This is a match that I've always felt has never got enough credit as it deserved, and one where Andy Murray was the one dictating the points and being aggressive at every opportunity he got. A far cry from the pairs following matches, especially in the slams where Murray lets the nerves get the better of him. The beginning of the 2007 year was an interesting one, especially if you look at it in retrospect. Federer and Nadal were the top 2 and were dominating the sport like never before, and there were no real consistent challengers to the pair at the slams. The two players that would join them and create the "big 4" were young up and comers who were steadily climbing the rankings at 15 and 16. Of course I'm talking about Murray and Djokovic. Nole had been talking a lot of smack in the lead up to his round of 16 match against Federer and the Swiss number one dished out a tennis lesson that night, disposing of the young Serbian in straight sets. The following night Nadal would take on the other young gun Murray in another 4th round encounter. I've always thought that it was pretty interesting that this was the moment that the current top 4 and the big guns in the game really started their rivalry that would captivate the tennis world in the many years to come.
Anyway, back to the topic match. Murray had come into this match a fresh faced youngster, keen to make an impression in front of the world, and more importantly Britain, who were crying out for another top tennis player on the back of Tim Henman's retirement. It was a balmy night in Melbourne on Rod Laver Arena and Rafa had the sleeveless shirt on, boy this was a long time ago! The first set was a very tight affair, with both players holding serve until the tiebreak, which Murray managed to edge 7-3. It was a high quality set of tennis and some of the best these two have produced in their rivalry. It must be said that Nadal's game matches up well for Murray but at this point of time, it was new exciting stuff that the general public hadn't witnessed before. Murray would flatten out his groundstrokes, particularly the backhand, and really take the initiative in the baseline duels, which he still does to an extent against Nadal, but scarcely against other top players.Nadal, ever the resilient, would proceed to claw his way back into the match and take the second set 6-4. He went about his business in typical Nadal fashion, so no need to write too much about that. Kept the ball in play and let his younger opponent think about the situation and who he was playing against. This was when Murray would let his team have a gobfull. Brad Gilbert was his coach at the time and his response when this happened would be to simply laugh and look away. He'd been with Agassi through the tough times so this wasn't anything to him at all.
Murray would be forgiven if he kind of went away after the disappointment of losing the second set. After all, he was still a young kid trying to find his mark on the tour and yet to reach the last 8 at a slam. Perhaps the magnitude of the occasion was too big for him now? Wrong. The Scot managed to turn the tide and snatch the 3rd set 6-4. I still maintain to this day that this match was the hardest I've ever seen Murray hit the ball. He would take Nadal's heavy topspin balls on the rise and hit through the ball, flattening out his forehand and backhand. I'm not saying he should revert back to this now, or against other opponents because his grinding style has obviously worked for him, but it would not be a bad option to be more aggressive from time to time, especially in today's contemporary tennis climate.
Murray had his chances to wrap this match up in 4. He was ahead 2-1 and had 15-40 on Nadal's serve but the Spaniard managed to get his way out of that game. Then at 3-3 and Murray serving, he was up 40-15 and proceeded to get broken. He would only win one more game for the match, with Nadal taking the 4th 6-3 and the final set 6-1. This was to be expected at the time, a young player overawed in the fact that he was so close to beating the world number 2 in a slam and announcing to the world that he had officially arrived. Gilbert and the Murray team absolutely copped the abuse in the final stages of the 4th set and the entire 5th set has Murray became aware that the match was slipping away from him and that Nadal had seized control. Nadal's demeanour never changed throughout the match, he was his usual relentless self and let Murray self implode when the match was nearing its climax.
All in all, one of the matches of the tournament and one of the best in a rivalry that is sure to still have many more tough battles in the future.
Check out some of the highlights here:
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