Hip Hip ‘Murray’!

Britain’s Andy Murray couldn’t have asked for a better start to his ATP Dubai Open campaign which started on 3rd March. After trailing by a set, the unseeded 20 year old shocked world no.1 and top seed Roger Federer in the 1st round 6-7(6/8), 6-3, 6-4. This was not the first time that Murray has shown the door to Federer, 19 months ago Fed-ex was tamed by Murray in Cincinnati Masters.
For Roger the year has not started ‘the Federer way’. Having lost the Australian Open semi finals to Novak Djokovic, this defeat to Murray was his second straight loss this year.
It usually doesn’t happen that Federer bows out of a tournament and that too in the first round, something which has not taken place since the summer of 2004! So, what’s the reason behind Federer’s recent failures? While some experts say that the Swiss maestro has not got enough of match play the others feel that he is not fully fit. Maybe, Maybe not. I feel that Federer has been in an unbeaten mode far too long, long enough for experts to study his game and create an antidote.
For instance, why has Federer always struggled against Rafael Nadal? The logic is simple, if you take some one out of their comfort zone, he/she WILL struggle. The same applies to Federer. His strength is that he plays on the ‘baseline’ which helps him get the ball on the rise and in return gives his opponent less time to recover. So while the opponent is getting back in position to face the next ball, Federer is all ready to deliver the ‘knock-out punch’. So, what does Nadal or a Murray or a Djokovic do right against the world no.1? They play the ball high with heavy spin on his backhand which forces Federer to go behind the baseline because of single handed backhand. Once Fed-ex is behind the baseline, the opponent gets the opportunity to jump inside the court and dictate the point.
Enough dissection of Federer’s game. Here’s hoping Fed-Ex soon gets back on track.