When Sergiy Stakhovsky shocked Roger Federer in the first week at Wimbledon last year, he observed later: “You’re playing the guy and then you’re playing the legend.”
Andy Murray has played both of those entities for nearly 10 years now and it is to his towering credit that they stand level at 11 wins apiece – but he knows that when they step on to the court at the O2 Arena in Greenwich on Thursday for their 23rd encounter, he will still have two players to beat, the real Federer, 33 years old but still formidable, hitting searing forehands and pinpoint serves at him, and the one trapped in the loving gaze of his fanatically loyal fans.
It must hurt – although Murray says not – that his home crowd will more than likely be leaning towards the Swiss in the concluding group match of the ATP World Tour Finals. They did so in the semi-finals in 2012, only a few months after Murray had beaten Federer to win Olympic gold at Wimbledon. They do it everywhere – and not just to Murray. Federer remains a god to millions of tennis fans, and that will never change.
All week Murray has made a point of acknowledging the support of the crowd. It was muted during his underdone performance in losing to Kei Nishikori on Sunday and considerably more vocal when he lifted his game to beat Milos Raonic on Tuesday, keeping alive his tournament hopes here. He appreciated it. And after practice on Wednesday, he mentioned it again on Facebook.
“It can be [a factor],” he said on Wednesday night, “but it is not the number one factor. The number one factor is what is going on out on the tennis court. I have always said, in all sports, if you have the crowd with you it helps. I am sure the crowd will be fairly split. They have been when I have played Roger in London before. He always gets great support wherever he goes.”
The one place Murray did win the crowd over was in that Olympic final. “The atmosphere was amazing,” he enthused. “I have obviously played a lot of matches at Wimbledon but I have never experienced Centre Court being like that.”
As for his relationship with Federer, it is on a par with the one he has with Novak Djokovic: they are “professional friends”. Given the amount of times they go head to head it could hardly be otherwise. Murray says it has not changed a lot over the years. “Not really. I always chat to him when I see him. I haven’t spent loads of time with him. We never practise together but I have always chatted to him when I have seen him. We have never had any issues away from the court.”
On the court they are the fiercest of competitors, Federer the controlled maestro, Murray living much closer to the edge of his emotions. It has been a classic face-off since their first match, a final in Bangkok in 2005, when Federer edged it straight sets.
That is history already recorded; there is plenty more to be made here this week and in the future. The conundrum for Murray, however, is the mathematics of this crazily complicated tournament. It is perfectly possible – although highly unlikely – that he could beat Federer and not go through, and lose to him and qualify. Much depends on the afternoon match between Raonic and Nishikori.
It would seem Murray has the advantage in playing in the evening and knowing exactly what he needs to do, by way of points. He is not sure it matters.
“It can work both ways,” he said. “If you play first you don’t have to worry about the other match. You just concentrate on your own and then wait and see. But if you are second it can be a difficult position if you are going in thinking: all I have to is win a set. That doesn’t help. I was in the position against [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga a couple of years ago and it wasn’t that easy to prepare for the match like that either.
“So, for me, I just know I have to try and beat Roger. That is the mentality you want to go in with. Look, everyone knows in these events what is going on. You follow all of the results. It is not like in a slam where there are 64 matches or whatever. There is only one match that day, I will know what I have to do when I go on the court.”
Can he do it? Of course. As good a season as Federer has had, and as ordinary a time of it Murray has had in 2014, there is not much between them. Federer has sparkled lately, Murray has grinded – but he lit up his season with three courageous wins to make the cut. Now he is here and, as he says, it is just one match in front of him.
