Punchless Andy Murray Draws a Blank

NEW YORK -- This one is just baffling. A lot of people picked Andy Murray to win the U.S. Open. John McEnroe said to take an Andy, Murray or Roddick.

Murray has been on the rise, the classic, traditional rise. Get to a major final, lose. Figure out what's wrong, fix it. Everything was set for him to win his first grand slam.

And then on Tuesday, he disappeared. He lost to Marin Cilic, a young up-and-comer, 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. But when I say he disappeared, I'm not talking about from the draw.

Andy Murray went blank. The No. 2 ranked player in the world was trying to show that he's a champion that belongs in the discussion with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. And he simply, mentally went away after the first set.

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He got in a van, went back to his hotel, showered, pulled out his Nintendo DS, and waited for the flight home. Meanwhile, his body was on the court, going through the motions without a brain to direct it.

"A lot of times when I lose, I always get asked that, if it was due to ... (looking flat)," Murray said. "But that's not always the case why I lost.

"Today, I just couldn't find my way into games, and he was dominating a lot of the points. So it's difficult to get into it."

Cilic is 20, tall and with a big serve. He was a hot pick at the start of the year for a player primed for a breakout, and he is seeded No. 16. But it hadn't happened yet.

The galling thing is that Murray used to get into these funks before. The newly built major-title ready Murray doesn't do that anymore. So this was a return to form.

A return to negative body language. Never has anyone 6-foot-3, 185 pounds looked so frail on a tennis court.

He simply thinks way too much. At some point, there must be some passion to draw from.

Like, when his opponent bounces a short high ball. Maybe Murray can forget looking for the next great angle and spin and just do this -- CRUSH the ball.

He almost never puts his opponent on the defensive, but chooses instead to wait for a mistake. So Cilic was able to relax and get comfortable.

This is always a balancing act in tennis, and the scale usually tips the other way, with players firing shots without thinking.


So Murray has the brains and has gotten into shape, built some muscle.

But can you learn passion? Can you teach fire?

This raises all sorts of questions about Murray, and they're the same ones we thought had already been answered.

He played most of the first set without hitting a winner, without even going for one. A big guy like that cannot sit back with his weird counter-punching game, not against the best players in majors.

"Sometimes if you play badly or whatever, you don't find a way back into the match," he said. "Sometimes, that can happen. I don't think I'm perfect.

"My game wasn't up to scratch and it's unfortunate. Sometimes in individual sports that can happen. You don't have any other players or anyone to hide behind, and can sort of cover for you. I just didn't play well enough."

Murray had been hot all summer, and Federer had to remind him in Cincinnati who was king and who still had to prove himself.

Murray was still living that moment.

This was going to be Murray's year. Instead, as usual, Federer and Nadal have continued to hog all the majors.

Murray has had wrist problems and admitted that the left wrist was still hurting. But he wouldn't elaborate, and said he wouldn't use that as an excuse.

He simply didn't know what happened.

But this was the biggest disappointment of his career, he said. I thought his breakthrough would come at Wimbledon, where he is the only Brit hope. I picked him there. But in the semis, the pressure and the newly rebuilt Roddick overwhelmed him.

Now, just two months later, he doesn't look ready at all.

"I believe I'll come back better from it," he said. "I'll learn a lot from what happened this week, like I have done most times when I've had bad results. I'll come back better and stronger."

Stop learning and figuring, Andy. Start pounding.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com