A sensational performance by Andy Murray ends Roger Federer's hopes of ever winning an Olympic singles Gold medal. Murray played a perfect match from start to finish to demolish Federer in the final in three straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
It was fairly evident in the semi-finals that Andy was the strongest player in the bunch. He pushed Djokovic all the way until he found the opportunity to break him once in each set. For me this was like a final, the way both players executed there shots to perfection was something I haven't seen in a match for a long time. But this isn't the same Djokovic of last year. His momentum has definitely subsided, and I feel it all stems from this year's French Open final when he lost to Nadal. After almost completing an unlikely comeback, his confidence and eagerness seems to have dropped and I feel we are going back to the old Djokovic who would usually linger around the semi final stage and then disappear. In the other semi, it was a grueling battle between Federer and Del Potro. A final set victory at 19-17 for Federer says it all really. This really was an epic encounter between two great players, a match I feel pretty much sucked the life out of Federer. The emotion showed by both players at the end showed the passion they have for the sport and their countries. Had this been a more comfortable victory for Federer, the final may have panned out a little differently. But take nothing away from Murray, he simply outclassed the 17 time grand slam champion with every shot. It was a major shock, although I was pretty adamant that Murray was going to win, I never thought it would be so one-sided.
Murray can now be considered a GENUINE grand slam contender. His record this year speaks for itself. Runner-up at the Australian Open, semi-finalist at the French, Runner-up at Wimbledon and now Olympic Champion. Going into the US Open he is now the favourite, especially as hard courts are his preferred surface. In fact, if he doesn't win the US, I feel he will have lost the best chance of ever winning a Grand Slam again. That's not to say he won't ever win a major, because I think he will, but going into this tournament, there are some huge factors to consider. Federer is definitely beginning to show his age on the court and a tight schedule means in only a few weeks he's back playing more five set tennis. As I said before about Djokovic, this is not the same player of last year or at least the beginning of this year at the Australian Open, Murray at the moment is playing a lot better than Novak. And as for Nadal well, he's just coming back from injury and as things stand, he may not even feature at the US. If he does I don't see him causing any sort of damage to the top players, which is a shame, because I have really missed Nadal. Now you can see why Murray must and should win the US Open, it's all opened up really nicely for him and if he plays like he did against Federer in the Olympic final, then anything is possible.
But I'm usually wrong though, Federer will end up playing a blinder of a tournament and win his 18th Slam, but truth be told, if it's anything like Wimbledon and/or Olympics then Murray should have this one. The only other player outside the big four who could potentially cause an upset is Juan Martin Del Potro. This player can easily integrate himself within the top four players and as a US Open winner in 2009, this is someone who could make the semi-finals at least or better yet, may even win it. Yes there are other players who are in with a shout, Ferrer, Tsonga, Berdych, Isner, but have these players got the game to win the title? No. Have these players got the potential to cause an upset? Yes. Only a few more weeks and we will find out, can't wait!
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