Andy Murray had an answer for every question Novak Djokovic asked today in the ATP World Tour Finals. Murray showed no hint of fatigue despite the long three hour plus battle yesterday with Raonic and thoroughly dominated Djokovic 63 64.
Murray seemed to know what was coming from across the net and was always ready for the correct counter. Djokovic was the one making the costly and surprisingly unnecessary mistakes undoubtedly provoked by Andy’s unwavering confidence and consistency and I would say slight physical strength advantage. The duel looked like a heavyweight against a light heavyweight.
A frustrated Djokovic – unable to change tactics or change the rhythm of the match – went down the early break in the second but refused to quit. Andy continued the pattern of baseline superiority and getting free points off errors and good serving. And when Djokovic rallied at the end saving two match points in the final game Andy dug down and finished in on the third. Djokovic’s final error was another uncharacteristic miss from the back court.
The early season losses to Querrey and Del Potro and to Wawrinka at US Open showed us that Djokovic is no longer impregnable as he appeared last year and the first part of 2016. It is Andy Murray now who actually appears to be a bigger stronger and heavier version of what Djokovic used to be.
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1 2 3 Next »Hartt · November 20, 2016 at 4:34 pm
The stats showed that Novak had 30 errors, a lot for 2 sets! I hope that Andy continues to play well in 2017. It would be great if he could end up with at least 5 Slams, that puts him near players like Edberg and Becker who each had 6, and with 1 more than Courier and Vilas.
Dan Markowitz · November 20, 2016 at 8:19 pm
Wow, the Lendl factor continues to mystify and impress. I didn’t see this match, but coming into it with the way Novak played against Kei, I thought Djoko would carve Murray up. I guess we’re all set for their big showdown again now in the finals of the Aussie O.
catherine bell · November 21, 2016 at 3:55 am
I think the big question is – whatever has happened to Djokovic ? He’s half the player he was a year, even 9 months ago. He looks stringy, underweight and hesitant and uncertain in some of his shots.
Andy’s made a great leap forward, he’s developed physically and mentally and I don’t happen to think it’s much to do with Lendl, who isn’t around constantly.
Give Andy some credit.
TBH I wan’t that surprised. Djokovic had an easy draw and Kei was mincemeat.
Boris should be gone now surely. Trim the entourage, dump all the cranky diets and do some serious training with the right people.
Dan Markowitz · November 21, 2016 at 4:14 am
And in Champign another American Youg Gun hopeful impressed, 6-7 Eubanks who reached the semis and lost to the Swiss guy who won the tournament 6-4 in the third. Eubanks is another black player, making three with Mmoh and Tiafoe of these American young players. Interesting in Columbus this week, Fritz has surfaced as No. 1 seed and in his first match he has to play the former Buckeye, the Danish dude. We’ll see if Fritz dominates or whether the Challenger fare can compete with him.
Scoop malinowski · November 21, 2016 at 7:45 am
Eubanks was practicing with Raonic on the thursday afternoon on armstrong stadium at us open and he was competitive. Add Eubanks into the mix. Im baffled why djokovic looks so mediocre against Murray. And why the Djokovic box looked so devoid of energy and spirit. A miniscule part if my analytical mind wonders if Djokovic tanked the no 1 ranking. Probably not. Of course not. But an analyst must consider and pursue all avenues. Probably Murray just finally cracked the djokocode.
Hartt · November 21, 2016 at 8:21 am
Someone who was at the match posted an interesting overview of the experience. He said that he thought Novak was not moving as well as in the past.
A few years ago I started a chart of the players who had won multiple Slams, the date and age of their first Slam win, when they won their last one, along with other info. (I had to keep updating Novak when he won more Slams.) With a few exceptions, like Borg retiring so young, those players won their last Slam 9 – 10 years after their first. Novak won his first Slam at age 20, so if he follows that pattern he is nearing the end of his big tourney wins.
Age is certainly a factor and mental fatigue is a big part of that. The incredible effort Novak has put forth over the past few years has to be difficult to sustain. There is also the need to find motivation after a player has achieved so many big goals. My guess is that Novak will win at least 1 more Slam but that his time of dominating the tour is coming to an end. I think he will still be successful, just not at quite the same level and that younger players like Milos will be more of a threat to him.
