Murray becomes number one

Andy Murray ascended to the number one ranking in men’s tennis today when he defeated Milos Raonic in a walkover at the Paris masters.   Raonic tore a muscle in the previous round and could not compete.  Murray was also helped by Novak Djokovic, who lost to Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals after having defeated Cilic in 14 straight previous matches. 

Why did Djokovic lose to Cilic?  Well, he simply missed more balls than usual, a result of visible lapses in concentration.  Novak’s mood was also quite a bit low key for someone trying to hold onto the number one ranking – he almost seemed relieved to lose as he warmly congratulated Cilic.  Rumors abound that Djokovic is distracted by issues with his personal life that involve infidelity on his part.  I could not find an absolute confirmation of this hypothesis, but clearly, something is bothering him.

Murray’s play has been better than ever over the past several months.  He’s been amazing since Wimbledon, with his typically phenomenal court coverage buttressed by more power on the forehand and perceptive tactical decision-making.  He really has been the best player in the world for quite some time; it simply took awhile for him to close the huge ranking points gap between Djokovic and the rest of the field.   So gratz to Murray for a well deserved achievement.

Djokovic has always been a bit emotionally labile on the court.  We will have to see where he goes from here.