Andy Murray disappointed after squandering a perfect result in Shanghai – Tennis News
Seeded third in this event, Andy Murray from Great Britain displayed flawless performance throughout the Shanghai Rolex Masters 2012, an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event held in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. However, he
is disappointed of squandering five championship points and ending his perfect record after owing out to second seeded Novak Djokovic.
The Olympic gold medallist displayed spectacular skills at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena, ultimately cruising into the title-round. He was bidding for his third straight Shanghai Rolex Masters title and sought five championship points in the second
set against Djokovic. However, those points became fruitless and Murray eventually suffered a 7-5, 6-7(11), 3-6 loss against the Serbian ace.
The disappointed Scot was quoted in a courtside interview after exiting to Djokovic in three hours and 21-minute marathon:
"It was a disappointing one to lose. I've lost tougher matches than that before in the biggest events. So I'm sure I'll recover from it pretty well.”
In the repeat of US Open final, the Dunblane native made quick in-roads. He exchanged three serve breaks before capitalising on his fourth break chance in the second last game, eventually sealing the opener by winning six games to five.
He cashed in the lone break chance in the following set and cruised to a 5-3 lead. Murray was serving for the match and championship when the former world number one found his rhythm, ultimately equalising the set scores.
The British number one failed to seek any break opportunity in the final set and consequently suffered a 3-6 shock.
Murray commented further:
"The second set, I probably played a little bit better. But he came up, served very well on the match points. On the game where I served for the match, he also came up with some good shots… I didn't make any real glaring errors or anything. When I had my
chances, he just served very well and hit a couple of lines when he needed to."
He lost in the final showdown but stole the show throughout the tournament. The Scot got a walkover against Germany’s Florian Mayer in the opening set but trashed the Ukrainian number one, Alexandr Dolgopolov, with ease.
Ranked third in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Murray lost his path towards the quarter-finals against Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek. However, he unleashed his true colours afterwards and overpowered the Czech in 139 minutes.
In the final four, the British number one went on to stun top seeded Roger Federer in straight sets. He failed to ward off the lone breakpoint he faced but cashed three out of 11 break chances to formulate a 6-4, 6-4 success.
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