Another disappointing end to an impressive start from Andy Murray in the semi-final – Tennis News
British number one, Andy Murray, received piles of praises from all corners after his US Open Grand Slam victory and many tennis fanatics started to cite that he has finally developed into a real champion. All the hype about Murray’s
rise to form kept fading away after his recent performances and his defeats in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals proved even disappointing for the British tennis lovers.
After losing to the newly ranked world number one, Novak Djokovic, in the group stages, Murray still managed to make it through to the semi-finals of the season-ending event after winning his other two matches. His loss to Djokovic
was once again proved his inability to perform under pressure but a lot better was anticipated from the Brit in the semi-final clash against the Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer.
Leading the head-to-head series by 10-8 prior to the match, Murray was victorious against Federer in their last two meetings and the home crowd was cheering for a similar sort of performance from the world number three on Sunday
evening. Murray was off to the best possible start against the Swiss tennis genius, Breaking his serve in the very first game and holding his following serves very confidently. Federer’s sloppy start was further maligned by a number of miss-hits and unforced
errors, labouring hard to get his rhythm in the contest.
Federer’s hard work paid off in the eighth game when he broke the Brit for the first time to level the score line to 4-4. A sudden shift in momentum witnessed Murray falling on his back foot and the Swiss Maestro launching forays
to get on the top. Things didn’t go well for Murray in the tie-break round and Federer took the opening set at 7-6(5) to get in the driving seat.
Once getting into hi winning grove, Federer never looked back in the following set and blasted his way past Murray in the most assertive manner. The British number one was seen all over the place, struggling to find his spots and
thumping the ball in the net constantly. Murray didn’t look like a world number three contender in the second set at all but of course it was the sheer class of Federer which completely overshadowed the Brit. The Swiss Maestro broke his opponent twice and
sealed his convincing victory at 6-2 to reach the title match of the ATP World Tour Finals.
“I started the match off very well,” admitted Murray, afterwards. “I was going for my shots a lot. I was playing very aggressive on the return. Then he started to serve a little bit better. I missed a few more returns. Then, when
he got the break back, he started to play better. I hung on a little bit the end of the first set.”
Eyeing for his seventh crown at the circuit-ending grand finale, Federer will face the Serbian juggernaut, Novak Djokovic, in the title match on Monday. The home crowd was desperately willing to see Murray in the final of the tournament
but the world number three led down the local hopes yet another time. His habit of getting off to an explosive start and then just throwing it all away is proving far taxing for him. Murray still has to go a long way before he can be classified among the tennis
giants like Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
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