Mornin'. I'm on the trot here, doing errands and such before heading off to Miami tomorrow. But I wanted to give you a place to discuss today's matches at the Sony-Ericsson Open in Miami. I checked the scores this morning and must say that while I know Murray has been playing like dog poop, if you told me that he'd reach (and lose) the Australian Open final and then fail to win even a set in his next three matches/events I'd say "impossible."
But there it is. And it's not like Murray ought to feel devastated by that admittedly lackluster performance at the first major of the year. Novak Djokovic, who pounded him into submission in that Australian final, has now created the best start (19-0) since Ivan Lendl rolled out to a 25-0 start in 1986. Murray had nothing to be ashamed of, and you can't exactly say he blew an opportunity in Melbourne. It wasn't like he lost to Arnaud Clement in the final.
Granted, players suffer slumps. Happens to everyone. But this streak of Murray's is of a different order of magnitude, and I'm searching my mind for valid parallels. Anyone care to chime in? The only analogy I can think of is "writer's block." Something from which I've never suffered, although I'm sure many of you wish it were otherwise. Anyway, enjoy today's tennis. I'm hoping to wrangle another post out of Lance Harke today or tomorrow, but in any event I'll be back later this evening or early tomorrow morning.
-- Pete