If Sam Querrey could beat Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, why couldn’t Steve Johnson beat Andy Murray at the Olympics? That was the question I found myself asking when the 22nd-ranked American took a break-of-serve lead over the defending gold medalist at 4-3 in the third set during Friday’s quarterfinal in Rio.
And I answered it this way: Of course he could, provided his serve and forehand—the two shots that were lethal and frequent enough for Querrey in the third round of Wimbledon—kept detonating on Murray’s side of the net with the requisite consistency.
It’s been no secret how to beat the Big Four at the biggest tournaments, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to pull off. For every upset by Juan Martin del Potro (who beat Djokovic earlier this week) or Stan Wawrinka, there are 10, 15, 20 losses from big hitters who simply punch themselves out. Johnson, to his credit, didn’t do that today, pushing Murray to the precipice of defeat in a 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 nail-biter. His forehand was ferocious from the start—of the second set, at least—to the finish, with Murray’s patented baseline arsenal rendered moot by a barrage of crosscourt forehands and opportunistic strikes.
But the Wimbledon champion, as he’s demonstrated all summer, has been an incredibly tough out, and he won the most crucial points today in his typically underrated but impressive fashion. While Murray can look flummoxed at times, he invariably finds a way to counter most threats he’s facing with an adjustment, whether it’s shot selection, court placement, or simply a well-timed scream. Johnson matched him in all of those areas—even in the yelling department, when attempting to send the match to a deciding tiebreaker—but ultimately fell to the hottest player in the game.
There was also this, in the first set. Murray challenged a call, and then Johnson challenged Hawk-Eye: