It is the Grand Slam fever as the Wimbledon has been in full flow and we have seen great battles after great battles. This has been an incredible tournament so far and we have seen top players show their great game already but on the way, trends have been broken and there have been some surprising results. This happened when USA’s Josh Isner defeated Andy Murray 6:4, 6:7, 7:6, 6:4. This is the first time Isner has beaten Murray and the 37-year-old played out of his comfort zone to come on top. This is sad for the home fans who saw their long-time hero bow out.
Murray’s injuries are hampering him
Full credit to Isner for wins, but there is no doubt that surgeries after surgeries have impeded Murray’s career at this point. Isner’s height is incredible and that bounce and the energy put by Josh put Andy Murray to a huge test. That is what set the tone but Murray did make some adjustments. Thus, this precedent took a lot out of Murray who had never looked this rattled against Ishner before. Times are changing, ain’t it?
Murray tries to comeback but Isner keeps the ante up
As stated above, Isner was putting a lot of power behind his serve right from the first set. Not only that, but he also break Andy’s serve multiple times which caused the Brit to play catch-up from the beginning. After making it three-four in the first set, Murray was unable to field a comeback as Isner pinched a 6:4 set. After a two-one start to the second set, Isner’s serve continued to pose problems.
Isner kept on avoiding rallies and dominating the serve but Murray also settled in his serve game during the second set. When Isner tied the second set at 4-4, remember Murray was unable to break his serve till that point. As the game moved to six-six and eventually into the tiebreak, Isner won the tiebreaker 7-4, once again dominating through his serve. Then the third set also began in a riveting fashion with both players holding serve.
With a drop, Murray once again headed into a tiebreaker situation with Isner and as a tired Isner hit the ball on the net, Murray took the tiebreaker 7-4. But then Isner looked like he hadn’t forgotten the control he had earlier and broke Murray’s serve to go up three-two. Then he unleashed his service game to keep things in check. Ultimately, a drop shot gave Isner the game.
Can Isner build some momentum?
It has been a hard year for Murray and he had to sign off in a rather grueling manner. Isner broke the curse and broke an eight-game losing streak versus the terrific Scottish player. This was a huge morale booster for Isner whose stamina somehow withstood a strong effort by Murray. His next battle will be against much more springy Jannik Sinner and it will be a battle between two players with an age of difference of 17 years.