Australian Open 2013 Men's Championships: Thoughts and Reflections

After two weeks of mostly entertaining tennis, Novak Djokovic was crowned Australian Open champion for the third year in a row, outlasting Andy Murray 6-7 7-6 6-3 6-2 in a war of attrition. In doing so, he became the first person in the Open Era to do the hat-trick at the Australian Open. Here are some thoughts and reflections from the tournament -

1. Despite the near upset by Stan Wawrinka, Andy Murray is currently the only player capable of defeating Djokovic in a Grand Slam. We don’t know how Rafa’s knees (V 3.0) will perform when he gets back, but since he’s been MIA for over half a year, the jury’s out.

2. Andy Murray did not choke in this final. If anyone doubts the statement, all he or she has to do is watch the very first point of the match. Murray and Djokovic engaged in a brief rally after which Murray thwacked an inside out forehand to Djokovic’s backhand and deservedly got a short ball. His response was to drill an inside-in forehand down the line for a clean winner. That signalled intent. He was just physically worn down. He is arguably the second best player in the world right now, regardless of what the rankings say.

3. Djokovic won the match by being the more superior athlete on the day, not by being the better player. That’s not to say that Murray was better, but for two and a half hours they were going blow for blow. But at the end of the second set, Murray received treatment for a rather nasty looking blister, and while it didn’t noticeably impact his movement, he was hindered. Both these guys operate by yanking their opponents off the court and when they get an opportunity, they look to go in behind them. But when they do it to each other, it leads to long and protracted rallies. And, at their level, a fraction of a second more to get to the ball is the difference between returning a deep penetrating ball and a short ball that the opponent can pounce on. That’s exactly what happened – Murray played far too many short balls in the third and fourth set and Novak duly punished all of them. If nothing else, Djokovic is scarily consistent at doing that.

4. Roger Federer still has game! Up until he reaches the semifinals that is. He’s still good enough to school the next generation of youngsters but he looked half a step slow in the semis against Murray. The only reason that contest went the distance was the fact that Federer had the mental edge and knew that Murray had never beaten him in a Grand Slam. Murray got over that hump. Expect subsequent semis between Federer and Murray/Djokovic to be routine victories against Federer. He may be the greatest of all time, but Murray and Djokovic are a rung above him at present.

5. The world needs Rafael Nadal back. This was never more evident than in the absolute mauling that David Ferrer received at the hands of Djokovic in the semis. Right now, it’s Djokovic and Murray at the top of their games, Federer a rung below them, and its hard to imagine Rafa not being in the same level as them. After the Big Four, there is daylight. Ferrer deserves all the credit coming his way and rightly so. But even he’s admitted that he’s mostly helpless against the Big Four. If he himself doesn’t believe, his current number 4 ranking is largely symbolic. Rafa is returning to play in Chile, which is good news because he gets some free points and hopefully he’s a in a position to be seeded at atleast 4 for the French Open. That’s how the dynamics of the Big Four should be.

6. The next tier of players – Ferrer, Berdych, Del Potro and Tsonga – are in serious need of some introspection, the first three more than the last. Atleast Tsonga acquitted himself partially by pushing Federer to five sets in their quarter final. And he looks to be the only one among them with any chance of breaking the ceiling now made very strong by the Big Four. The other three were listless (Ferrer made it to the semis and justified his seeding, but we all know what happened once he got there).

7. The next generation of players – Raonic, Tomic, Dolgopolov and Dimitrov – still have a long way to go. Half of that quartet were schooled by the great man Federer himself. But with Tomic, there’s hope as he’s working with renewed commitment. Their time will come but it isn’t coming any time soon.

8. Expect Murray to be a contender at Roland Garros. He does know his way around a clay court. He has also trained in the Emilio Sanchez Academy in Barcelona when he was a teen (a fact many people either don’t know or have conveniently forgotten). Don’t worry, Nadal and Djokovic are still the clear favourites, but expect Murray to hang with them and possibly produce an upset with an aggressive game.

Whether we are indeed witnessing a golden era in tennis or not, let us just enjoy the entertainment provided by the leading quartet of Djokovic, Murray, Federer and Nadal and their rivalries and personalities and quirks.