2013 Wimbledon Final: Djokovic vs. Murray

[Kieran]

Andy it's a great player and all great players can take matters into their own hands.

Which is always his Achilles heel, actually. He sat back in Oz and allowed a faded and jaded Federer back into it. He sat back in the Oz final against Novak. I'm not convinced Murray is a great player - he's the best of the rest, so far. But I'd have Novak a strong favourite tomorrow. Andy will need to play his best for sure, but that might not be enough...

 

[huntingyou]

Andy it's a great player and all great players can take matters into their own hands.

Which is always his Achilles heel, actually. He sat back in Oz and allowed a faded and jaded Federer back into it. He sat back in the Oz final against Novak. I'm not convinced Murray is a great player - he's the best of the rest, so far. But I'd have Novak a strong favourite tomorrow. Andy will need to play his best for sure, but that might not be enough...

The guy has been in 6 slam finals and has won many big titles and you are still not convince he is a great player?

You are being extremely biased, I mean....you based your entire criteria on 4 tournaments per year and guess what? Andy has been going at it against another THREE great players his entire career. If it wasn't Rafa in a SF it was Roger and Novak in the final.

I don't recall a jaded Roger and Novak at OZ.......I remember great players there and although I agree with the gist of your argument of Murray being too passive; never the less the guy it's one of the best tennis players I have seen. Certainly better than Courier, Becker, Edberg, Wilander but let me guess; they have more slams.

If that's the case, wait a couple of more years......Roger is out of the picture and Rafa it's quickly following Roger as well. He will get his slams!

 

[imjimmy]

This is the match everyone hoped for after Fedal were upset. So I'm glad.

In terms of abilities, there's no question in my mind that Murray is a superior grass court player than Djokovic even though the latter has a better record. Murray's serve is more effective here. He's better at the net, great slice and generally constructs points better on grass. However Djokovic has won Wimbledon before, which is huge. The first time is always the hardest.

Murray also can make Djokovic's game look bad. Similar to the what Djokovic does to Nadal or Nadal does to Federer. That said, Djokovic is the more aggressive player and is mentally stronger than Murray. Murray might play a better match, but he still might lose by not playing the big points well. Where as Djokovic is almost as good as Fedal in the clutch.

To win - Murray's serve has to be on fire. And he has to find a way to attack Djokovic's second serve ( as he did in AO 2012 SF and US 2012 F). He also cannot afford to have any lapses the way he's had against Verdasco and JJ. Novak will just eat him alive if that happens.

If Andy rises to the occasion and elevates his game, he can surely win it. But If I had to bet, I would have to go with the world #1 simply because he plays big matches better than Murray does, and it takes a special performance to beat Novak in a slam these days.

Djokovic in 4 and the wait for a British Slam champion continues.

 

[Kieran]

He will get his slams!

Well, let's not give 'em to him before he earns 'em, eh? I like Andy but he's come up short a lot, whereas Novak has proven himself a lot more. Great players do it when the stakes are highest, otherwise we'd all consider Nalbandian a giant of the sport. Let Andy become great where the others did, including Mats, Becker and the rest...

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Djokovic will have to be aggressive especially on second serve returns to pressure Andy greatly in making that first serve.

 

[Front242]

Marion Bartoli has a faster second serve than Murray and Djokovic will munch that up if he gets to return a lot of them.

 

[DarthFed]

I don't think net play is a big advantage for Murray vs. Novak anymore. Nole has gotten a lot better at net. Murray's main advantage in this matchup has always been the 1st serve. If he lands a good % of first serves he will almost certainly win more cheap points than Nole who doesn't serve anywhere near as hard. This advantage becomes a bigger deal on grass where even the most amazing returner is not going to bring back many 130 mph serves. Djokovic has had one of, if not the, greatest tournament we've seen from him when it comes to serve so that advantage Murray has could be neutralized tomorrow if Nole continues to serve that way.

 

[herios]

He will get his slams!

Well, let's not give 'em to him before he earns 'em, eh? I like Andy but he's come up short a lot, whereas Novak has proven himself a lot more. Great players do it when the stakes are highest, otherwise we'd all consider Nalbandian a giant of the sport. Let Andy become great where the others did, including Mats, Becker and the rest...

He should hurry up, because time gets by and sooner or lter other candidates will emerge. I sensed a lot of hunger in Delpo for example, I am sure soon he will snatch some more as well.

 

[rafanoy1992]

I agree with huntingyou in here. Andy Murray is a great player. Maybe not as great as Fed, Rafa, and Nole but he is a great player. You don't reach Seven Grand Slam finals, win a grand slam and an Olympic Gold Medal, if you are not a great player.

 

[Kieran]

I'm hoping Andy doesn't get tight early on. It's hard to imagine the pressure he's under. It must gall these guys like him and Henman to hear those BBC worthies chirping loudly about them, as if there's little more to it than swinging a stick. Andrew Castle is gone OTT this W, I imagine him frothing at the mouth and gesticulating rude hand-shandy fist-signals at Murray's opponents. They go too far with the cheerleading. I'm sure Andy is good at blocking out the static, but imagine the tumult and noise from the BBC booth if he wins?

