Paris in early June.The sun was shining on Novak Djokovic, who had just completed his career grand slam winning the one trophy missing from his illustrious cabinet, the Musketeers trophy at the French Open. The vanquished,who sat mopping his sweat for the second slam in a row was Andy Murray.Few would have predicted at that point how the second half of the season would unravel.The odds of a “ calendar grand slam “ and record number of grand slam singles were being made and discussed.For Andy though,the season had just started.He had beaten the world number 1 in the Italian Open final a few weeks earlier for his first title of the year. Just preceding the start of the grass season, he had reunited with Ivan Lendl, who he had experienced success with in the past leading up to his 2013 Wimbledon crown.Why Lendl came back to engage in a busy schedule of Team Murray is a wonder as he had left Andy for similar issues in the past. Maybe he missed the tour too much.
His wins in the Queens and Wimbledon at the turn of the grass court season led the revival.On both occasions he had defeated Milos Raonic, the up and coming Canadian, convincingly.In a year where including Raonic, many had overlooked playing in Rio Olympics for various reasons,Murray was out to flirt with history.He made the trip to South America and defended his gold medal in a hectic but thrilling display which culminated in a four set win again Juan Martin Del Potro who was on a comeback trail. He became the only player to have won back to back gold in successive Olympics.
His work didn’t stop then.Almost as soon as Rio ended ,even before the closing ceremony, he was on a flight north in excess of 5,000 miles to continue his hardcourt tuneup at the masters event in Cincinnati,Ohio. It was a tough follow up act and he lost in the final in straight sets to Marin Cilic.The fight for the us open crown also ended eventually in a five set thriller to Kei Nishikori in the quarters. By the time he had reached Beijing in early October,his Davis cup defence for Great Britain was also over courtesy of a five set thriller with Del Potro.
The season still had a lot to offer.He began his streak on non stop wins from the indoor courts of the China Open.He rolled in ten straight sets wins in China as he took the Shanghai Masters alongside Beijing in style.He capped off a perfect October with a win in Vienna as he chased the world no 1 ranking which many said is unattainable.
In Paris as the final Masters event of the event got underway, Novak had an appalling time with injury and results in the autumn.His only tournament since the Flushing meadows final defeat to Stan Wawrinka was a semi final loss in Shanghai. He had to reach the final to retain the ranking.The quest for that ended with a quarters loss to Marin Cilic.He had obviously lost a lot of form in the running. A rejuvenated Murray took the Masters title in some ease and with that the World No 1 ranking.
The Tour finals awaited in 02 arena,London.Back in home territory,Murray with the no 1 ranking behind his back was on Cloud no 9. He made into a tourney no 9 of the year by defeating Novak in the final with ease.That was after what could only be said as one of the best non grand slam semi finals of the year between Milos and Andy which was played with jaw dropping passes and strokes of the highest quality.
So a 2016 in what had begun with Novak’s complete annihilation ends with a 25 match winning streak, a first world no 1 ranking as well as Tour finals win. In all, he played a brutal 87 matches with a 78-9 record.The stamina and work ethic is at its peak. Many would now believe his resolve and the determination to challenge Djokovic particularly in best of five sets grand slam tourneys.Winning more grand slams is the next aim beginning with Novak’s back yard in Melbourne in January.For now though, he can cherish a bit of rest and a well earned break !
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