Andy Murray can defeat Novak Djokovic again, says Mark Petchey
Tuesday 18 August 2015 18:18, UK
Andy Murray has always been capable of ending his Novak Djokovic hoodoo and can repeat his Montreal Masters final victory, says Mark Petchey.
The British No 1 ended an eight-match losing streak to Djokovic on Sunday in the final of the Canadian warm-up tournament prior to the US Open, prevailing 6-4 4-6 6-3 to capture the championship.
Murray’s progress to the Montreal final improves his world ranking from third to second, behind Djokovic, ahead of the Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows.
He hadn’t beaten the Serbian maestro since his famous 2013 Wimbledon triumph but Petchey insists the gap has never been significant between the two players despite Murray’s losing spree.
“I never lost faith in Andy or doubted his ability to beat Novak,” Petchey told Sky Sports.
“It would have stung that it’s taken so long but Murray was very close on a number of occasions.
Beating Djokovic in the build-up to the US Open is what he wanted but, ultimately, winning in the way that he won would have given him even deeper satisfaction.
“He was a break up in the third set in the Australian Open, just a few points from winning that match. It was the same story at the French Open. It wasn’t as though he’s been getting totally outclassed - I always felt that he was within touching distance.
“He’s never been as far away from Djokovic as some people say. Look at the percentage of points won between them. Djokovic has never had the kind of back injury that Murray sustained and he’s been playing without the element of doubt. It’s been an easier couple of years for him.”
Such was the brilliance of Murray’s performance on Sunday night, with a clear improvement on serve and an admirable ability to exceed Djokovic’s physical traits, that it may outweigh the psychological obstacle of toppling the world No 1.
Petchey believes that while Murray has ended his dismal run against Djokovic at the perfect time ahead of the US Open, it will be his own excellence that is the biggest positive to take from Montreal.
“I would have said that the biggest thing to take from the match was getting over the mental hurdle of beating Djokovic,” Petchey said. “But Murray’s tennis was of such a high quality.
“Beating Djokovic in the build-up to the US Open is what he wanted but, ultimately, winning in the way that he won would have given him even deeper satisfaction. It’s something for Novak to mull over, too.
“Winning takes care of everything but winning in style is even better. That’s an important benefit to the win.”
The attention immediately turns to the Cincinnati Masters as the North American hard court season continues, a competition where the rest of the world’s elite will join Djokovic and Murray.
The Scotsman will fancy his chances of a second consecutive title and Petchey is looking forward to seeing him lock horns, once again, with long-time adversary Djokovic.
“Murray’s world No 2 now so the goal is to become No 1,” Petchey said. “These are the tournaments you need to win to do that because Djokovic always does well.
“To get to world No 1, Murray will have to beat Djokovic a few more times. It’s a big component as to how their careers will end up panning out.
“There’s only a small window to celebrate what’s happened because Cincinnati is a great opportunity to put more points on the board.
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“There are other factors in Cincinnati. It can be brutally hot and Murray will be coming in late from Montreal. That turnaround isn’t easy after an epic, adrenaline-fuelled match against your great rival.
“Murray has been capable in the past, and he’s obviously still capable, of winning the biggest tournaments against the best players when they are playing to their maximum.”
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