Vamos Rafa, the greatest

Posted by Alex Livie on 14/09/2010

Rafael Nadal finally got his hands on the US Open crown to complete his career Grand Slam and it provides yet more ammunition to those, myself included, who feel he is the greatest player ever to pick up a racket.

His win over Novak Djokovic came against the world No. 2 and at present the second best player on the planet - that tag no longer sits on the shoulders of Roger Federer. Djokovic played the game of his life, after shrugging off some first-set lethargy, and traded shot after shot with Nadal. But no matter what Djokovic threw at his opponent, Nadal found a way of getting the job done.

The quality was not brilliant for a set and a half, but after the rain delay it was out of the top drawer and they served up one of the games of the year.

The rivalry between Nadal and Djokovic could eclipse the one between Nadal and Federer. Many wanted a Nadal-Fed final, but that would not have been nice to witness as the Swiss, as good as he has been and still is, would have been chewed up and spat out. Djokovic possesses a weapon on his backhand that Federer does not and it makes life tough for Nadal but such is his stature at present, he can still come up with an answer.

Nadal seems to be managing his body better, on account of a more sensible schedule, and he now has nine grand slams under his belt. At 24 he has, provided his body stays strong, many more slams ahead of him and Federer's record of 16 is within reach.

There will still be those who will champion Federer as the greatest. But he has been in Nadal's slipstream for three years and there is no doubt that Federer would still be waiting for his career Grand Slam had Nadal been fit at the 2009 French Open.

Those who say Nadal is a one-trick power player are utterly wrong. Yes he gives the ball a tremendous thump from the baseline, but he often plays within himself compared to how hard he hits the ball in practice. He has worked on his serve since Paris to make him competitive on the hard courts and he is no slouch around the net.

Whether he can raise the bar much higher remains to be seen, but he has the dedication, support of family and humbleness to not rest on his laurels.

In an era when so many sports stars are in the news pages as much as the sports pages, it is a delight to see Nadal play the game with such joy and then head home to celebrate with his close unit.

A tremendous win from a worthy champion and long may his reign continue.

Murray lost the mental fight

Posted by Alex Livie on 06/09/2010

A worrying sight was witnessed at Flushing Meadows on Sunday: Andy Murray losing a mental battle.

Murray was beaten by an admittedly impressive Stanislas Wawrinka, but it was the manner of the defeat that set alarm bells ringing.

Both players finished the match like punch-drunk boxers and it may be that the Scot was suffering from a physical problem - he did complain of a wrist injury after beating Dustin Brown - but he did not look overly troubled when a set and a break to the good.

Wawrinka possesses as much talent as anybody on tour but has often looked less than hearty when sucked into a battle. So to see Murray surrender a position of such authority is disappointing.

He may well have been rattled by Wawrinka calling the trainer to treat a leg problem at the start of the third set but he really needs to block those things out of his mind.

Time and again we have seen Murray drag himself into drawn out battles by letting his level drop but generally he has won through. Those sorts of games have been against players of inferior ability to the Scot, but this time he came up against a player of comparable talent.

The one thing Wawrinka did not look to possess in comparison to Murray is bottle. But last night instead of doing what he should have done and knock out a good man when he is wobbling, Murray allowed his opponent off the ropes and it cost him dear.

The US Open was a prime chance for him to get a slam under his belt as everything looked to be in his favour but he blinked at the vital moment and will now have four months to think about it before Australia.

Murray needs to show ruthless streak

Posted by Alex Livie on 02/09/2010

Andy Murray made a superb start to his US Open quest with a straight-sets victory over Lucas Lacko and it was good to see him show a ruthless streak.

Murray has the talent to go all the way, but time and again in majors he has wasted energy by winning matches in four and five sets that he should have put away in three. Most of his lapses can be put down to a lack of concentration, but that can be an Achilles heel when you are playing at a major lasting a fortnight.

It is imperative you conserve energy in the early rounds, especially so for Murray who did not kick off his campaign until Wednesday meaning his matches will be squeezed into a tighter timeframe.

Against Lacko, Murray produced the quality play he is famed for, but also recovered from dropping his serve at the start of the second set to close out the match. There would have been times in the past when a dropped serve at the start of a set would have been the catalyst for Murray losing his focus and surrendering a set. But not on this occasion.

Lacko is of limited ability when you talk about players at the top of the tree and up next is a similar player: Dustin Brown – a Jamaican capable of the sublime and the ridiculous.

Truer tests lie ahead for Murray over the course of the next week and a half, but he needs to maintain that ruthless streak.