RESULT: Andy Murray Vs Novak Djokovic - Semi-Final - Pacific Life Open (Indian Wells) 2007
Murray loses 2-6 3-6.
The result isn't a shock as Djokovic is clearly a rising star with a strong all-round game, not to mention the fact that he has about two years more experience than Murray at the top level. What is a shock is the speed with which Murray was dispatched.
Of course, the score doesn't tell the full story.
The reality is that Murray probably should have pulled out before the match began. The injuries he sustained in the previous match may not have felt too severe but, once the match began, it soon became clear that Murray was not in a position to give his all.
The trainer came on and reassured Murray that he was unlikely to do any lasting damage by continuing to play so Murray, to his credit, decided to see the match out.
As usual, there were flashes of brilliance from Murray, the highlight was when he recovered from a brilliant Djokovic lob to play a cross-court winner from the back of the court, almost with his back to the net.
Some cynics might have passed it off as a fluke except that Murray won an almost identical point just a few games later. Djokovic stopped lobbing Murray after that.
But the injured hip proved too much as Murray resorted to playing serve and volley and was just unable to stretch far enough or fast enough to dent the Djokovic serve.
There was one moment of hope when at a set and a break down, Murray got two break back points. But Djokovic served strongly, held his serve and finished off the set at a canter.
This may not have been a good opportunity to compare these players but, credit to Djokovic, he played a solid tournament and is now a top ten player. There's no doubt that Murray will join Djokovic in the top ten and, in my opinion, will quickly overtake him, but a little more patience is needed.
So the match generated frustration for the viewer, but not directed at Muray. Rather, a chunk of the blame must lie with the event organisers.
At the beginning of the tournament Murray was playing lower-ranked players and winning in straight sets in a little over an hour. In between matches Murray had a day off and even had time for a spot of doubles.
By contrast, at the back-end of the tournament, Murray had to battle through an epic three-hour match against Haas and then play his semi-final, less than 24 hours later. Even without the injury, this would have been a tough ask for any player. Especially when Djokovic had yet to play a higher-ranked competitor and had never been out on court for more than 90 minutes.
In fact such was the disparity of the draw, Murray had played almost as much tennis in his 4th round and Qtr-Final matches, than Djokovic had had to play in the ENTIRE tournament up to that point.
Of course a draw, as the name suggests, is random but, at the very least, the organisers should ensure a days rest in between the Qtr-Final and Semi-Final.
Still, cup half full and all that. If at the beginning of the tournament I'd known that Murray was going to reach the semi-final and knock out Davydenko and Haas on the way, I'd have been more than happy.
Murray goes up to 12th in the world rankings and, health permitting, will have a chance to improve on that in Miami in a few days time.
The result isn't a shock as Djokovic is clearly a rising star with a strong all-round game, not to mention the fact that he has about two years more experience than Murray at the top level. What is a shock is the speed with which Murray was dispatched.
Of course, the score doesn't tell the full story.
The reality is that Murray probably should have pulled out before the match began. The injuries he sustained in the previous match may not have felt too severe but, once the match began, it soon became clear that Murray was not in a position to give his all.
The trainer came on and reassured Murray that he was unlikely to do any lasting damage by continuing to play so Murray, to his credit, decided to see the match out.
As usual, there were flashes of brilliance from Murray, the highlight was when he recovered from a brilliant Djokovic lob to play a cross-court winner from the back of the court, almost with his back to the net.
Some cynics might have passed it off as a fluke except that Murray won an almost identical point just a few games later. Djokovic stopped lobbing Murray after that.
But the injured hip proved too much as Murray resorted to playing serve and volley and was just unable to stretch far enough or fast enough to dent the Djokovic serve.
There was one moment of hope when at a set and a break down, Murray got two break back points. But Djokovic served strongly, held his serve and finished off the set at a canter.
This may not have been a good opportunity to compare these players but, credit to Djokovic, he played a solid tournament and is now a top ten player. There's no doubt that Murray will join Djokovic in the top ten and, in my opinion, will quickly overtake him, but a little more patience is needed.
So the match generated frustration for the viewer, but not directed at Muray. Rather, a chunk of the blame must lie with the event organisers.
At the beginning of the tournament Murray was playing lower-ranked players and winning in straight sets in a little over an hour. In between matches Murray had a day off and even had time for a spot of doubles.
By contrast, at the back-end of the tournament, Murray had to battle through an epic three-hour match against Haas and then play his semi-final, less than 24 hours later. Even without the injury, this would have been a tough ask for any player. Especially when Djokovic had yet to play a higher-ranked competitor and had never been out on court for more than 90 minutes.
In fact such was the disparity of the draw, Murray had played almost as much tennis in his 4th round and Qtr-Final matches, than Djokovic had had to play in the ENTIRE tournament up to that point.
Of course a draw, as the name suggests, is random but, at the very least, the organisers should ensure a days rest in between the Qtr-Final and Semi-Final.
Still, cup half full and all that. If at the beginning of the tournament I'd known that Murray was going to reach the semi-final and knock out Davydenko and Haas on the way, I'd have been more than happy.
Murray goes up to 12th in the world rankings and, health permitting, will have a chance to improve on that in Miami in a few days time.
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