What A Win For Andy Murray Would Mean
By Corey Leahy
After an year full of ups and downs for Andy Murray, we find him right back where he was last year, in the finals of Wimbledon. Andy Murray had a disappointing loss here in 2012 against Roger Federer, losing in the tournament he has such high expectations for. But he redeemed himself, winning Gold at the 2012 Olympics at none other but Centre Court at Wimbledon. Murray then took a win at the U.S Open, which also continued a streak that still stands today (4 consecutive Grand Slam Finals Appearances). As the 2013 tennis season started, Murray found himself again playing well in another Grand Slam, this time it was the Australian Open. He got to the finals there too, however, he lost to the top player in the world, Novak Djokovic. After his great end to 2012, we saw him fall a little behind in 2013. He was forced to withdraw from the French Open, as he was dealing with a back injury.
And after all of that, we are now watching a rematch of the Australian Open championship, (1) Novak Djokovic vs. (2) Andy Murray. Murray hopes to be the first Great Britain man to win at Wimbledon since Fred Perry did it back in 1936. But it would be a chance for Murray to redeem himself again for his loss last year. It is also a chance to bring back a Wimbledon trophy to the small city off Dunblane, Scotland. Murray knows how big of an opportunity this is, but we’ll have to see if he falls victim to the mighty racquet of Novak Djokovic or if he can upset the number 1 seed and take home the championship.
Djokovic won’t let Murray’s possible victory come easily; he’s been playing an outstanding tournament so far, with his semifinal match against (8) Juan Martin Del Potro being his most difficult. He’s had an easy ride for the most part, but he had a hard time trying to get past his semifinal match; it eventually became the longest semifinal match in the history of Wimbledon, clocking in at over 4 hours. Djokovic also holds the head-to-head lead against Murray, with a record of 11-7.
The thing to look closely at in today’s match is going to be the second serve points. Djokovic has one of the best second serves in the game, and if he hopes to be able to knock out Murray, he will have to use that to his advantage. It can be said that Djokovic also has the upper hand if the match were to last just 4 sets, however the tables would turn in favor of Murray if it went to a fifth due to his stamina and endurance. Not to mention ratings would skyrocket, possibly surpassing the McEnroe/Bjorg match of 1980 in terms of TV viewers.
A win for Andy Murray in the Wimbledon Finals would not only prove his dominance, but it would forever make him a tennis legend in the eyes of Brits everywhere.
It is also ironic, quite possibly a sign, that Andy Murray tries to be the first man from Great Britain to win the championship in 77 years, and today is 7-7. Who knows?
As it stands now, Andy Murray currently holds the lead in sets, 1-0. But Djokovic has the lead in the second set, 4-3.
Coming into the match, I thought Murray was going to be able to get the win, I just couldn’t predict in how many sets. And I still can’t right now. I think Murray has what it takes to pull off the upset, but I don’t know how long it will take. My gut says 5 sets, just by knowing how Novak plays, but I wouldn’t think 4 sets is impossible for Murray either.
Let me know what you think, leave a comment below! And don’t forget to stay updated here at FanSided as the Wimbledon Finals match rolls on.