Andy appeared to let the ball changing incident get into his head for way too long. I just hope it wasn't that which influenced the outcome of the game. The calm, confident Andy disappeared and the mumbling, swearing (he was warned by the umpire), hitting trainers Andy reared its ugly head again. Not nice and I hope that version never returns.
I really thought that Andy had stepped up a level after the Asian swing series of 3 wins. OK his winning steak had to come to an end at some point but it was the return of all the self destructive mannerisms, the swearing, abusing your box, the chunttering etc that was disappointing. I really feel he needs to be mentally stronger at crucial points, e.g. the dispute over the change of balls got to him far too much and affected his game.
Sadly the return of the gurning, petulant Andy, however temporarily, spoilt this match for me. It's so disappointing when you know that he is capable of self-control, and that when he does exercise that control his game improves considerably. I do believe though that there has been a change in his behaviour of late, but unfortunately bad habits are not going to disappear overnight. Perhaps the thing about the balls was an unfortunate error on the part of the umpire, but had Andy let it pass and focussed on the game instead of distracting himself in a futile argument with the umpire, then I believe the outcome of the match could well have been different. However, whether he could then have gone on to beat Federer is a matter for conjecture.
We're mostly fans on this forum but I do wish that we can raise ourselves beyond blyth and unquestioning adoration, as appears to be the reponse from some to any form of criticism, however constructive, of our hero! Come on, being positive is one thing, being critical of others who make an honest if critical observation of our hero is still allowable or is it? From what I saw of the match it was thehim mental side of Andy's game that was wanting, far more than the technical side even if his first serve was misfiring. So please do not drown out us fans who wish to make a valid point by calls that we are being unfair as we all wish the best for Andy.
Well said. I've been a member of MW for two years, and I'm fed up with the, fortunately few, "luvvies" on this forum who either cannot or will not remove their rose-tinted specs and wake up to reality but prefer instead to adopt a holier-than-thou attitude towards those who wish to express opinions which are opposite to their own. Criticism is healthy, and perhaps if they could bring themselves to accept it they might realise that it's possible to criticise Andy and still enjoy being an Andy supporter.
As for the match - if Andy seems to think that it was exciting and fun, then I accept that, but what a player feels and a spectator experiences aren't necessarily going to be the same thing, and this match was no exception. The positive though is that he doesn't seem despondent, and that can only bode well for the O2.
