Andy Murray conquered years of questions and self-doubt
to win his first US Open title. Caroline
Wozniacki so far has chosen a different path to Murray and now appears to be
regressing in her career. Is it too late
for Wozniacki to win a major title?
After his first three major final losses and other
disappointments, Murray accepted change was needed to his game mentally and
tactically. By appointing Ivan Lendl as
coach, Murray showed to the world he was prepared to take tough decisions.
The memo is that Lendl first approached Murray’s
representatives towards the end of 2011 with a view to working with
Murray. Not that it matters who
approached whom as it was clear changes needed to be made to Murray’s game if
he wanted to win a major title. Since
the appointment at the beginning of January, Murray’s game more or less looks
the same but the changes are more subtle.
First of all, Murray has cut down markedly on the temper
tantrums on court. You still see Murray
holding his leg and having a “whinge” from time to time but Murray never has a
go at Lendl. Lendl was one of the
greatest players of the game and Murray has too much respect to try that on,
and would be roundly condemned by the media if he did.
Murray also plays an instinctively counterpunching game
but has the ability to be a proactive player, he has the height and the power
to do it, but a combination of slower surfaces and mentality contrived to see
Murray play a more defensive game more often than not, especially in the major
finals.
What Lendl has brought to the table is how to deal with
the big pressure situations and encourage Murray to be more expansive with his
forehand. For years, Murray would hit
crosscourt repeatedly, as in a practice drill, Murray was aware that it was not
enough at the highest level. We will
never see Murray camp on the backhand side and hit inside out forehands like
Lendl but Murray has certainly added more variation to the shot, although he’s yet
to master the inside in forehand from the backhand corner of the court.
For sure, Murray didn’t play an exciting brand of tennis
against Novak Djokovic in the US open final but the conditions certainly played
a factor in that. Delivering a major
after so many attempts may relax him and in his next final we may see the best
of Murray.
With this in mind, where does Caroline Wozniacki fit in
the picture? Wozniacki has received all
of the criticisms for her game style and mentality as Murray has done over the
years. Like Murray, Wozniacki is blessed
with height and athleticism but chooses to play a counterpunching style which
limits her chances at grand slam level.
However, not only is it limiting her chances at grand slam level, the
grinding style of play is also taking its toll on her physically and mentally.
During Wozniacki’s reign as world number from late 2010
to early 2012, there were lots of calls for her to improve her game. The areas identified as needing work were her
serve, forehand and transition game to the net (volleys). Wozniacki and her father/coach often refuted
those suggestions, saying that everything was fine and being number 1 was proof
of that. But everyone can improve even when
the world’s best. Justine Henin worked
hard on improving her forehand to make her a formidable player, Lindsay
Davenport worked hard on getting fitter.
Wozniacki gave the impression that she wasn’t prepared to
make the necessary changes to improve her game.
However, after a year of successive disappointments at Grand Slam level
in 2011, it looked as though constructive criticism was taken on board because
Ricardo Sanchez was hired to work with her. However, after a few weeks it
became apparent that the arrangement was a sham and Piotr Wozniacki was pulling
the strings. Sanchez was fired not too
long afterwards and complained that he was not allowed to do the job he
wanted.
Since that strange appointment, Wozniacki’s form has
dipped alarmingly this year. She has not
progressed beyond the 4th rd of any grand slam event and has dropped out of the
top 10 for the first time in three seasons.
Wozniacki can learn from Murray’s acceptance that help
was needed if he was to transition from underachiever to grand slam
champion. Murray has struggled on the
tour this year, but Lendl was brought in to help Murray win a major, not Miami,
his experience and advice has proved invaluable. Wozniacki has shown so far she is not
prepared to put her hand in her pocket to hire a top class coach who she can
put her trust in.
As a result Wozniacki’s career now stands at a
crossroad. If she takes the wrong
decisions, she could vanish into obscurity.
Or she can swallow her pride and take the courageous step of bringing in
someone who could her improve significantly, it’s her call.
