally win a grand slam - but it's a vicious circle - how will he ever get over his nerves if he can't beat the top three in a slam final and how will he ever win a slam final if he can't get over his nerves?

The French Open is up next and we all know clay isn't Murray's favourite court to play on. There's rarely any expectation on him to win Roland Garros - maybe this is the relief he needs. A little less pressure, a little more 'go out there and do your best son.'

The motto at Wimbledon is "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same" - but in Australia it's "Believe in what you have. Do what you can."

Look to the future Andy. Your time could still come.

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