By Chris Oddo | Friday, June 5, 2015
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were sent to the showers when darkness and rain interrupted their French Open semifinal in the fourth set.
Photo Source: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Andy Murray spoiled Novak Djokovic’s plan to roll into the French Open final without the loss of a set on Friday in Paris. Then a summer storm and fading daylight spoiled Murray’s plans to force a winner-take-all decider.
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The grade? Incomplete. The scoreline? Djokovic leads 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 3-3. The synopsis? Though neither player got what they wanted on Friday, fans certainly did.
Mother Nature may have prevailed temporarily, but in the end destiny will have its say about whether Djokovic will continue his march to the title and the long-pined for Career Grand Slam or whether Murray will pull the ultimate counterpunch to prematurely dethrone the Serb in the midst of his ascension.
Right now, it’s anybody’s guess, and that in and of itself is a giant victory for Murray. The Scot was run ragged by Djokovic for the better part of two and a half sets on Friday, yet somehow he managed to keep some semblance of a foothold in the match.
When he saved two break points at 2-3 in the third set and held to level, most felt that Murray was really only delaying the inevitable. But Murray, loser of seven straight to Djokovic and clearly the lesser player to that point, managed to summon some magic moments at 5-5, and turn it into a lightning bolt of momentum.
At 15-love, Murray did this:
On the next point he bedazzled again, winning a protracted rally by following a running crosscourt forehand with a seared forehand winner. One point later, Murray had set up his first break point of the day.
How Murray, one of the best returners in the sport, had not managed a break point against Djokovic for nearly three sets on clay should tell you everything you need to know about the form of the Serb up until that point. He was brazen and blazing, firing on all cylinders, laying down textbook approaches, counterpunches, volleys—you name it.
Yet somehow Murray took his lifeline, seized it by claiming the break for 6-5, then played a near-perfect service game to force a fourth set.
Suddenly a simple exercise in Djokovician otherworldliness had become a cranky, clay-stained dogfight. Suddenly Djokovic’s buzzsaw had given way to Murray’s buzzkill.
Nobody could have seen it coming when Murray, with so little room for error against a top-flight Djokovic, dropped 12 of the final 13 points of the first set to fall behind.
Nor when Murray had gagged on a simple overhead, sending it awkwardly long to get broken for the second set.
Murray had managed to match Djokovic’s level on many occasions during the first two sets and a half, but his errors came at critical junctures. And when they did, Djokovic was there to pounce.
But as clouds drifted in and daylight faded, Murray stayed the course. Early in the fourth it looked like Djokovic would again assert his dominance but he uncharacteristically squandered a triple break point and was broken in the next game instead to fall behind 2-1.
Djokovic would reclaim the break, and some of his sparkling form, by the middle of the set, but after Murray bounced back from 0-30 to hold for 3-all another, more invincible opponent took the court.
Rain and darkness put a halt to this topsy-turvy affair and each man left the court, no doubt thinking both of what could have been done and what must be done.
Play is scheduled to resume at 1 P.M. Paris time on Saturday.