How Andy Murray Has Changed

A year or two ago, Andy Murray was playing well beyond the baseline, always on the run, and a poor sport.  After his gold at the Olympics, it seems as if this is all changing.

When Murray lost in the finals of the 2008 US Open, all of the excuses in the world were available to him, whether it being his first major final, or the awe of Roger Federer, there was no pressure on him.  By the time he lost in straight sets to Novak Djokovic at the finals of the 2011 Australian Open, questions were arising about whether or not Andy would ever win a major final.  Then, in 2012, his game changed.

Starting in 2012, there was a total change in Andy Murray's tennis.  For instance, watch in much of this video the difference of how Andy Murray used to play.  Now watch video of his match with Federer in the Wimbledon Finals this year.  Even when he is losing points, you can see the difference in his game, which would eventually lead him to the Olympic gold.

In the first video, we see Murray just settling for weak baseline shots, while Djokovic completely controlled the tempo and flow of the match.  While in the second video, Murray moves much better and  even when he is losing the points, his movement and ball striking are a lot better.  That could be the match, even with the loss, that turns Murray's career around.

Now, let's look at how Murray's attitude has changed.   This from the 2010 Australian Open.  Watch how Murray losses his cool over a challenge.  Then, look right here, which is Murray after Wimbledon 2012.

See the difference?  In the first video, instead of just continuing on with the match, Murray gets bogged down because Rafael Nadal took an extra second or two to call for a challenge (which was about a millimeter away from being correct).  The second video shows that Andy Murray has finally matured.  He was gracious to Federer while really showing a side of him that was negated by his constant outbursts.

After struggling for years, it seems as if Andy Murray has found himself and is finally righting the ship. The world saw his resurgence after 2012 Wimbledon, and we saw arguably the best match of his life in the gold medal match of the 2012 Olympics.  Andy Murray has changed, and because of this, it seems as if a major championship is right around the corner.