By GEOFF MACDONALD, NYT Blog
On the seventh day of the seventh month Andy Murray ended the 77-year drought of a men’s British champion at Wimbledon by defeating Novak Djokovic in a straight-sets match that had all the twists and turns of a five-set epic. He shouldered the expectations of Britain with a toughness of body and spirit that made this one of the most memorable men’s finals.
It was, at times, excruciating to watch, as Murray not only battled Djokovic, the world No. 1, but also the almost unbearable hopes of millions of British citizens, who desperately wanted their countryman to become the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win Wimbledon. Murray came through with a bravura performance in a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory, showing not just his will to win, but also his will to prepare to win.
From the outset, this match was going to be a competitive caldron to see who could withstand the demands of Centre Court on the final day. Djokovic — the sublime Djokovic — appeared to be feeling the effects of his nearly five-hour semifinal with Juan Martin del Potro on Friday. We have grown accustomed to players playing at an extraordinary level less than 48 hours after winning matches that are the emotional and physical equivalent of running back-to-back marathons, but on Sunday Djokovic looked a step slower at times.
He misfired on shots we are used to him making, and he could never sustain a run at Murray’s lead. He was up a service break in each of the last two sets, but Murray found a way to break back and wrest control from Djokovic. Even in the beginning of the match, in the first eight games, both players repaired to the shade and their towel after some of the long grinding baseline exchanges. Mouths agape, their chests heaving with exertion, they each stepped up to the next point like boxers in the late rounds, and yet we were still in the early stages of the match.
Both men are supremely fit, but Djokovic’s semifinal against del Potro looked to have taken a bit more out of Djokovic than Murray’s semifinal against Jerzy Janowicz took out of him. I found myself thinking about their off-court training. Each man works incredibly hard to prepare for moment like Sunday’s. Murray has a team of coaches, led by Ivan Lendl but anchored by Jez Green, Murray’s long time fitness coach. What Lendl has done for Murray in the mental, emotional and tactical realm, Green has done in the physical and nutritional department.
The two components — the physical and the mental — go hand in hand, of course, with the intense workouts off court forging the kind of mental toughness both players showed Sunday. Murray spends a great deal of time on the track in the off-season in Miami. He runs 400 meter repeats — 10 of them, with a short rest interval — followed by 20 100-meter sprints. Djokovic has his own off-court routine, centered around stretching, stretching and more stretching.
This time spent out of the spotlight’s glare, putting in the tough, painful work, is where this Wimbledon championship was won. We see the glamor, the news conferences, the adulation from a cheering crowd, but we do not see the loneliness of the long, hard days that go into the making of a champion.
