US Closed

If I hadn't watched the match, I'd be in a state of disbelief upon seeing that the 6th seed Scotsman, Andy Murray, defeated Number 1 Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of the U.S. Open. They played the first part of the match yesterday, with Andy Murray rather easily taking the first two sets against Nadal. Rafa finally went up a break in the third set before it was rained out at 3-2.



Today they resumed play, and although Rafa was more pepped than yesterday, Murray was reminiscent of the way Nadal normally plays. Not only was Murray better physically, but mentally Nadal just looked out of it yesterday. I caught him grimacing and he just generally played a very flat game. In some ways, I think he was just pleased to make the semis and was so tired he was ready to go home. You could see it in his walk on the court and this curious excerpt from his blog before the semis:

"You know me and I will try hard and give it all to win but even if I lose I think that this tournament has been great and reaching for the first time the semis here is good. I always say that to reach the semis and be one of those last four is always a good result. Better to win, obviously."



Not that I am in regular contact with Rafa, but I read all his blogs from the US Open and Wimbledon, and this is the first time I can recall him even mentioning the word "lose." He just seems resigned to it, like he's preparing his fans for him not to move forward.


Bottom line is that Rafa's already had a huge year - French Open title, Wimbledon title, Olympics Gold Medal, semis of the Australian and US Opens - so really I shouldn't be disappointed. But oh how sweet it would've been if he'd won three of the four majors consecutively. Honestly, I think if not for the Olympics, he would've done it, but he's played far more matches than any other semifinalist at 83 (70, 65, and 53 for Djokovic, Federer, and Murray respectively). Understandably the man is not a machine. Let's just hope he rests up in time to put away the USA team in the semis of the Davis Cup in Madrid in a couple of weeks.

So tomorrow Federer goes for his 5th US Open title against Murray. I can't decide who to cheer for. On the one hand, I do love Roger and I currently hate Murray. However, I love Murray's Scottish accent and Federer has already won so many, it's nice to cheer for the underdog. . . . Tough choices. At any rate, Murray will surely climb the ranks next year and I'm sure this won't be the last time he and Nadal face-off. I just hope it's the last time Nadal loses!