Andy Murray won the US Open Tennis Championship on Monday, winning the Men’s Final in 5 gruelling sets over the defending champion Novak Djokovic.
I was pleased for Murray who needed just under 5 hours to score his first ever Grand Slam title and capping what has been a terrific year for him.
Under great scrutiny, Murray played well but lost to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon Final.
However, in a rematch shortly thereafter, Murray scored the Gold Medal at the Olympics on the same court, beating Federer on the Wimbledon court.
Then Monday, Murray became the first British man in more than 7 decades to win a major in tennis.
And while this all good for Murray, I can’t help but think the victory isn’t somewhat good news for Canadian tennis and Milos Raonic.
Raonic was eliminated in the 4th round by Murray, losing in 3 sets.
The Canadian Press recap stated Raonic was routed, but that’s not what I saw.
In my view, Raonic came at Murray with everything he had and based on Murray’s expression throughout the match, the Brit knew it.
To me, Murray was the better, more experienced player in that match, using years of battle smarts to defeat the young Canadian.
Murray is 25 and it’s taken some long, hard, painful defeats before he scored his first major at age 25.
For Raonic, currently 21 and knocking at the door of elite tennis, can a similar path to the top be far off ?
I’m Fred Wallace