Andy Murray’s ‘big negative’ highlighted as US Open tactic called out by Navratilova
Tennis icons Martina Navratilova and Tim Henman both questioned Andy Murray after the Brit crashed out of the US Open in the second round to Grigor Dimitrov. The 36-year-old suffered a 3-6 4-6 1-6 loss on Thursday as he was unable to deal with his opponent’s slice, with Dimitrov proving a worthy winner in New York.
The heavy defeat cast new doubts over Murray’s future in the sport, as he was unable to match the Bulgarian’s physicality in the match, with Murray looking dejected towards the end. And both Henman and Navratilova were surprised by the lack of preparation he seemed to have undergone before facing Dimitrov.
Murray’s negativity was clear for all to see, as his regular errors saw the three-time Grand Slam winner look to his support team in search of answers, having struggled all match against Dimitrov’s slice.
“It’s an underused shot,” Navratilova told Sky Sports regarding Dimitrov’s slice as she highlighted the tactic used against Murray. “It’s used a lot more now than it used to be like 10 to 15 years ago but still, a lot of players don’t hit it well or they are very predictable and hit it cross-court, they don’t really have it down the line.
