The Champion vs The Contender. This was how the Australian Open final clash between Roger Federer and Andy Murray was being billed. Federer - chasing his fourth grand slam at the Rod Laver Arena - had been in patchy form in the run up to the final. Murray, on the other hand, had had a much smoother sailing and was looking good enough to become the first Britisher to win a grand slam in 74 years having dropped just one set throughout the tournament. Both had won their respective semi finals in emphatic fashion; Federer crushing Tsonga in straight sets, and Murray, despite losing the first set, winning the next three emphatically.
First Set
So when they walked on to the Rod Laver arena on a sunny Sunday afternoon, it would have taken an extremely brave man to predict the winner of this contest. The match began in a pretty sedate manner with Federer taking the 2-0 lead in the first set. But Murray was soon able to break him and took a 3-2 lead. Federer however broke him immediately in the next game to level it at 3-3 and then took the set 6-3 to set the tempo. The interesting part about the first set was that none of these two looked in top form. Federer, even though he was executing his normal back hand flicks didn't look like settling into some sort of rhythm. Murray, on the other hand, seemed to have stage fright. He was moving around stiffly, his forehand just seemed to have deserted him, and he seemed tentative when it came to attacking Federer and taking half chances. You don't turn up like this against Fedex and expect to win.
Second set
Murray's zombie act continued in the second set as he fumbled more forehands. In contrast, Federer seemed to re-discover his touch as he went all out for the kill breaking Murray twice to take a 3-0 lead. Murray tried to fight back after that but this was just not supposed to be his day. With the second set scoreline reading 5-4, and Federer leading 40-15 for the Federer had two set points in his hand. Murray rallied to fend off one set point, but couldn't stop Federer from taking the set on the second one.
Third Set
With two sets in his pocket, Federer proceeded to take Murray apart again in the third one. And he seemed to be succeeding after breaking Murray's serve for the umpteenth time. But for the first time in the match Murray seemed to come alive and play the game he is capable of. He had declared before the match that if he can play at his best then defeating Federer cannot be a very difficult task for him. But throughout the first two sets he looked far from the man we expected to walk out onto the court. In this set however, with the scoreline reading 3-2 in favor of Federer, Murray started showing the kind of game that made people proclaim him as the main challenger for Federer. He broke Federer twice to take a 5-3 lead. And all of a sudden there were whispers going on about a five-setter. The broadcasting networks began to pull out statistics on how these two had done in five-setters, how many games had Murray won after losing the first two sets, and how many had Federer lost from the same position. For the first time in the match Federer seemed to be on the back foot. True, Federer had worked hard earlier in the match for his points, but most of the time he had been in control. Here, all of a sudden Murray's forehand - which had deserted him so far - seemed to return. He was packing in a lot more punch behind his shots, and was covering the court in a much better manner.
But the surge in energy lasted only for those few points. Federer fought back two set points - out of the total of 6 that Murray had in this set - to level the score at 6-6. In the tie breaker, Murray started off well to take a 6-4 lead to earn his third set point. But Federer came up with two superb aces to level the score and drag the match back into his favor. Indeed, the timing of Federer's aces - he seemed to come up with one at will whenever he needed - was impeccable. Infact, with the score at 6-5, Federer reeled off three aces in a single game to enforce the tie breaker. But, it wasn't such a perfect day for Fedex either as he squandered two championship points to give Murray some hopes of a fourth set. But those hopes were soon dashed as - with Federer having a championship point - he buried a tired backhand into the net.
As Federer exploded with joy, Murray saw his hopes of winning the first grand slam after Fred Perry going up in smoke. But if there is someone who can be blamed for Murray's loss then it's the man himself. He just didn't turn up. Let alone raising his game up for the big occasion, he couldn't even maintain the quality of his game that had got him to the finals. Sport can be quite cruel at times, and none more so if there are a million people pinning their hopes on you. The weight of expectations finally seemed to fall on his shoulders as Andy Murray sobbed unabashedly in front of the crowd that had come to support him. Just one statement during the presentation ceremony summed up his anguish: "I can cry like Roger Federer after losing a final, but I wish I could play like him.". You had to feel for him at that moment. Against any other opponent he would have taken this game to the fifth set, if not won it - even with the way he played on this day. But he wasn't up against any other man. He was up against a man who has conquered the pinnacle of the sport he plays, and can be talked about in the same breath as Mohammad Ali, Pele, Don Bradman and many other luminaries who have lit up their respective sports with thei dazzling display. A word about the man before signing off. An year ago when he stood in place of Murray, sobbing before the huge crowd, it was hard not to feel that his aura was gone. And that leave alone breaking Sampras' record, it would be a great achievement if he could just win another grand slam. But here he was, having won the third out of the four grand slam finals that he has played since then, and he had hardly broken a sweat. And you have to wonder, who will be good enough to stop this juggernaut before age and slow reflexes do the favor for other players. Maybe a fully fit Rafael Nadal can provide the answer.
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