Andy Murray - turning the tide from promise to purpose

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 25: Andy Murray of Great Britain celebrates a point in his semifinal match against Roger Federer of Switzerland during day twelve of the 2013 Australian Open

As Roger Federer packed his bags and walked away into the Melbourne night, there was a good chance he was thinking about consistency. It is a treasured possession for the Swiss, but he is learning the hard way that he has spread an irreversible contagion. Not so long ago, Andy Murray was the lesser of three problems that have prevented Federer from turning into a runaway train. The Scot though, has clearly turned the tide. The world No.3 reduced Federer to play catch up throughout a four hour marathon – and even though the Swiss managed to force the decider, all the running robbed the ageing legend of the legs needed to overcome his younger rival. On a surprisingly pleasant summer evening off the Pacific coast, Murray played frontrunner to the hilt to hold off a fighting Federer to reach his third straight Grand Slam final.

Now while that might sound like a Federer stat, it is Murray who has caught up and surpassed the Swiss to lock horns against Novak Djokovic in the finals of the Australian Open. Interestingly, the Serbian himself is seeking to become the first man since Roy Emerson to win three straight titles in Melbourne. Murray is already the first man in the Open Era to follow up a maiden Grand Slam title with a run to the finals in the next major. Murray joined forces with Ivan Lendl last year and the Czech strongman has managed to iron out the chinks inside the volatile Murray head to help the Scot finally realise his potential. The results have been mighty impressive – a string of four big finals since Wimbledon last year are testimony to the Murray’s new found resilience. One might suppose that the steely resolve and the unyielding focus of the Czech are rubbing off on his pupil.

In the days gone by, Murray eked out his luxuries by being the best counter puncher in the game – built on his patient ability to plug away from the baseline before suddenly turning to offense at an opportune time. The return of serve complimented the tactically aware Scot to get into a rally and think through his opponents. While the strategy worked well with lesser men, the big three tormented him by dictating play and eventually Murray wore himself out as he gave in to those frustrations. All of that though is well in the past.

The Scot has evolved under the tutelage of Lendl and the evidence was there for all to see – on just the second point of the contest. Federer was marginally short with his ball and Murray leapt at it with the gait of a hungry lion to thwack a buzzing forehand winner. The Swiss could only stand and watch it go past him with contemptuous pace, declaring the irrepressible intent of his opponent. The all round improvement in the Scot’s game has come about through incremental change – the bulkier muscles are helping him add depth and weight on his strokes; the serve has improved significantly, including that ever vulnerable second delivery.

Murray’s weapons have turned sharper too – the backhand down the line is racing away faster than ever and his forehand has improved beyond recognition. The 25-year-old has no hesitation these days to step in on the ball and whip his forehand not just with intense power, but subtly work the wrist to create sharp angles and pose innumerable questions of his opponents. The manner in which Murray held Federer at bay – reducing him to constantly rally from behind throughout their four hour battle – just served to underline the fact that the Scot might be ready for the most productive few years of his promising career.

The clearest evidence that Murray has broken away from the past came at the end of the fourth set. The Scot inched to within a service hold from the final, when he broke Federer for a 6-5 lead. Invigorated by the scent of defeat, Federer played a rousing game to break back Murray to force the tie-breaker. When Federer ran away with a one-sided breaker to leave the match evenly poised, it felt for a moment like a decisive shift in momentum. One was even reminded of the teary end at the same venue, where Murray broke down in tears after losing the finals two years ago against Federer.

Roger Federer – has time finally caught up with him?

By now the match was everything you’d hope for from two thinking tennis players and despite the fact that Federer was left clutching at the threads just to stay in this tactically nuanced contest, the fifth set held poignant promise. But then time is slowing creeping away for the Swiss and Murray isn’t merely the tempestuous talent who let matches slip from within his grasp anymore. In a past life, one could have expected Murray to succumb to the momentum and roll over in the final set. Instead it was Federer that lost his moorings, even as Murray raised his game ignoring the set back moments earlier.

Eventually, the Swiss faded away into the darkness leaving Murray to bask in the bright after glow of a well deserved victory. For those inclined to read by numbers, Murray had more forehand winners than did Federer – yes you read that right. And while Murray had 62 winners to 47 unforced errors, Federer, in stark contrast, had 60 unforced errors to only 43 winners. That is a cumulative differential of 32 for Murray, a number that in itself could explain the eventual difference between the two players.

It was Murray’s 11th victory over Federer in their 20th career meeting and his first win over the Swiss in a Grand Slam tournament. In fact, Murray had won a solitary set off Federer in three previous meetings – the 2008 US Open, 2010 Australian Open and Wimbledon last year – all in the finals. But the Scot has now won three of their last four encounters including the contest for Gold at the Olympics. Murray underlined the importance of winning over Federer at a Grand Slam event, “I’ve obviously lost some tough matches against him in Slams,” he said. “So to win one, especially the way that it went tonight, was obviously nice. I’m sure both of us will play each other again in Slams, so it will help having won once against him.”

But Murray barely celebrated, probably aware that a bigger battle lie ahead. The world No.1 Novak Djokovic seems to have caught a second wind after that brutally sapping contest against Stanislas Wawrinka. The Serbian has a 10-7 edge over Murray and emphatic victories over Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer shall serve to remind Murray that Djokovic will be a tougher challenge on Sunday. Whether he wins his second Grand Slam title or not, one thing is clear – Murray has turned the page on his vulnerable past. While he may have plenty of success to defend in the months to come, we can no longer doubt his ability to meet those demands. The tide has indeed turned for the affable Scot as he inches closer towards translating his unquestionable promise into a purposeful career decorated by the success it deserves.