Rob McLean - Murray melted before the master
Andy Murray's best shot fell short and I became the pariah in my household on Sunday morning and subjected to McEnroe style icy glares.
It was my own fault, of course. I was the only one who wanted Federer to win, but that was the least of my problems as the domestic battle began long before the players got onto the court.
It was sod's law that something might try and get in the way of watching arguably the biggest British tennis occasion in the last 100 years. But I was going nowhere that morning and took control the previous day when my daughter's request to give her a lift to her self defence class, an hour's drive away, resulted in three emphatic aces:''No, absolutely not, don't go there."
''Dad you can listen to it on the radio or record it,'' she said. Yeah right. I didn't bother to point out that it was a bit like being told that you can only watch England in the World Cup final on the Match of the Day highlights.
In the event I got through the first round and it was off to the next challenge as I tried to keep my emotions in check regarding the Swiss genius.
It was hopeless and fake groans to appease everyone when Murray failed to convert had the opposite effect.
My ruse was transparent because they had witnessed by manic celebrations when Federer won the French. But let's not pussyfoot around. Murray beats everyone when he is not playing in Slams but here he totally blew it in the third set.
Five set points. The two easy ones, the forehand and the volley, were shots a player of his class should make in his sleep. Instead they will give him the same nightmares in the way Andy Roddick got with his missed volley at Wimbledon, which would have given him a two sets lead and probable victory over Federer.
A fourth set at Melbourne would have been very interesting and cranked up the pressure on the world No 1, who has been vulnerable in some five-set Grand Slam finals.
Ironically, Murray still holds a 6-5 head to head advantage over Federer. The Scot's meagre consolation is moving to the world No 3 position, and the tears shown will have the Gazza effect and endear him to the nation.
With the words, ''I cry just as well as Federer but can't play like him,'' he has become the new adopted son of Middle England.
Serena Williams, looking as if she had just walked out of accident and emergency, restored the natural order of women's tennis but it was mighty close.
Justine Henin, trying to repeat the feat of her Belgian compatriot Kim Clijsters of coming out of retirement and winning a Slam, fell just short but fired a warning to the rest of the tour.
For Britain's Laura Robson there is real hope for the future after a fantastic month. First it was the Hopman Cup final with Andy Murray, then it was the doubles quarter-finals here at the Australian Open and then runner up in junior singles at the same event.
AN APOLOGY: When I implied in previous blogs that maybe Federer was a spent force because he hadn’t won a title since August, was on the way out and heading for retirement to become a house husband, what I really meant to say was that he is the greatest player who has ever picked up a racket and was lulling us all into a false sense of security.
As the New York Times put it: ''He took the word arguably out of the title of the world's greatest tennis player ever.''
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Date published :
02 Feb 2010 - 08:44:40
