It's advantage Murray as three-way battle heats up at Flushing Meadows

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 03: Andy Murray of Great Britain celebrates his 7-5, 7-5 win against Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the Semifinal of Men

Trailing 2-5 in the first set, Novak Djokovic was prepared for a bare-fisted street fight in his semifinal outing against David Ferrer. Tested for the very first time in this year’s US open, the Serbian World No.2 looks like losing the momentum in the early points when the weather played spoilsport. The Spanish bull, Ferrer, is ensuring that the bottom half of the draw, does not lose its steam in the absence of his best friend Rafael Nadal.

I would be surprised if the defending champion comes firing on all cylinders to win the first set, which is under the control of the Spaniard now. Anyway, Nole is never reckoned as a front runner on important matches, which means the first set went the Spaniard’s way. For a Serb who has crawled his way into the semifinals, fighting match points twice against Federer in the last two years, there is still time left for him before pressing the panic button. Even if he loses the first set, he can still afford granting one more to his adversary from Spain before pouncing on him with all guns blazing.

If both the competitors become unrelenting, then we are in for a cracker of a contest. With the men’s singles final having been pushed to Monday, courtesy inclement weather, the fairy tale of Andy Murray cherishing his maiden Grand Slam title looks already scripted. Murray did well against the Czech Tomas Berdych in the second and third sets, after having dropped the first set. When the match was all set to be decided in the final set with Berdych gaining an upper hand in the fourth set tie break, the British No.1 turned the tables by sealing the match with three mini breaks.

Murray gets an extra day off as a result. He could relax calming his mind knowing pretty well that his opponent, whosoever it is going to be in the final, will be troubled by fatigue by the end of the second semifinal. Even otherwise, Andy seems to be a man on a mission. He has been able to swing back matches, which goes the other way, in his favour. It is obvious his negative mindset has got changed, working with the great Ivan Lendl. Barring his match against Raonic, he has not won any of his matches comfortably in this year’s US open so far.

In his match against Feliciano Lopez, when victory was imminent in straight sets, he lost his grip on the match midway. The match went into the fourth set only to be decided on a tie breaker. Again he did not cross paths against an easy opponent in the quarter finals. Marin Cilic, the Croatian, got the early lead by winning the first set and was on the course of capturing the second too, surging ahead 5-1. But, the grinder that he is, Andy staked his claim in the match by not only coming back from the brink to win the second, but also totally demolishing the Croat in the next two sets. Murray is becoming mentally stronger ever since Wimbledon, where he was made to confront powerhouses in the form of big serving opponents, day in and day out.

The once-defensive Brit has now become unpredictable with his shot making. He is mixing his shots very well, at times becoming ruthless from the baseline, executing his forehands. Answering a smash from Berdych yesterday, Murray came up with his own running forehand cross court pass winner with utmost precision and ease. It was one of the many breathtaking shots, which he executed yesterday during third and fourth sets. The backhand slice has been a revelation for him in this year’s final Grand Slam. He is using it as effectively as Federer. His movement has been much swifter than it had been in Wimbledon.

He will be fresh when he encounters either Ferrer or Djokovic in the finals. If Djokovic wins the first set, which looks unlikely now, the match could get over in straight sets. But if it happens the other way, then the match will surely go to wire with both the players ready to indulge in a “no-holds-barred” match. The fighter that Novak is, he will leave no stone unturned to prove to the world as to why he is regarded as the favourite to win the title along with Federer right from day one. So far, the Serb had seen no great resistance from anyone who faced him. Even the powerful game of Juan Martin Delpotro, to whom he lost in Olympics, could not do any real damage. Nole was in hot form at Flushing Meadows until yesterday. Not sure how much energy will be left in him if he enters the final to stand toe to toe with the  British No.1.

Novak always had troubles in his matches against Murray. The grinding game of the Scot has never suited the world No.2, though the latter has a better record in head to head matches. Though he lost the Australian Open final last year in straight sets to the Serb, he has, since then, tasted fair amount of success against him. He was almost reaching the finishing line this year in Melbourne when Novak shifted gears. Only Nole seems to be the player, who can nail him on the hard courts of New York at the moment. But no matter how resilient and tenacious the Serb turns out to be, combating Murray without a couple of days’ break, will not be easy, if the match against the Spanish bull last longer. Of course, it is far fetching to even think of it now as Nole is yet to secure a win to book his place in the grandest stage of all.

Now, what if Ferrer upsets Djokovic? Should it happen, the Scottish player would move closer to holding the winner’s trophy. Beating Ferrer would be far easier for him than to play in a match, which would be different if Nole storms into the final. Right now, he needs to have his focus totally on his game and ensure he does not lose his appetite. If he does that, he is sure to bring back the glorious days of Fred Perry. I truly feel playing two days back to back will take its toll on both Ferrer and Novak and so it is going to be advantage “Andy Murray.”