Scoop Malinowski · November 21, 2016 at 9:03 am
It could be downhill for Djokovic – he is getting physically manhandled now but only by certain great players – the first hint of trouble in paradise was the over five hour five set Davis Cup near loss to Kukushkin who is not a big strong guy – that struggle was alarming – perhaps the return of old rivals Fed and Rafa will re-spark Djokovic – who knows maybe Djokovic lost a bit of motivation by losing his two biggest rivals – Djokovic always got UP to play and beat them – Remember how disappointed Johnmcenroe was about Borg retiring so early?
catherine bell · November 21, 2016 at 9:45 am
I suspect Djokovic may have the physical make up, body type etc which does not contribute to longevity in a sport such as tennis.
If this is so, then his day at the top is over, whoever his rivals might be.
Scoop – of course D didn’t tank. No possible reason he should do that.
(BTW McEnroe soon recovered from Borg’s retirement if I recall.)
Murray, by contrast, looks to be at his physical peak.
Hartt – your committment and energy amazes me – if you’d been around in my day I’d have hired you as our resident statistician 🙂
Hartt · November 21, 2016 at 10:59 am
I remember reading in a McEnroe bio Mac talking about how upset he was at Borg’s retirement – he thought they would have a long and exciting rivalry. Right now I am finishing up Richard Evans’ “McEnroe, Taming the Talent,” published when McEnroe was still playing on the ATP tour. Not a great book, but I learn something from each tennis book I read.
Catherine, I admit to being an information junkie, but am not really a numbers person – would make a terrible statistician. 🙂
catherine bell · November 21, 2016 at 11:25 am
Hartt –
Well, resident ‘nerd’ then 🙂 🙂
Dan Markowitz · November 21, 2016 at 11:26 am
Richard Evans, at least recently as an older man, is incredibly stuffy and thinks he’s God’s Gift to tennis reporters. That’s just my take on him. Last year at Delray, he railed at the young ATP staffer setting up interviews at the event because he didn’t tell the press that an interview had changed sites. Really kind of ugly.
Hartt · November 21, 2016 at 11:37 am
Sorry to hear that about Evans. Just finished the book and one thing jumped out.
“Ever since his return to full-time competition, McEnroe had spoken of his desire to enjoy his tennis more…. The strain and the striving for that unattainable goal of perfection had been too intense.” (reaching and maintaining No. 1 ranking) “Now, with a real effort being made to get life in perspective, aided enormously by the responsibilities of a family….” Change No. 1 ranking to winning career slam at FO and doesn’t that sound exactly like Novak a few months ago?
Scoop Malinowski · November 21, 2016 at 11:46 am
I think it’s possible the absence of Federer and Nadal have impacted on Djokovic. It’s rather obvious Djokovic loved…LOVED to slay Federer for all those torturous losses taht he suffered as a younger player to Federer. Same with Nadal. Nadal tortured young Djokovic and scarred him with many many heartbreaking losses. So with them around lurking in his draws Djokovic was always extra ready for them. But with both Fed and Rafa gone it’s different. Djokovic does not have the same sensation of feeling threatened. He has dominated Andy Murray. I think this is how the losses to Querrey, Delpo, etc. happened. Djokovic is slightly complacent with Federer and Nadal off his radar. Beating Federer and Nadal is always an extra special win. I believe Djokovic needs to summon up that extra motivation and drive and ferocity now and apply it to Andy. But it’s different because I think he likes Andy considerably more than he likes Federer and Nadal. Just a theory.
Scoop Malinowski · November 21, 2016 at 11:50 am
Dan, you can’t judge Richard Evans on one single incident like that. The man is a legend in our business. I guess you have not spent time with him or discussed tennis. I have been lucky to several times and even was lucky enough to sit with him on a US Open bus back to NYC. Good man and good guy to talk tennis with. Wouldn’t you be picked off if you missed an interview which you needed for a feature you were working on deadline, because logistics changed and you weren’t told? Heck yeah I think Dan you would have had some steam coming out of your ears too.
Hartt · November 21, 2016 at 11:59 am
Scoop, you may be right that beating Federer and Nadal gave Djokovic extra motivation. And it does look as if he likes Andy better. Much has been made of the fact they are just 1 week apart in age and have been competing against each other since they were 13-year-olds. Novak’s mother has talked about how gracious Judy has been towards him and his family, even offering congratulations after a Novak win over Andy. And, as you say, Andy has not been a big threat. So, will that change now?
catherine bell · November 21, 2016 at 12:44 pm
Dan/Scoop
We all have different takes on people don’t we ?
