Miami Match Thread (Murray wins!)

by Silver Wed 20 Mar 2013 - 20:52

First topic message reminder :

After watching Rafael Nadal complete a triumphant hardcourt transition at Indian Wells and break his own record for Masters titles won, the tour rumbles on and circles the wagons at Key Biscayne, Miami. The Miami Masters has been held here since 1987, after originally setting up at none other than Delray Beach in 1985. The cream generally seems to rise to the top at Miami, and by far the most prolific winner of the tournament is Andre Agassi, who notched up an amazing six titles over the course of his career. Amongst currently active players who are present at the 2013 tournament, only Djokovic, Murray and Davydenko have lifted the title previously - though Berdych was a finalist in 2010. Although Federer and Nadal are missing, the vast majority of the tour seems to have turned up, and hopefully we'll have an interesting tournament this year.

Prize: $719,160 (purse of $5,185,625), which marks an increase from last year. And of course, 1000 precious ranking points are on offer to the winner.
Defending champion is Novak Djokovic, who defeated Andy Murray in straight sets in 2012. He also won the 2011 tournament, and is therefore going for a hat-trick of wins.
Click for an updated draw on the ATP website.
Morning sessions typically begin at 11:00 local time, and evening sessions around 20:00.

by ryan86 Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 4:57

Oh, maybe not.

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 4:57

5-4... Ferrer to break serve to stay in the match next

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 4:58

Unsurprisingly, Ferrer cracks.

All he needs to do now is break serve Cool

by Cogen Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 4:58

If Murray doesn't serve this next game out, I am going to get on a plane, hunt him down... and... and... hand him a very angry letter!

... and kick him in the nuts... maybe. Run

by ryan86 Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 4:59

He'll probably hold to love.

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 4:59

Hes a dogfighter is our Muzz, but it seems like he can only play when hes in one. Oh to be a fed fan 8 -9 years ago.

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:00

Is this just me or does Murray seem to have a low 1st serve percentage on "big points"

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:01

nope, hes choking it again

by Cogen Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:03

by summerblues Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:03

The most hilarious set of tennis I have seen in a while.

by LuvSports! Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:05

so murray served for the match and choked?

by Cogen Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:06

Yes... hilarious...

Crying or Very sad

by summerblues Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:06

That should do it. David just needs to break the set out now.

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:11

Hes more aggressive now Muzz but hes lost his tennis brain, or likely he not using it anymore,

by CaledonianCraig Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:11

If David Ferrer wins I say well done to him it will be thoroughly deserved. Murray just has not been good enough today.

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:12

I hope Ferrer does win it... he deserves it, Murray should not go to number 2 on the back of this...

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:20

bit o luck at the tb start for muzz

by ryan86 Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:20

This is exhausting.

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:20

ferrers givin away now... this is soo weird

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:22

ferrers leg collapses on him...

by summerblues Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:24

It was not pretty, but congrats Andy.

by Cogen Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:24

THANK YOU ANDY! notworthy

I HATE tie-breakers, but that was the least tense I can remember being in a tie-breaker for a loooong time.

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:25

GSM Muzz... crikey, i feel there may be some debate on the back on this one, but well done to both, more guts than anything ive seen

by prostaff85 Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:25

I guess on the wikipedia page of the word "slugfest', a YouTube link to this match could be posted Very Happy

by socal1976 Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:25

Well we have a new world #2 on monday, the heat, the nervers, the match up of two great retrievers and returners made for a match that lacked winners but in my mind made up for it in twists and turns and competiveness. Poor ferrer challenging on championship point.

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:26

phew errs to unforced 14-50 ferrer 23-45 murray

by **laverfan** Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:27

Well done Murray!. clap

Ferrer, that last challenge will be a stark reminder of how close he was. :console:

by bogbrush Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:28

prostaff85 wrote:I guess on the wikipedia page of the word "slugfest', a YouTube link to this match could be posted

True. Well gutsed-through.

Pity about attacking, risk taking tennis though.

Still, never mind that; just think about the quantity.

by CaledonianCraig Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:29

It wasn't a classic lacking outright winners and more solid serving. Ferrer deserved it I would say as he was more consistent but Murray can take credit for winning despite being a level or two below his best. Andy seals his ninth Masters title and moves to No.2 in the world. Congratulations Andy but must up your level for the clay court season.

by ryan86 Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:29

Guying choking on his speech. laughing

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:29

tense indeed... too tense for my stone heart

by **JuliusHMarx** Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:29

falzy21 wrote:phew errs to unforced 14-50 ferrer 23-45 murray

Ferrer hit 14 winners in 200+ points.

by NickisBHAFC Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:30

Fantastic game of Tennis, was a really enjoyable game to watch. Great bit of character from Murray to come from behind to win, after his dreadful start. But Ferrer full credit to him, played some lovely tennis and seems to be improving whenever i see him play.

by erictheblueuk Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:30

Looking at the way they play, it's hard to believe either guy is in the top 10.

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:31

Ive never said this before, but i do think they have to star thinking about making things quicker, least on HC, save this for the clay. It does hurt the tennis a lil i feel but more than that someone is gonna get more than injured one day.

by Gerry SA Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:33

I don't see what the fuss about World Number 2 is.

