1. This semifinal spanned two days, but it didn’t feel like any momentum was lost overnight. When we last saw Novak Djokovic on Friday, he had lost a comfortable two-set lead (after having chances to break in the third) and was reeling at 3-3 in the fourth. This was less a fault of his than it was a lesson in near-flawless tennis from Andy Murray. The Scot, who like Djokovic was unbeaten on clay prior to Paris, displayed the combination of placement and power—yes, Murray can hit the ball quite hard—that makes him such a threat on faster surfaces. But it worked just as well on slow clay, and with his defense bordering on the impenetrable, it left Djokovic wondering what he could possibly do.
That dynamic persisted into Saturday, with Djokovic playing fine tennis but unable to hit through Murray. And after four holds in which the returner won just one point, Djokovic blinked first. He was broken in the 11th game, after which Murray held to completely erase Djokovic’s two-set lead.
Despite Murray’s inability to push ahead of Djokovic once he’d finally caught up, you have to give the 28-year-old all sorts of credit for his performance. He’ll likely be the second favorite at Wimbledon, to Djokovic, and will make his presence felt on the U.S. hard courts. Is he the second-best player in the world, regardless of the rankings? At this moment, I think so.
2. All of which makes Djokovic’s eventual win, and 6-1 fifth set, all the more impressive. It was the break in between sets, rather than the break in between days, that reset Djokovic and halted Murray’s run of invincibility. Murray, who was seemingly winning every rally that lasted more than 10 shots—Djokovic’s speciality—finally began to break down with errors. But these lapses, like those Djokovic dealt with in the third and fourth sets, were largely a result of the opponent’s play. The world No. 1’s backhand was lethal, he served efficiently, and he made Murray scamper even more than usual in the decider. By the time the fifth set reached 3-0 (two Djokovic holds), Murray already appeared in dire straits.
After finally conquering Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, a loss to Murray in Djokovic’s very next match—particularly after leading by two sets—would have been devastating. But these two have often brought out the best in each other; both of Murray’s major victories have come over Djokovic. It seems that Djokovic forced Murray to raise his game after the first two sets, and Murray forced Djokovic to answer after the second two sets. Both men answered the challenge, though only one could win. Well played, gents.
