Andy Murray became the first player since 1995 to win back to back Toronto Masters titles when he took out Roger Federer in a rain soaked affair. Murray is currently the world’s number four player with a collection of master’s titles. However he is still trying to become the first British player since Fred Perry in 1936 to win a grand slam title.
The weight of expectation on Andy Murray is phenomenal. His every match is scrutinized by an English media still bitter from England’s disastrous world cup campaign. There criticism of him is unfair. At just 23 years of age Murray has been a Wimbledon semi finalist twice, a US and Australian Open runner up, and has won a handful of master titles. By most players standards this is already a wonderful career, but to many critics he won’t be great until he captures the elusive major title.
One realized how important a major title is to Murray when he fought back tears after his Australian Open defeat to Roger Federer. He was in career best form and looked set to hold up the trophy down under. However he ran into a champion at the top of his game. Who has been in so many major finals, and knows how to bring out his best when it counts. Murray knew he gave it everything and was just outplayed. But to come so close and fall short was bitterly disappointing.
The loss in Australia clearly effected the rest of Murray’s year. When many thought he was set to progress even further he simply fell apart. His US hard court season was disastrous. His clay court season was well below his best, and even though he was a Wimbledon semi finalist he was favored by a good draw, and was completely outplayed by Rafael Nadal.
Murray’s triumph in Toronto is much more important to him then many people realize. This just may be the title he needed to help him go all the way at Flushing Meadows because of a few particular reasons.
In capturing his first title of 2010 Murray took out the worlds two best players Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer without dropping a set. His win over Federer was his first in his last three attempts, but more importantly his first against the superstar in a final. This is exactly what Murray needed. He was shocked last week against Sam Querry in Los Angeles, and still looked out of form. To recover and beat the best a week later, leading into the US Open may just be the tonic the young Scott craved.
If Murray had failed to defend his title he would have been overtaken by Robin Soderling and dropped to number five in the world rankings. Even though this is only a one spot drop it is much further than people presume. If Murray had entered the US Open as the number five seeded player he would have a chance of meeting Nadal or Federer as early as the quarterfinals. To win a major requires winning seven five set matches. This requires a huge amount of exceptional tennis and physical exertion. You do not want to meet one of the two best players this early in the tournament if you believe you have a chance of winning it. However, after his Toronto triumph he is guaranteed to be the fourth seed, and not seeing Nadal or Federer until a semi final.
Andy Murray loves the fast courts in the US. He has a great tennis mind, with one of the best returns and backhands in the game. However Murray does tend to play to conservatively in big matches. He prefers to stand back and wait for his opponents to commit an unforced error. This will win matches in the early rounds however it won’t beat the very best. Against Federer in the final Murray changed his game. He was aggressive, and wasn’t afraid to move forward, and trust his game by taking some chances. Federer was clearly shocked going 3-0 down very quickly. Defeating Federer with an attacking style may have finally made Murray realize he has the weapons to win, but will have to go outside his comfort zone to do it.
Even though the US open is still two weeks out Toronto may have been a blessing for Andy Murray. He finally looks primed and ready for another assault at his first major title. With so many matches to win and so many talented players in the draw it will be a daunting feat. However if he displays the form he showed last week he must be considered a favorite.
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