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If you are a Murray fan like me, his performances in Grand Slams will likely have you a little frustrated. Of course, it’s amazing that he is even competing at the highest level given the injuries and surgeries he has been through. Oh – and he also has a metal hip! But regardless of the past and his ailments, Murray still has what it takes to beat the top guys. He has shown this time and time again over the last 18 months or so. But here’s the issue, he cannot seem to get the job done in major tournaments.
My goal here is to identify why this is happening. Let’s be honest, a guy like Murray who has won three Grand Slams isn’t going to be overly pleased with losing in the opening few rounds of these major events. So what is going on with him when it comes to the top level? Well, I’ve shared my two cents on this below.
Murray’s Game and Grand Slam Performances
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If you’ve followed Andy Murray throughout his career, you’ll know that he has been one of the most talented guys around in his time. Then again, he has won three Grand Slam titles, which doesn’t happen by accident. But ever since the surgery, he has struggled to get back up there and perform to the best of his ability in the biggest events in tennis. This is to be expected in a way, especially when you consider that it’s a miracle in itself that he is back towards the top of the game.
However, Murray states that he still wants to compete for slams, so what is missing? Here are my thoughts:
Maintaining His Level
Believe it or not, Murray has not gone beyond the third round at a major since 2017. This tells you all you need to know really about his performances at Grand Slams. However, it’s not like he has been blown out of the water at slams in the last four or five years. He has been involved in some four and five-set battles against some of the top guys. But it’s the trouble of maintaining the quality of his tennis over five sets that seems to be a problem.
Keeping Up With the Pace
This is something that I have noticed repeatedly with Murray in recent times. And to be honest, this is especially true against the younger guys. In the best of three matches against some of the younger guys, sure, he has managed to wriggle through. But at Grand Slams, he seems to be off the pace, so to speak. During long and gruelling rallies he is struggling to take control and get his opponents on the run. And this really takes it out of him over five sets.
Going the Distance
You may have noticed a pattern regarding my concerns for Murray here. That pattern is the trouble he has when a match goes to four or even five sets. As his matches drag on and on, he tends to slow down, his groundstrokes have less venom on them, and he ultimately loses the match because of this. I’m not sure whether it is a fitness issue or whether his hip does give him trouble after a set number of hours. But either way, this needs to improve before he is to challenge for slams once again.
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