 

[Front242]

I'm hoping Andy doesn't get tight early on. It's hard to imagine the pressure he's under. It must gall these guys like him and Henman to hear those BBC worthies chirping loudly about them, as if there's little more to it than swinging a stick. Andrew Castle is gone OTT this W, I imagine him frothing at the mouth and gesticulating rude hand-shandy fist-signals at Murray's opponents. They go too far with the cheerleading. I'm sure Andy is good at blocking out the static, but imagine the tumult and noise from the BBC booth if he wins?

Andrew Castle is a complete dope alright. The completely biased commentary annoys the hell out of me. Rarely even congratulates a good shot from any of Murray's opponents. Pathetic. Tim Henman isn't much better.

 

[herios]

Going with Nole, of course. I suppose that is obvious

 

[Riotbeard]

Andy it's a great player and all great players can take matters into their own hands.

Which is always his Achilles heel, actually. He sat back in Oz and allowed a faded and jaded Federer back into it. He sat back in the Oz final against Novak. I'm not convinced Murray is a great player - he's the best of the rest, so far. But I'd have Novak a strong favourite tomorrow. Andy will need to play his best for sure, but that might not be enough...

The guy has been in 6 slam finals and has won many big titles and you are still not convince he is a great player?

You are being extremely biased, I mean....you based your entire criteria on 4 tournaments per year and guess what? Andy has been going at it against another THREE great players his entire career. If it wasn't Rafa in a SF it was Roger and Novak in the final.

I don't recall a jaded Roger and Novak at OZ.......I remember great players there and although I agree with the gist of your argument of Murray being too passive; never the less the guy it's one of the best tennis players I have seen. Certainly better than Courier, Becker, Edberg, Wilander but let me guess; they have more slams.

If that's the case, wait a couple of more years......Roger is out of the picture and Rafa it's quickly following Roger as well. He will get his slams!

Kieran isn't being biased imo. I agree with him too. Andy is 1-5 in slam finals including 2 loses since lendl took over. He has been moving in the right direction but one slam is a different league from novak, just like 6 slams is a different league from 12 or 17. Both guys might move up in the list of greats, but Andy still has a while to go. Novak's has proven to be a much more reliable figure in big matches. 1 victory is hardly a pattern.

I think novak is the favorite, but strong might be going a little too far.

 

[Moxie]

Djokovic served brilliantly against DelPotro, and I think he'll need to do it again against Murray. The crowd will be a huge factor, and, no matter how seasoned Nole is, he gets discouraged without crowd support. If Andy has worked all of his nerves out against Verdasco and Janowicz, then I think he'll hold his own against Djokovic. Anyway, I hope so.

 

[Moxie]

Novak will have some added pressure too... the president of Serbia will be there.

All things being equal, I'm not sure that really measures up to the whole of Britain wanting this win, and the weight of history, but...good try.

 

[calitennis127]

I am not going to promise a result one way or the other in this match tomorrow. However, I am very confident of one thing: Murray will be EXTREMELY difficult to beat. Djokovic is one of the few who is capable of beating him when he plays at the level I believe he will be at tomorrow, but I am pretty much guaranteeing here that Murray will be very, very tough to beat.

If Djokovic wins, he will most likely have to really earn it with a long, classic match. Of course, you could say the same about matters the other way, but as hungry as Novak may be in this situation and as much as he may want the title, I don't think he has the same desperation and utter obsession with winning this particular tournament that Murray does.

After all, how can he?

Djokovic has already won the event before and Murray is the British man fighting for the country that hasn't won Wimbledon since the times of World War II. Thus, Murray is bringing more to the table tomorrow in terms of raw desperation and raw desire. He is the one who is more likely to pour every bit of emotion out of himself and fight to the death. This isn't to say that he is mentally tougher than Djokovic (that certainly is NOT the case), but it is to say that at this one event, at this one venue, he has a little something extra to pour into it. This psychological factor cannot be discounted.

Also, while I would really like to see Djokovic win this title, Murray winning the damn thing and getting all this British dramatic obsession out of the way would really be nice. I am tired of hearing about it year after year. Let Murray win Wimbledon and then everyone can just shut up about it. It would be good for Murray's psychological health as well. After that, I would root for Djokovic to beat him every single time they play.

 

[Srini]

Before the tournament started, I thought Murray would win if these two play here. Now its a very tough call, Djokovic is playing too good. The main problem is Murray's mind. He is probably the nicest among the big 4 and great men are seldom nice Great players think they are superior and just refuse to lose, not sure if Murray steps onto the court with that mentality. Instead of taking advantage of the crowd support, he might buckle under the pressure of expectations.

Still, am going with my heart, Murray in 4.

 

[kskate2]

Andy in 4 but more realistically 5.

 

[I.Haychew]

I'll be pulling hard for Djokovic. But if Murray wins, I have a feeling that the trophy presentation/post-match ceremony will be a tear jerker.

 

[nehmeth]

Novak will have some added pressure too... the president of Serbia will be there.

All things being equal, I'm not sure that really measures up to the whole of Britain wanting this win, and the weight of history, but...good try.

:nono Not even close to measuring up. Obviously all the pressure is on Murray. I thought you would have caught the humor by mentioning the president.