Ahmed Rizvi
These must be frustrating times for Andy Murray’s fans. Just over 13 months ago, they were celebrating his momentous Wimbledon triumph and predicting many more such moments. It has been downhill since.
The Scot, a world No 2 at the time, has dropped five places on the rankings since returning to the courts as No 4 after his lower back surgery last year.
Murray has played 16 tournaments since his Wimbledon triumph and has yet to reach a final – his best being two semis.
Considered one of the “Big Four” of men’s tennis, Murray has lost all seven matches against top 10 players since he defeated Novak Djokovic to end Britain’s 77-year wait for a Wimbledon champ.
He has not really dominated the next 10 on the men’s ranking either. His record against player’s ranked No 11 to No 20 is 4-4 and his winning percentage of 71 in 2014 is his lowest since 2006.
After his Wimbledon triumph a period of decline was predicted. He had, after all, just reached the peak of his ambitions.
His continued slump, though, is a cause for concern, and the surgery, or his health, cannot be an excuse any more.
The mental gremlins, it seems, are back, and his latest two defeats are evidence. At Toronto, Murray was up 3-0 in the third set against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga but lost the decider 6-4.
Against Roger Federer at Cincinnati last week, he was up 4-1 in the second set but lost six of the next seven games to bow out.
“I blew it,” Murray said after his loss to Federer, expressing frustration at his lack of consistency in 2014.
The departure of Ivan Lendl from his coaching staff might have affected the mental side of Murray’s game.
The two had been working together since December 2011 and, during that period, Murray won Olympic gold and the US Open, in 2012, and the 2013 Wimbledon title.
Murray did have some good results playing without a coach, reaching the semis at Acapulco and Roland Garros, but that is not a judgment on Amelie Mauresmo’s abilities.
There were reports of discontent among his coaching staff over the appointment of the French woman and, if true, that could be a distraction.
Murray is keen to continue working with Mauresmo, but his results at the US Open, which starts Monday, could well decide the future of their partnership.
Murray could still turn a poor year around at Flushing Meadows.
He certainly has happy memories of New York, where he played his first grand slam tournament final in 2008 and then won his first major in 2012.
Historically, he has done well on hard courts, winning 22 of his 28 titles on that surface, including nine Masters and a grand slam title.
In 2012, Murray won just one match apiece at the Toronto and Cincinnati Masters, so he arrives in New York next week with a chance to salvage a disappointing season. Write him off at your peril.
arizvi@thenational.ae
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