GIANTS FALL, BUT MURRAY KEEPS SPINNING LIKE A WHIRLING DERVISH
Or is it?
Murray takes off from his right sideline and sprints frantically along the baseline, stretching in the direction of the ball, elongates his arm like Plastic Man, swings – bang! – drives a backhand past Isner.
“It was tough,” Andy says. “You just kind of react. It’s just instinct. You just chase the ball down. Good contact on it. Obviously went for the winner.”
“You were a Whirling Dervish after you hit that shot,” I say to him later.
“A what?” he replies.
I was amused by his joyful twirling himself in place for a few seconds. “You hit that magnificent backhand, then you were spinning like a Whirling Dervish,”
“Was I?” he smiled.
“Yes.”
“I didn’t realize. I was just excited,” Andy smiled again. “It was obviously to get the [decisive] break in the third set.” The break to 3-2 that solidified Murray’s 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-2, victory that elevated him to an Aussie Open quarter-final against the champ, Rafa Nadal.
We didn’t continue the discussion of Whirling Dervishes, as you know a Middle Eastern religious sect. Another time, perhaps. But Murray is making a lot of converts to himself these days, and the way he puts a spin on his ever-improving shotmaking.
Isner said Murray “can do a lot. He can play offense, he can play defense. That’s what he does well — he mixes it up. He did that today. He wasn’t hitting a big ball out there. Kind of just dinking and dunking around the court. And I felt like I wasn’t able to get a good rip at the ball a lot of the time because of what he was doing with it.”
Murray seems very relaxed, good natured, playing well within himself. I can see him beating Nadal, even winning the title.
“But I’m just a boring Scot,” he chuckled self-deprecatingly.
Sunday, and the tournament is really starting, contenders bumping heads.
Melbourne Park was a valley of the giants as Ivo Karlovic, 6-10, Isner, 6-9, and Juan Martin Del Potro, 6-7 – the biggest guys trio — trotted out their stuff.
Then they trotted home because their stuff wasn’t good enough. Big wasn’t beautiful this time around. Tennis ain’t basketball.
It was the – ahem – little guys’ day: Murray 6-3, Nadal 6-1, Marin Cilic 6-6. Cilic the chiller froze out the U.S. Open champ Del Potro, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. (Oh well, Del Potro was my pick.) Theirs was a mad, excrutiating shotmaking battle going to the Croat who almost lost a second rounder to a 17-year-old Aussie, Bernard Tomic, in five sets.
Let me know if you see any Whirling Dervishes.
Tags: Del Potro, Isner, Murray
January 24 2010 05:12 am | Australian Open
Adrian on 25 Jan 2010 at 1:41 am #
Nadal vs Murray would be a fantastic semi finals for every fans in australian open.
jay lassiter on 26 Jan 2010 at 12:54 pm #
This was a great match. Murray will be tough to beat!
anita on 27 Jan 2010 at 3:36 am #
Sadly, Rafa had to retire, his knee giving him too much pain again. Murray played gorgeous tennis. And the fireworks for Australia Day were great.
anita on 27 Jan 2010 at 3:37 am #
I am inclined to agree with you….