Murray could easily be in the same half as Nadal and Federer on the European a Clay season.

by LuvSports! Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:33

golden era my left buttock!

by **laverfan** Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:33

falzy21 wrote:Ive never said this before, but i do think they have to star thinking about making things quicker, least on HC, save this for the clay. It does hurt the tennis a lil i feel but more than that someone is gonna get more than injured one day.

Quite agree, Falzy. There were also complaints about trainer being available to one vs another player.

by CaledonianCraig Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:34

falzy21 wrote:I hope Ferrer does win it... he deserves it, Murray should not go to number 2 on the back of this...

Sorry I take issue with this. Murray getting to No.2 comes on the back of three slam finals on the bounce (one slam win), an Olympic title and this Masters title coupled with his run last Autumn. That certainly merits the No.2 slot even though Andy was far from his best today. I take it as a sign of a great player who wins a Masters title despite being below your best.

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:38

No no Cal I agree with you there, he deserves to be number 2 on merit, of course he does, i didnt word it well, its just he threw it away soo much, 4 yimes i think he was a break up? I felt Ferrer was the guy I felt should have got it, its just that Andy on that form isn't really his number 2 form, i might have preferred him to get it in the clay court, playing more fluently cos he was bound to get it anyway

by CaledonianCraig Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:41

Yes falzy it wasn't great today. However, Djoko wasn't great against Haas and lost in 4th Round here but nobody says he didn't merit No.1 on the strength of that one random match.

Hopefully, better (more consistent form) to come from Murray but there is nothing wrong with his guts.

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:43

Fair enough, bear in mind im a Muzz fan and i wrote that in the middle of the third set... never felt soo up and down for a Muzz match, even wimbo 2012, on a year performance hes the clear number 2, it was an odd match to seal it though

by CaledonianCraig Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:45

It was a very weird match and very frustrating for Murray fans. He won and am delighted about that but his form throughout was patchy and have noted he was having back problems earlier in the week. Here is hoping he can now have an improved clay court season and cement that No.2 spot.

by Guest Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:51

cementing it looks likely regardless of his form, both Fed and Nadal have plenty of points to hold onto in this stretch and Fed in particular's gonna start off a bit rusty

by banbrotam Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:53

LuvSports! wrote:so murray served for the match and choked?

No. He was up agaisnt the current best returner on a court that is a returners dream in baking hot sun and high humidity

We have some wonderfully understanding members on these boards Rolling Eyes

by banbrotam Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:59

[quote="bogbrush"]

prostaff85 wrote:Pity about attacking, risk taking tennis though

For that watch the Murray v Gasquet match. After his usual dopey start Murray produced 30-odd winners in the next two and half sets against a good player on form

Or did you miss it? Rolling Eyes

I ask, because we will have the usual suspects droning on about how poor the rallies were, where have all the attackers gone, why do they allow such slow conditions, when will we have an economy growing at faster than 2% blah blah blah picard

by CaledonianCraig Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 5:59

banbrotam wrote:
LuvSports! wrote:so murray served for the match and choked?

No. He was up agaisnt the current best returner on a court that is a returners dream in baking hot sun and high humidity

We have some wonderfully understanding members on these boards

Yes. I will throw in an observation that holds more water - what guts and bottle from Murray. He looked out on his feet and down on form but still steeled himself and pulled through. Like he said post-match, this was a match that he would have lost a couple of years ago.

by The Special Juan Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 6:00

Oh my, what a match. It was certainly ~~entertaining~~ ~~thrilling~~ ~~high quality~~ interesting.

Daveed.... What can I say. Even I was near cheering him on at one point. You could just see him break when the ball was shown to have landed in. I think once his mental strength slipped he felt the physical pain and never fully recovered. Vamos Daveed clap

. Frankly, I think he deserved to win but unfortunately in life, you don't get what you deserve.

As for Sir Andrew, I think he can take positives and negatives from this week. The main plus is that he won the tournament without playing particularly well for a whole match. We saw glimpses but nothing more. The main negative is the bad case of Double Faultitis he's had this week and, generally, very poor serving. Maybe it was the conditions, I don't know, but I certainly want to see an improvement come a few weeks time.

Roll on MC, hopefully Novak and Nadal are in the same half devil

by banbrotam Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 6:01

Incidentally, Murray, in the past month, has played at his best for around an hour - don't get the impression that I think this is good stuff he's just played

But I think some people need to take into account the brutal conditions they had today

by banbrotam Mon 1 Apr 2013 - 6:05

The Special Juan wrote: The main negative is the bad case of Double Faultitis he's had this week and, generally, very poor serving. Maybe it was the conditions, I don't know, but I certainly want to see an improvement come a few weeks time

I'm unconcerned, simply because the rest of his game has on admittedley rare occassions looked electric and he is still a bit rusty

Del Potro, Gasquet, Ferrer and even the 'new' Cilic are not players you can rock up and beat if you're a little undercooked - but he did so

The gamble has paid off - I maintain that we won't see him at his very best until probably Madrid

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