Will Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal Forge a Grand Slam Rivalry at 2013 U.S. Open?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: August 14, 2013

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With all of the rivalries at the top of men's tennis, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray have not played each other in nearly two years. Since then, each player has won two Grand Slam titles, dealt with injuries and warred with Novak Djokovic.

The 2013 U.S. Open could finally see them battle as never before. Could this become a hot rivalry with multiple Grand Slam clashes?

 

Ships in the Night

When they last met in Tokyo, 2011, Murray snapped his five-match losing streak to Nadal. He had not yet joined forces with Ivan Lendl and was still serving as Grand Slam semifinal punching bag to Nadal.



Following his 2011 U.S. Open semifinal defeat to Nadal, Murray said of his opponent: “He’s probably the greatest player to play tennis,” according metro.co.uk.

The pre-Lendl version of Murray had majored in resilience as Nadal, Djokovic and Roger Federer all tutored him to become the star student at the school of champions. Murray credited Nadal with changing tennis into a more physical sport.

He was the example Murray needed as he toughened into a Grand Slam champion in 2012.

But Nadal and Murray have had nearly two years of their best success while the other player was down. Injuries and court surfaces have been the biggest factors. It was similar to the reason that John McEnroe and Mats Wilander could never establish a Grand Slam rivalry. Wilander was great on clay and McEnroe on grass, but not vice versa. They were ships passing in the night.

While Nadal’s monstrous clay-court conquests swept aside his competitors, Murray was marooned with injury. Clay has always been his weakest surface and less of a priority. His healing and rest was also a non-combative sanctuary from Nadal.

When Murray’s glorious sun rose at Wimbledon 2012, Nadal’s star collapsed for seven months. Murray’s success on grass and hard ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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