masters16murray_raonic

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1 Response to masters16murray_raonic

  1. Voo de Mar says:
    Points won by each set: | 36-40, 53-50, 49-46 |
    Points won directly behind the serve:
    24 % Murray – 36 of 146
    25 % Raonic – 33 of 128

    # When Murray won an unbelievable Valencia ’14 final, I thought something like that (more than 3-hour victory, being within a few points to lose sets 2 & 3) wouldn’t occur again with his involvement. Murray [1] proved me wrong in that semifinal vs Raonic [4] which is the longest ‘best of three’ match in the event history, and at the time the longest match of this kind in careers of them both. Raonic led with a set and a break (2:1) when the forehand totally deserted him, and his potential routine win slipped away, similarly to their Queens Club final earlier that year (Raonic led 7-6, 3:0). There was 5-all in the 2nd set tie-break, thus the Canadian two points away from a straight set win when Murray played a perfect FH drop-volley (the point behind Raonic’s second serve). In the 3rd set the Canadian led 4:3* (30/0), later on he shocked the spectators as a comeback artist. He not only broke back twice when Murray was serving to win the match, he also improved from a *3:5 deficit in the deciding tie-break, saving three match points and creating his own at 9:8. Murray remained cool then with his fantastic ratio of long tie-breaks; he constructed the point very well, finishing a 9-stroke rally with a comfortable high BH volley winner. On Murray’s fourth MP, Raonic netted his forehand trying to be aggressive. The importance of that thriller was huge – if Murray had lost it, he wouldn’t have finished the year as No. 1 (on the assumption that Djokovic would win his semifinal a few hours later, which happened). The Scot finished the season with a remarkable 23-9 record in tie-breaks (71%), and what’s more staggering to me, it included 8-1 (88%) when the tie-breaks reached 6-all. Throughout his career as a top player, Murray was rarely losing sets when he had a set (match) point, and during the time of his ascendancy to the throne, he took this ability to another level.

    Serve & volley: Murray 0, Raonic 4/7

    # Comparison of Murray’s marathon 2-1 wins:
    Antwerp 2021 (2R): Murray d. Tiafoe 7-6, 6-7, 7-6… 3 hours 45 minutes… Total points: 134-133… 2 m.p.
    London 2016 (SF): Murray d. Raonic 5-7, 7-6, 7-6… 3 hours 38 minutes… Total points: 138-136… 1 m.p.
    London 2016 (rr): Murray d. Nishikori 6-7, 6-4, 6-4… 3 hours 21 minutes… Total points: 130-121… five points away
    Valencia 2014 (F): Murray d. Robredo 3-6, 7-6, 7-6… 3 hours 20 minutes… Total points: 122-121… 5 m.p.

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