AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2010: Brad Gilbert – Touch of genius by Andy Murray turned the match 118
AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2010: Brad Gilbert – Touch of genius by Andy Murray turned the match 119
AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2010: Brad Gilbert – Touch of genius by Andy Murray turned the match 120
AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2010: Brad Gilbert – Touch of genius by Andy Murray turned the match 121
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AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2010: Brad Gilbert – Touch of genius by Andy Murray turned the match
By Sportsmail Reporter
The big intangible going into Andy Murray’s semi-final was how Marin Cilic’s fitness would hold up after his three five-setters so far, and after an hour we seemed to have the answer: no problem at all.
He came out and smoked the ball and I started to think that somehow he was going to be able to get through it. Because Andy was nervous, you never know how much someone like Marin is capable of, especially when he’s only 21 and super fit.
But then came Murray’s devastating forehand on break point and suddenly Cilic went from 100 percent to 75 percent and Andy went the other way. It’s tempting to say that we haven’t seen a point change a game like this in a long time, but in fact a very similar thing happened just 24 hours earlier.
1: Murray turned the match with a remarkable shot. A set down, the score was locked at 2-2 in the second and Cilic serving, Murray has a break point. The Croat’s backhand clips the top of the net and looks to drop down for a lucky winner. But Murray crawls forward (above) and keeps the point alive…
Nikolay Davydenko had a simple backhand that would have put him a set and 4-1 up against Roger Federer in the quarter-finals, but rushed and somehow managed to miss it. That was the game right here and we saw Fed go on to win the next 13 games and get through to have a shot at the finals today. These sudden changes are the beauty of sports.
If he wins, he will face a super-confident Murray, who will be rejoicing that he finished the match so much stronger than he started it. The incredible forehand he curled around the post in the last game will have given him immense pleasure because being able to chase the ball down will show him how all the hard work he puts in day to day is paying off.
2: The ball lands kindly for Cilic on his backhand side and the 6ft 6in Croat fires it across the court, looking for a winner to bring the game to deuces. But Murray is alert and extends an arm, just about to get his racket to the ball, sending a backhand volley trickling over the net. However, the ball sits perfectly for Cilic…
He is in such good shape and has come through his matches in such a short time that he will have enough fuel to go five hours in the final – it will be like having two extra cans of petrol in the back of the car.
Of course, there is much more to Murray than fitness, and if you wanted to see a measure of his talent yesterday, it was the way he stood three to five feet inside the baseline to take on Cilic’s second serve.
3: But instead of hitting home a winner, the Croatian opts to play a near perfect lob which forces Murray to climb backwards. There is absolutely no way he can win the point from here…
The Croat gives it a real nasty kick and only the most talented can take it as early and on the move as Murray did. I thought it was beautiful the way he did it. But everything stemmed from getting that break to make it 3-2 in the second. Until then Andy’s movement had not been the same as it was against Rafael Nadal and you could see how it completely relaxed him.
Before then, his other problem was that Cilic was returning incredibly well, even firing Andy’s first serve deep into the back of the court and allowing him to control many of the rallies from the baseline.
4: Think again. Although Cilic’s lob lands just inches from the baseline, Murray somehow reaches it, turns and fires an unstoppable whistling forehand past the Croat to break serve with the 14th shot in a sensational rally. Cue screams of delight from Murray, his entourage and Melbourne fans. Cilic, on the other hand, looks stunned ¿ and knocked out
He was the real aggressor and had definitely strategized for him to be because he didn’t want to get into a non-stop fight that went on for hours. You could tell he was giving it a big last effort in the middle of the third set, but the match was probably already over as Andy’s level had risen so much.
Cilic hit every shot he could. Andy took them and was still standing at the end.