ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament,                   The Netherlands

[CR4] Andy Murray (GBR) vs. [CR109] Nicolas Mahut (FRA)

If Mahut had any chance of winning this match, he had to end points quickly and win in straight sets. He has shown that he can play for hours, if the points are short; however, in extended rallies, Mahut will lose the majority of the points because he lacks physical endurance and his mobility is hampered by his height. Unfortunately for Mahut when he tried to end points quickly, he made too many errors or he was beaten by brilliant passing shots from Murray.  Did he approach the net indiscriminately?  Perhaps knowing that he is not fit enough for extended rallies, he rushed his approach game and ended up making costly errors.

Murray looked to be in complete control, serving at 5-0 to win the set and match when inexplicably he was broken for the first time.  No player likes to lose a set at “0”; it has to be demoralizing. That was the added incentive Mahut needed to steal a game from Murray. Yet, it was only delaying the inevitable; there was no possibility that Mahut was going to turn this match around.  Murray can make his opponents suffer by pushing them around the court with his drop shots or his powerful groundstrokes.  He simply was the better player in every aspect of the game and Mahut lacked the endurance to really challenge him. Despite briefly losing his focus, he crisply served it out to win 6-3, 6-2.