Richard Evans and I never actually met face to face but we maintained a big mutual dislike throughout my days in tennis. I’m not sure why but I think it arose from a review I wrote of one of his books.
So although I can see Dan’s point of view, and agree with it somewhat, I’ll make no further comment 🙂
Djokovic – I’d prefer to keep things simple and just surmise that he’s running out of puff, mental and physical, and can’t, at least for the time being, summon up the past dominance.
Hartt · November 21, 2016 at 1:26 pm
Catherine, if the Evans book I just finished is a fair example of his work am not surprised if you gave him a negative review. I don’t expect a high standard for tennis books but this falls below it. He spends a good part of the book discussing why McEnroe behaved the way he did. Surely that could be covered in a few pages.
But there are interesting tidbits. A while after he was defaulted at the AO McEnroe was contemplating quitting tennis. “It’s obvious I have a problem and I need help. I’ve been trying to clean up my act for 12 years now and I just can’t seem to control myself. I never thought a psychiatrist would do any good, but maybe I should try to find one now.” We are not told if he did seek help. But once again, an obvious parallel to Kyrgios.
Have just finished “Boris Becker’s Wimbledon.” The book has its strengths and weaknesses but I did enjoy the terrific photos, especially of Wimbledon itself. Could have used more pics of other players and fewer of Boris, however.
Andrew Miller · November 21, 2016 at 1:59 pm
Jelena Djokovic & the wacky Djokovic guru strike again. Sorry folks, our boy Novak ain’t what he was in Paris and won’t be. The Lendl-powered Andy Murray is on top of the world these days and the “pick” to win the Australian.
Andrew Miller · November 21, 2016 at 2:00 pm
For Canadian fans, Raonic had a nice run. Just think he wouldn’t have slumped so badly if he had some Olympics in his system this year.
Andrew Miller · November 21, 2016 at 2:05 pm
Or, Andy Murray won the Olympic gold then found himself with the year end trophy and number one ranking. Raonic, who lost the Wimbledon final to Murray, then skips the Olympics, has a decent outing in Canada, and sees himself kicked to the curb in the US Open.
Inevitably he would’ve hit a wall – but maybe he would’ve hoisted the US Open trophy after a successful Olympic medal rather than Wawrinka, changing the calculus here by virtue of one aspect of his game:
THE CONFIDENCE TANK! Fill er up.
Hartt · November 21, 2016 at 2:27 pm
LOL, Andrew. I agree with you that Milos should have played in the Olympics, but you have definitely made your point!
And I would add that he should have played Davis Cup after the USO. In some ways I think skipping that was even more of a problem. Although it did allow tennis fans in Halifax the chance to see “the kid”, Shapovalov, play. There was a lot of interest in him.
BoDu · November 21, 2016 at 3:17 pm
2016 is the most controversial year since 1977.
In 1977 the ATP year-end No. 1 was Connors but nobody believed he was the best. Everyone thought that Borg and Vilas were tennis kings.
This year, I think, Djokovic having won 2 slams makes him the best player.
Hartt · November 21, 2016 at 3:43 pm
Players get lots of kudos for winning Slams but here are other things that contribute to being the best in a season. Andy won 1 Slam out of 3 finals, and 9 titles (13 finals). He had 78 match wins and 9 losses for a win-loss % of nearly 90%, an amazing record. He won 3 Masters plus the prestigious WTF. He also won 24 consecutive matches. Although this year there were no ranking points for the Olympics, to win a second gold medal was a great achievement.
Andrew Miller · November 21, 2016 at 5:28 pm
Hartt, I agree! Milos & Davis Cup, not sure why he sat it out. Still blame it on the no-go for Olympics – Milos wasn’t hurt and then it set up a sub-optimal sequence of events including over-confidence, over-looking opponents etc.
But I think the ship has righted and Milos is ready2rumble.
Andrew Miller · November 21, 2016 at 5:35 pm
Sorry to spoil party, but not great when Laaksonen & Bemelmans beat up on the up and coming US young fellas + vets in Illinois. Laaksonen, who’s posted a fine year, wasn’t an unexpected champ but the fact is European players beat US players on their home turf and took home the hardware despite playing most of the year away. What that says maybe is that the draws are thin and maybe less competitive. Somewhat less competitive.
Guess they have another shot this week in Columbus, take two.
On other things: nice to see Christian Garin win his first challenger.
