Andy Murray Clinches US Open Title

by Dugald Skene

Those in the know always said it would be more likely to happen at either the Australian or US Opens, and so it proved to be. Murray's prowess on the hard courts is only matched at the moment by his US Open Final opponent Novak Djokovic who hadn't lost on the surface in a grand slam in a couple of years.

Andy Murray clinches his first grand slam

title in New York at the 5th time of asking

 

Murray's game has been building up to this moment for a few years now, especially since reaching the same final 4 years ago, his first major final. He certainly seems to have an affinity for Flushing Meadows since winning the boys US Open title a few years before that. But 2012 has seen Murray Not only improve his game, particularly his forehand, but also his ability to stick it with the best in these highest profile showdowns.

Following an agonising 5 set defeat to Djokovic in the Australian Open semi final at the start of the year, it seemed despite the loss to show that he had the ability to mentally and physically match up. He should have won that game, up a break in the final set, but he has continued following the disappointment to build.

Last nights victory is the culmination of hard work over years, that has seen many a disappointment in the major tournaments. And yet it seemed inevitable that the fourth member of perhaps the greatest quartet of players to be active in the same period was going to get a slice of that victory pie.

Being Andy Murray, he didn't make it easy. The first set lasted as long as a football match, each player breaking each other's service games in tricky conditions. The resultant tie break was an epic match within a match, with Djokovic gaining early momentum before Murray came back to earn multiple set points, finally converting his sixth to win 12-10.

Suddenly, the swing of the match was in Murray's favour as he raced to a 4-0 lead in the second set, only to be broken twice and pegged back to 5-5. This one looked to be going to a tie break as well as Murray faced real pressure from a rejuvenated Djokovic to hold his serve before breaking the Serbian for the third time in the set. 7-5 to Murray.

This was epic tennis, both men really slogging it out. Nothing exemplified the effort more than a stunning 54 shot rally in the first set that eventually saw Murray force it wide. They were giving it their all.

And it seemed that Murray really had. After clutching his left hamstring towards the end of the second set, we feared the worst. And then Djokovic turned the heat up in the third, putting distance between himself and Murray to claim it 6-2.

The fourth was more of the same, Djokovic playing some sublime tennis to clinch it 6-3. After more than 4 hours of incredible tennis, it was down to a final set showdown.

Did Murray have enough? Would he learn from his defeat in Melbourne earlier in the year? Did he even have the energy?

As I mentioned before, if anything has improved in Murray, it's his capacity to never give up, and he certainly made Djokovic aware of that as he rallied himself in the fifth to take a 3-0 lead. He never looked back.

Tennis is a game of momentum, and Andy Murray is a confidence player. The belief he will have gained in Australia, at Wimbledon and after winning gold in the Olympics was all channelled into that final set.

A well deserved victory indeed, and a truly special sporting achievement for a man who has been knocking at the door for years now. One of the most consistent sportsmen the UK has ever produced in an incredibly demanding and often lonely sport, Andy Murray is a true champion. Congratulations.