How Andy Murray can beat Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final
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Version 0 of 1. 1) Serve strongly, serve with slice and serve smart Andy Murray will have to really go for his serves in this match, put a lot of zip on his second serve, because Novak Djokovic is a great returner. I think what he has to do is vary it but work on that wide-slice serve on the deuce court. However, it would be even more effective to serve into Djokovic’s body, jamming him. On the second serve, he’s got to know that Djokovic is going to go for it, so Murray’s got to put some pop on that ball and maybe even gamble on a wide slice on the second serve. He has to use the kick serve to the backhand but not every single time because Djokovic will know that and, on the ad court, he’ll stand in the alley waiting for it. He has to serve into the body and out wide to make the kick serve more effective. If he does it every time, Novak will run around it and hit his forehand. 2) Move forward and gamble at the net Both guys can volley but how much they come to the net and how well they do it may be a factor in this match. Murray will have to do more surprise attacks, coming in at times when Djokovic is not expecting it, sometimes off returns, because Murray’s got a great return. I don’t know if Murray can just win battling it out from the baseline because although it’s good to be patient, Djokovic can rally all day. He is comfortable at the net, he’s got a good basic volley, he’s got a good foundation, he moves in close and he’s got great forward foot speed – he’s got great speed in every direction. I think he’s got to gamble more than Djokovic has to gamble. I would make Djokovic try to pass me. I wouldn’t try to beat Djokovic just from the baseline because just keeping the ball in play isn’t going to do it. 3) Get closer to the baseline and into the hotseat Andy, you’re not going to win if you’re six to eight feet behind that baseline. No way. You can be patient and it’s good that you have not panicked when you’ve been in a bit of trouble during this tournament but if you’re six to eight feet behind the baseline that means the ball is travelling a long way, giving Djokovic a lot of time to get back into position. I believe he’s going to have to try to attack the Djokovic second serve. So Andy, I’d get your backside a few feet up to the baseline and if you are hanging back at any time, then get right back in that hotseat. Unless Djokovic is out of steam, I don’t think patience alone can beat Djokovic because he can keep the ball going for a long time as well. I don’t believe he has much of a chance if he’s too far back. It’s too difficult. 4) Mix it up and slice Djokovic open Murray has great variety, absolutely, especially on the slice. There are two types of slice – you have the deep slice and then you have the short bunt slice that Boris [Becker] used to do all the time. You do the short bunt slice because you want the player to come in to the net and Murray’s pretty damned good at passing you, particularly on his forehand angle. However, these guys are too good if you keep doing the same thing so you’ve got to keep changing things, otherwise they’ll just be waiting. But Murray’s in great physical shape, his coach, Amélie Mauresmo, has got him nice and calm, he’s got great hands and he can do great things with the ball. He’s got to use that variety to keep Djokovic guessing. 5) Channel Agassi by hitting shots deep and heavy My boy Andre, what he would have done is hit heavy, deep crosscourts, not loopers but heavy and penetrating, so Djokovic would have to hit every ball above his shoulder and on the run, not just waiting for it. If he had to hit every ball above his shoulder then Andre would step in for the defensive balls. Andre’s crosscourt backhand was one of the best in the world and what he would do is keep you back, back, and he would never go down the line or hit the inside out forehand until you hit that backhand too short. He did not go down the line from three feet behind the baseline, never. You need to have good shot selection and patience. He also had a great kick serve. Boy, did he have a good kick serve. But he used it well. He was smart. Nick Bollettieri is an American coach who has worked with the likes of Andre Agassi, Monica Seles and Maria Sharapova |