Brackets are on the minds of many this month in the United States, and while world No. 1 Andy Murray’s 6-4, 7-6 (5) opening-round loss to Vasek Pospisil at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells doesn’t compare to the never-before-seen 16-seed over 1-seed in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, it is a very significant upset that says plenty about both men.
Let’s start with Pospisil, whose current ranking of No. 129 in no way reflects the kind of explosive game he possesses. A Wimbledon quarterfinalist just two years ago (he was beaten by Murray), the 26-year-old has been beset by injuries and inconsistency ever since. But his aggressiveness never went away. Against Murray on a packed Stadium 1, the evening crowd took to Pospisil’s kamikaze style. He approached the net every chance he got, evading the seemingly losing proposition of baseline warfare with Murray (it also inspired some of Murray’s trademark passing shots), and fired fearless forehands. Pospisil has a big serve but an even bigger forehand, and his crosscourt cut on a short ball on his fourth match point was the kind of gusto needed to overcome one of tennis’ best tacticians. On this night, it was Pospisil’s tactic of blasting away, no matter the result, that was superior. His second and third match points in the second-set tiebreaker were thwarted by exquisite returns of serve, but Pospisil refused to abandon his go-for-broke strategy. It is often the way high seeds fall early at major tournaments, in any sport, and tonight was no exception.
