Andy Murray of Great Britain celebrates match point aganst Rafael Nadal of Spain during the semifinals of the Rogers Cup at the Rexall Centre on August 14, 2010 in Toronto, Canada.
For Andy Murray, the great equalizer in his rivalry with Rafael Nadal is not equipment, momentum, mood or skill, but rather surface. On hardcourts, against tennis's top-ranked player, Murray has dominated recently.
After Murray again bullied Nadal on that surface Saturday in a 6-3, 6-4 victory and after he secured a spot in another Rogers Cup final, Murray respectfully disagreed with those who termed his latest victory an upset. Instead, it seemed like a trend.
"You never expect to beat the best players in the world," he said. "But if I play my best tennis, like I did today, I have a very good chance against all of them."
On Friday, after Nadal moved into the semifinals, it was fair to wonder if his latest run -- 34 victories, including the French Open and Wimbledon titles, in his last 35 matches before Saturday's -- was the best stretch of his career.
But on Saturday, the focus returned to his hardcourt struggles, particularly in North America. Nadal has not won a tournament this year on that surface, despite leading the ATP World Tour in tournaments won, with five. The United States Open remains the only Grand Slam event Nadal has not won, although he has played through a series of injuries in recent years.
Perhaps Saturday's result had more to do with Murray, who pounded aces and mixed booming backhands with well-timed drop shots, and less to do with Nadal, who won the 2008 Olympic title on hardcourts in Beijing. Murray described the surface as his most comfortable afterward. Nadal, of course, is best on clay and imposing anywhere.
Roger Federer, of course, is also one of the greats. On Saturday night, he moved closer to an emphatic statement, winning a three-set cliffhanger against Novak Djokovic. If Federer wins the final, he will have beaten Tomas Berdych, Djokovic and Murray in three days, thereby declaring his potential for New York and dismissing concerns over his age. He will return to No. 2 in the rankings on Monday.
Federer nearly buried Djokovic early, but they ended up playing a thrilling third set, in which both players broke serve and Djokovic nearly broke twice. At 5-5, Federer held on to win the game behind a series of big serves, eventually vanquishing Djokovic, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5.
"Well, look, I thought he was pretty tired at the end -- and he's the younger guy," Federer joked. "So that's a good sign." He will play Murray in the final Sunday.
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SOURCE: The New York Times