Andrew Miller · November 21, 2016 at 5:37 pm
Hartt, Shapovalov has the talent to be the best Canadian player ever. He has competition in that category, but fair to say: this is the golden age of Canadian tennis. Michibata and Connell have nothing on these guys.
Andrew Miller · November 21, 2016 at 5:49 pm
Like Genie too for 2017. There’s no substitute for her digging in strategy – she works hard! Hard work boosts talented players’ prospects. just does.
Hartt · November 21, 2016 at 5:56 pm
Andrew, I hope you are right about Milos.
And yes, there are several promising young Canadian players right now, both boys and girls. We have talked a lot about Felix Auger-Aliassime here but there is also Benjamin Sigouin, who is 17, and shows promise, although he has not had the early success of Denis and Felix. Think Sigouin will be playing at Eddie Herr.
Scoop Malinowski · November 21, 2016 at 7:47 pm
Hartt: Are you sure Andrew has sufficiently made that point? 🙂 Boy he sure has – but I disagree with Andrew and the reason why Raonic was wrecked at the US Open was because he thought he was going to easily beat Harrison who was his pigeon – Raonic dominated Harrison in their other meetings and expected another win – Then Raonic was shocked by how well Harrison was playing and got overwhelmed and fell apart – I saw Sweeting to the same exact thing vs B Baker early in Baker’s comeback in the Sarasota Open Challenger five years ago – Sweeting was casual and cocky in the warmup and then got killed 60 10 and quit – he was overconfident and got overwhelmed and that was pretty much the end of Sweeting – never ever presume you will beat a guy who you think is weak or you have beaten handily in the past – I have no doubt Raonic made that error vs Harrison at US Open –
Scoop Malinowski · November 21, 2016 at 7:49 pm
BoDu – very close and hard to say for sure if Djokovic was better in 2016 but Andy clearly is the best player in the world right now and the ranking system certifies it – Even Djokovic said after the loss yesterday in the O2 that Andy is the best player in the world – Welcome bac BoDu – how long have you been away? ABout two years?
Scoop Malinowski · November 21, 2016 at 7:54 pm
Speaking of Konfidence tanks – how about this guy Henri Kontinen winning the ATP WTF doubles with Peers – I noticed him inching up the doubles rankings two years ago and he was playing mixed with Su Wei Hsieh and then I happened to meet his father watching a Treat Huey doubles match at US Open on an outer court as Huey was going to be Kontinen’s next partner – Poppa Kontinen told me about the very close losses in doubles majors to top teams and he was so close to a breakthrough and it finally happened this year winning the mixed doubles at Wimbledon and now this WTF doubles title – I’d say Kontinen and Peers winning this ATP WTF doubles title is the second biggest surprise of the year after Puig winning the Olympics –
Andrew Miller · November 21, 2016 at 7:55 pm
Wow, that was how Sweeting went down Scoop, swept aside by BBaker?That’s incredible. I thought he gotthe celebrity bug and that was it. Sweeting was knocking on door of top sixty then his career was over.
Scoop Malinowski · November 21, 2016 at 8:02 pm
I saw this match Andrew – Sweeting was nonchalant in the warmup like it would be a cruise – then Baker did not miss anything and Sweeting crumbled – never forget this match – then Sweeting went down in the second and suddenly quit with a fake whatever – I truly believe Raonic did the same thing – was cocky and smiling and expecting to routine Ryan but he got shocked by how well Harrison played and could not stop the downward spiral and had to concoct an injury to use as blame to save face – Look at the Raonic vs Harrison head to head and tell me Raonic wasn’t overconfident going into their US Open meeting – Raonic’s confidence tank was over-overflowing :O
Andrew Miller · November 21, 2016 at 9:21 pm
Scoop i agree on raonic before that match, for most part he said at usopen he was focused on bigfour and described RHarrison in somewhat less serious terms, he didnt prepare well mentally and entered usopen without McEnroe who i think would have fired him up and made him think more before his encounter. Harrison entered that match playing the smartest tennis ive seen him play in years and with his tank full of belief.
But what im saying is Raonic ended the year well just like Sock and Isner ended year on high notes. That kind of sets him up for good vibes next year. We are no longer at the usopen nowand.entering a whole new ballgame.
Hartt · November 21, 2016 at 9:30 pm
Scoop, Milos may have been too confident about playing Harrison and shocked at how well Harrison played but I don’t think he “concocted” the cramping. I saw that match and you could see the effects of it. And I don’t think Milos would act that way.
