Australian Open 2011: Andy Murray’s Time With Destiny Nearer, Ferrer’s Over

The second Semi-Final is just over. Andy Murray has prevailed in four sets 4-6, 7-6, 6-1, 7-6. The match was competitive. Both the players were playing true to their nature - cautious and defensive. The attacking tennis Ferrer displayed against Rafael Nadal was a thing of the past. Loss of the first set put Murray in the pushing mode. But the pressure of playing an underdog was clearly telling on Murray. He had committed 34 unforced errors by the end of the first two sets. His first serve percentage was a poor 55 %.. He was clearly out of sorts. When he conceded a set point on his serve at 4-5, there were anxious moments. Ferrer could not attack well and the set point was saved. They traded breaks in the next two games and tie breaker arrived. Andy Murray did not win the tie break, but Ferrer lost it 2-7. The match was going on for two hours without being impressive. Rallies were long but boring with just occasional flashes of brilliance. Both were pushing the ball on the other side of the net. Quality of tennis was the sufferer. Spectators were not suffering since hits and misses were almost equal. Both had reduced their game to the lower level in sharp contrast to the other semi-final where in spite of the straight sets victory, quality of shots was far better.  

At the beginning of the third set a horde of white birds descended on the Rod Laver arena to find out what was going on. What message they brought is not known but the play stopped for a few moments. Nothing changed on resumption and momentum remained with Andy Murray. He comfortably won the third set 6-1. David Ferrer had hit only 23 winners in the three sets played as against 44 in the three sets against Nadal. Murray had improved his first serve percentage to 61%. He had hit 41 winners but also committed 43 unforced errors. When he broke Ferrer in the very first game of the fourth set, it became clear that this would be the last set of the match. But complexion of the game changed. Both players raised the level of their game. The set went to the tie breaker. That was good news for Murray’s supporters. He won the tie breaker with the identical score of 7-2.

Andy Murray has reached where he was last year. The good news is that there is no Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer. He has a tryst with destiny on Sunday. Will his dreams, and those of Great Britain, be realised - we have to wait and see.