Ah, Andy it's been a long time coming. From the time you entered the tennis world we all knew you had the potential to be a Grand Slam champion. It seemed as if the only thing stopping Murray from finally breaking through against the vaunted big three: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic was himself. Those oncourt tantrums were a major reason why Murray could not break through. Let's look at the major moments leading up to this momentous occasion.
The first one was when Murray lost in the Wimbledon Finals to Roger Federer. We knew then that Murray had what it takes to be a major champion. He did not back away from the great, or the aura associated with him. He even was up one set to love against Federer. But his spectacular defense could only get him so far against Federer's persistent pressure, and eventually Murray wilted on Centre Court, losing in four sets. Murray, undoubtedly, was devasted by the loss, but his gracious comments after the match made us learn that he was very close to a major title. Well, we were right.
Murray then went on to the Olympic Finals, on Centre Court Wimbledon, with a gold medal on the line. He was playing that pesky Federer guy. Well, this time, Murray crushed Federer, seemingly always up a break, and put away a meek Federer in three decisive sets. This was a great victory for Murray, as spectators all around the All-England Club jumped with glee. It felt like Murray had won a major. Soon enough.
Finally, it was time for the US Open. After being challenged consistently during the second week, Murray ultimately reached the Finals. Andy Murray would play Novak Djokovic with a major championship on the line. He went up two sets, and a major championship was all but a certainty. But, Djokovic would have none of that. Murray won a total of five games over the next two sets, and Djokovic would take the next two sets to even the match at two-sets all. This was the point in time where Murray could have went away. Could have realized that it was just not to be. Could have went away into the sunset as Djokovic went away with another US Open championship. Murray would not be denied. He not only beat Djokovic in the final set, but he crushed him winning 6-2 in the final, decisive set. As Djokovic limped around the court defeated, Murray paraded around with a seemingly endless supply of energy. Murray had won.
The US Open, it was Andy Murray's time. After all of those years of disappointment, he had finished the job. We could tell it was going to happen after the Wimbledon final. After the Olympic gold. Well, our suspicions were confirmed after the US Open. Andy Murray was a grand slam champion at last.
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