Andy Murray and Nikolay Davydenko: Different Questions for the Same Answer

Fitness is a very important term in any form of sporting endeavor, tennis included. In layman terms, it defines the ability to sustain a good physical condition—being in good shape for a task.

Murray is looking to convert his success in three set format to the five set form

In tennis, while the core meaning of the term remains the same, I feel that this term should be really broadened into a wider scope. For example, both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are extremely fit players, as they demonstrated last year. Nadal played two physically challenging matches in the Australian Open which lasted over ten hours combined. Djokovic, on the other hand, played 97 matches in the last season—more than any other player.

However, there is a difference in their fitness levels. Nadal broke down during French Open due to injured knees, while Djokovic had to retire midway in his match against Roddick due to respiratory problems in the inhuman Melbourne heat.

Nadal has very good short term fitness, i.e. he needs very less recovery time between matches, and that he can play at virtually the same level for more than five hours under physically challenging conditions. Despite his short recovery time, there has hardly been any season where he has not missed tournaments due to injury or fatigue.

Djokovic shows good long term fitness; he remained in very good shape to play at a high level even during the season end, despite playing more matches on the tour than anyone. However, he is suspect to melt down during the course of a single match.

Both levels of fitness are important for a player to succeed and both these players would admit that they would have had even more success—especially Nadal—had they been fitter in the other department too. Roger Federer is a great example of a player possessing good fitness at both levels.

Continuing on the issue of fitness levels, two players instantly pop to mind who will be on the radar during the Australian Open which starts next week (The off-season was not that long, isn’t it?)—Andy Murray and Nikolay Davydenko.

It is high time that the Scot-cum-Brit delivers on his true potential by winning that elusive major that has denied him for the whole of last year, while for probably the very first time during his career, Kolya would be considered as one of the favorites to conquer Melbourne.

The major question for both players, though, is not their ability to sustain the present attack, which is probably the most competitive in the last few years. They have notched up enough high profile wins in the last year for anyone to doubt their ability.

It remains to be seen how well can their games hold in seven best-of-five matches spanned over two weeks. It is noteworthy that all their tournament victories have been in the three set format spanned over only one week.

A one week tournament is, without a doubt, physically challenging and mentally draining, but the rigors required are totally different from the Grand Slam tournament.

A major allows a top player to slowly build up their form—something which is not possible in the shorter version. Players like Federer and Pete Sampras have routinely used this format to slowly get into form in the first week and blast away in the second. Even Nadal is starting to show the signs of the same.

Peaking at the right time is the key to survive a major. Too much effort in the first week might result in a quick mental exhaustion which is fatal once the business end of the tournament begins in the second week.

Surviving two weeks in a best-of-five format is the common target for both players searching for their maiden Grand Slam. However, they have different problems to solve in the process.

Murray needs to look at the long-term fitness levels, especially mentally. His game relies heavily on accuracy and precision which means that he is mentally exhausted as the tournament proceeds into the second week, and this has shown in his Quarters and Semis losses this year. A minor drop in his level will see him getting overpowered by players with more explosive games.

Davydenko, on the other hand, can easily survive the grind for two weeks without experiencing fatigue or injury. After all, he is called the ‘Iron Man’ for a reason. His main concern is whether he is fit enough to compete at the highest level for five consecutive sets. Like Murray, his game relies of accuracy and precision—albeit on the aggressive front. A minor drop in his level against top players, and he would soon be committing

Can Davydenko survive the rigor of a best-of-five contest?

tons of unforced errors and gifting the match away.

It is amazing how both players are similar in exactly opposite ways and both are facing different problems towards the same objective. It will be interesting to see if, and how, they get to their destination.

They are not pressurizing themselves as they have tried to be under the radar, either by being out of news (Murray not participating in any ATP tournament before the AO) or by undermining their chances (like Davydenko).

These are, however, just ploys to focus their minds on more important things as they secretly must be confident enough about their chances for their maiden voyage.