Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic were 13 when they first
played tennis against each other. It was in the southern
French city of Tarbes in the junior tournament called Les
Petits As. Murray won in a fast fashion.
“I won, 6-love, 6-1, maybe,” Murray said in his droll
baritone. “A lot’s changed since then. I’m sure it will
be just a bit tougher than that on Sunday.”
On Sunday, the two former junior rivals, born a week apart
in May 1987, will play each other for the first time in a
Grand Slam final, with the Australian Open title at stake.
Djokovic, the 23-year-old from Serbia, got there first,
playing one of the most convincing matches of his career
to defeat Roger Federer in straight sets on Thursday.
Murray, the 23-year-old from Britain, had to wait until
Friday to play his semifinal and then had to hustle,
scrap and think on the run for 3 hours 46 minutes before
finally shaking free of the indefatigable Spanish
baseliner David Ferrer.
Murray’s 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1, 7-6 (2) victory was filed
with extended rallies — one of which totaled 40 strokes
and memorable defense, but the differences in the end
were Murray’s bigger serve and bolder tactics, which
he applied in heavier doses as the match progressed.
No comments:
Post a Comment