Andrew Miller · November 21, 2016 at 9:32 pm
Really enjoyed Pete Bodo take on espn, especially on Murray, Raonic and Nishikori. Thinks Nishikori needs to solve some mental blocks. That Murray had a huge year. This was great on Raonic, ” match point. The runner-up at Wimbledon, Raonic is the player most likely to win a Grand Slam among the contenders who haven’t yet won one. It isn’t just that smoking hot serve and vastly improved ground game. It’s his attitude. “
catherine bell · November 22, 2016 at 4:07 am
I heard the IPTL (?) isn’t taking place this year.
If so I’m not surprised. India is having serious financial problems and the touring England cricket team have as yet not been paid their normal expenses.
Does anyone know for sure about the tennis ?
Hartt · November 22, 2016 at 8:25 am
Steph Myles wrote about this and she seems convinced the tennis will not take place.
catherine bell · November 22, 2016 at 8:28 am
Hartt –
Yes – that’s where I saw the item but haven’t been able to track a mention elsewhere. I imagine Steph Myles’ news is correct.
Hartt · November 22, 2016 at 8:29 am
Re IPTL you can see Myles’ article about it on opencourt.ca
Andrew Miller · November 22, 2016 at 8:59 am
Raonics mental toughness is back. Will he finally show some emotion and give the fans what they paid for like Connors did?
Andrew Miller · November 22, 2016 at 9:01 am
With that Dans and Scoops predictions for both tours and for the next generation and comeback players for 2017 is hereby requested!!?
Andrew Miller · November 22, 2016 at 9:02 am
Such a, “Raonic isnt winning a slam” from Dan or “This isMonfils year” from Scoop.
Scoop Malinowski · November 22, 2016 at 9:09 am
Hartt: I believe he faked it -only time in his life that he cramped? – “There are no coincidences” – how many times have we seen players use the fake cramp card and then once the point starts they run like gangbusters –
Scoop Malinowski · November 22, 2016 at 9:14 am
The more fire and expression and fury Raonic shows on court the better his odds of winning that first I say FIRST major are – New Balance should start two new ad campaigns or Raonic: “Just Say No To Android Tennis” – “Embrace Emotional Intensity and Let It Out”
Hartt · November 22, 2016 at 9:34 am
Andrew, I hope Milos never behaves anything like the way Connors did!
Scoop, I still do not believe Milos faked the cramping. He said it was rare for him to cramp, did not say it never happened. And he did not play well after the cramping started. I think it really threw him for a loop and it took him a while to get over being worried about it happening again.
Andrew Miller · November 22, 2016 at 10:27 am
Hartt, Milos’ version of the emotional Milos is all that’s needed. Having seen the guy on TV and read his interviews, he seems so buttoned up, the pressure on court must be overwhelming. The way he describes his losses, whether the Australian semifinal or the Wimbledon final, the guy inflicts a whole lot of punishment inwards. That’s why showing the fire – not just through his pinpoint accuracy or booming serve, but through some serious yelling etc, however he does it, would put him over the top and etch his name on a slam trophy-or two.
Milos to me is too calculated. Too measured. We need Milos unleashed in those title matches if he gets another one. Like Milso throwing his sneakers or something. Some primal yell.
Federer does this. Nadal does this. Djokovic does this. Murray does this. Wawrinka does this. There’s a trend here. All those guys have slams.
So the real story again I think is who’s next. My money is on Milos if he can yell more and Nishikori if he can get his head on straight, maybe even do the same thing.
Otherwise I like Wawrinka to “finish the job” and win Wimbledon with his big, Stich-like game. And I like Murray for the Australian to grab one of the two slam victories he doesn’t have. No French for Murray, sorry…that’s a leap too far for me.
Andrew Miller · November 22, 2016 at 10:29 am
Lemme qualify that – YELL in a primal way, then re-focus. Honestly, it will change the match dynamic. It’s strategic and calms the player down at the same time.
Scoop Malinowski · November 22, 2016 at 10:33 am
I think this article says it all – Raonic should re-read it once a week and practice his lion roaring skills:) https://www.tennis-prose.com/bios/what-if-lleyton-hewitt-never-yelled-come-on/
Andrew Miller · November 22, 2016 at 11:22 am
If Milos pulls a Serena or a Hewitt he wins a slam. That easy.