After 76 Years a Brit Finally Wins the US Tennis Open - Page 3
Clearly, Djokovic, another power gamester was unhappy and frustrated with the Saturday bluster-gusters which destroyed his power shots and placement and forced a necessary readjustment which he seemed to resist. His first set showed this emotional response of annoyance and frustration. He was obviously comfortable and settled the next day in the beautiful sunshine and gentle breezes to return to his usual MO to handily defeat Ferrer in the remaining sets, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. Of course, Ferrer was most likely beyond frustration by this point.
And then it was Monday, the Men's Singles Final. The weird winds had returned to Ashe and like the weird sisters of the Scottish play that shall remain unnamed, they caused havoc on Ashe and chaos for Djokovic. By this point Murray had been schooled in their chaos in the Berdych match. Monday's weird harpies were less daunting than Saturday's and he was ready, willing and hungry, barreling through the first two sets, negotiating the air currents well, as Djokovic remained unnerved, upset, frustrated and daunted by them.
Then, resigned to the fates making peace with the winds, Djokovic miraculously pulled out the next two sets with breath taking shots and psychological, emotional strength that appeared from a divine source that created the sense that one was watching an event that exceeded tennis greatness and elevated it to a plane beyond. But like a balloon that rises, the dream fell back, that is Djokovic's balloon dream fell back, blown away from winning the 2012 Open. And it was Murray who, once again, struck gold in the final set, riding on the jet stream determination and confidence that he exhibited in his match against Federer at the Olympics.
Would Djokovic have benefited by the same day's rest that Murray was given if the match with Ferrer had been scheduled the same time as Murray's match with Berdych? Does an athlete need rest to recover? Does one day's rest make a difference in the body's ability to heal after the extreme strains and pulls on muscles and joints that high energy play requires? Or shouldn't one be able to play back to back matches, one day following the other without that extra day of rest? If one is allowed a one day recovery and another is not, is that equitable?
Continued on the next page
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