It took Andu Murray seven years to win his first grand slam title, and less than a year later to become the first British player in 77 years to win the title at Wimbledon, showing, not for the first time, that he belongs in the so called top 4, beating Novak Djokovic for yet another major championship.
Murray forgot about the injuries, the pain and the fatigue. He took the first set 6-4 and the second 7-5. Mentally, all of a sudden, Murray looked like the better prepared player. And then came the thir set, which is usually the Djokovic specialty, even when he’s down 0-2.
Djokovic held a 1-4 lead as it looked like another epic comeback from the world’s number one. But Djokovic wasn’t at his mental best, making huge mistake after huge mistake at points we usually see him take. Andy Murray was a lot more aggressive than usual, and forced Djokovic into situations he wasn’t comfortable with.
Murray shook off whatever it was that stopped him from performing in the third set, and start chewing his way back. Djokovic went back into unforced error mode, and Murray wound up serving for the championship, with three championship points.
Djokovic has this “nothing to lose” mode when he simply starts to blast away, and he found it once again. Murray couldn’t find a way to breach the armor, almost losing that game against all odds, but not on this day. Once again the shot making was splending, and Novak Djokovic remembered it wasn’t his day.
Two players of the same age, of similar styles, ready to lead tennis into its next two-man era. Unlike most expectations, Andy Murray is going to be just as meaningful as Djokovic in the battle for the number one spot, winning his second Grand Slam title, and getting over whatever mental block he had, not to mention the fall of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
