| 15 August 2010
For two of the top four players in the world, Roger Federer and Andy Murray sure have had forgettable seasons so far.
Of course by other players standards the one Grand Slam title and two quarterfinal appearances by Federer would constitute a dream year while Andy Murray's Aussie Open final and Wimbledon semi-final showing aren't too shabby either.
The problem for these two court magicians is that they are not judged merely against the other players on the ATP Tour, but against their own greatness and achievements from years past as well.
Roger Federer would top the list of most people's all-time tennis greats while at 23 years old, Murray is probably the most talented player on tour to have yet to win a major.
If we rewind to a year ago, these were the top two players on tour at this stage of the season. By August 2009, Federer had reached the final of Australia, won his first French Open and re-gained his Wimbledon title. He had returned to the pinnacle of the rankings and had overtaken Pete Sampras for the most Grand Slam singles titles in the history of the sport.
Andy Murray had won four titles by the time he came to the Rogers Cup in Montreal and was about to add the Canadians Masters event to his list for number five. He had already taken titles in Doha, Miami, Rotterdam and a grass court tune-up event in London. The buzz approaching the U.S. Open had his name as a serious favourite.
Given his comments this week I have to wonder if Murray believes in himself enough at this stage to make the leap to Grand Slam champion. He still refers to the best players in the world without seeming to include himself in that conversation. It is as if he views them as being above him despite the fact he has beaten Federer, Nadal and Djokovic several times during his young career.
"You never expect...to beat the best players in the world, but I think if I play my best tennis like I did today, I have a very good chance against all of them," Murray said yesterday after defeating Nadal 6-3, 6-4.
One area where Murray has yet to show the necessary self-confidence is when he meets Federer in tournament finals. Despite leading their head-to-head career series 6-5, all of which have come on hard-courts, Murray is 0-3 against him when a trophy is on the line. In their two Grand Slam finals at the '08 U.S. Open and the '10 Australian Open, Federer coasted easily to straight set wins. A victory for Murray today will signal a turn in the right direction even if it is not yet at the finals of one of the big ones.
One area where both players converge here in Toronto is that they have both experienced coaching adjustments since Wimbledon. Federer has decided to add Paul Annacone to his team on a trial basis while Murray has inexplicably split from longtime coach Miles MacLagan. So far the moves seem to be paying dividends for them although both players have said they are taking a cautious approach moving forward.
"I'm not going to rush into hiring a coach unless I feel like it's the right person, because it's a big commitment, you know," Murray stated. "I don't want to pick someone or choose someone right before the U.S. Open and make a mistake. Then I will sit down after...and think about what I want to do."
Roger Federer took a slightly more humorous approach to answering a question about his new relationship with Annacone as he said, "It's very romantic. Look, it's going okay. I mean, we don't go to candlelight dinner every night. I have a wife, you know."
Federer continued on a more serious note by saying that, "...we don't know yet if he's going to come to Cincy. We're debating that. He's a nice guy. So far it's been doing well, so we will see how it goes tomorrow."
Given their play this week I'd give a slight edge to Murray in today's final. He has breezed through his past two matches against David Nalbandian and then yesterday versus Nadal. He's as composed as I've ever seen him on the court and has displayed a strong command of keeping his shots aggressive while still between the lines.
Federer has certainly taken a more dramatic route to the finals. His last two victories thrilled the Toronto night time crowds as he came back from a 2-5 third set deficit against Tomas Berdych in the quarters and negated two break points while serving at 5-5 in the third against Novak Djokovic last night in the semis.
Despite the extra tennis, Roger says he feels fresh heading into the match against Murray. He is now on the cusp of his first title since beating the Scot in Australia, while Murray is remarkably on the verge of just his first title of 2010.
Redemption awaits one of these two great players as they both seek a Canadian confidence booster two weeks before the final Grand Slam of the year.
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