The new found Murray

Talent is something you are born with, while a person’s destiny is in his own hands. Some people are just meant to win and rule the world, while others have to fight their way through overcoming long periods of frustration and failure. Adversities transform you as a person; they inspire you to work hard for a better future and enhance your mental toughness. Rising from dirt and achieving your dream is something that is mostly witnessed in reel life and rarely in real life.

Defeat can often change your thought process. It forces even the best of sportsperson’s to doubt their abilities but it is the greatest of individuals who find hope even in defeat. They vow to come back strong, think like champions, play like champions and most importantly they eventually become champions.

Andy Murray for long has been playing under the shadow of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. He has often struggled against the lesser ranked opponents making him vulnerable in the initial stages of a tournament. But all of that is history now, he is the Olympic gold medalist and a deserving one, that.

Everyone knew that Murray had the potential to set the world tennis stage on fire but he always disappointed his fans with petty losses against the likes of Gasquet, Ferrer etc. The frustration kept mounting and so did the errors. Andy Murray was all set to become the next Marat Safin(he could still though). He looked flustered during close matches; drooping shoulders and broken racquets were a common sight.

But then, he slowly climbed up the rankings and cemented his position as the 4th ranked player in the world. The lesser ranked opponents were just pushovers, but the top 10 ranked players still haunted him. The game kept getting solid and the fighting spirit was on the rise; but he still hadn’t convinced many of us that he was actual ‘Champion material’. Nadal, Dkokovic and Federer kept winning bulk of the tournaments and Murray was forced to be happy with just a semifinal spot.

The number of losses against the top three are sky high. It felt as if he did not belong to the elite group of players. He was always a force to reckon with but he just couldn’t get a break. In his first three Grand Slam appearances, Murray was easily manoeuvred by his opponent and had to end up on the losing side every single time. He was pinned right back to the wall and the wait for a Grand Slam victory was making him impatient.

Then came the 2012 Wimbledon, and Murray looked a changed player. Whether it was a change in mindset or strategy is immaterial, the important thing is that he looked a different man on court, a man with an agenda, with a motive, determined to win and most importantly determined to rule. The Wimbledon final is history now. He played some immaculate tennis for a set and a half but then it was just genius stuff from the maestro. The tears that followed the loss showed the world how much winning meant to Murray. There is this hunger now, there is this vision of becoming a champion.

Little did we know that the Olympics would be the path-breaking tournament for him. The final was pure demolition. He took the game to Federer and never put a foot wrong. The crowd was behind him, the nation was behind him but most importantly the old Murray was behind him. It was a new Murray on court. A Murray who feared none, who didn’t let a few errors affect his overall game, a Murray who was destined to win.

It were the failures and the petty losses that forced him to change the way he approached the game. Adversities do teach you a lot – they sometimes tell you that not only the bad is in store for you, and that gives hope – the hope to succeed. Murray may not be a heap of talent but he surely is a fighter who knows how to fight his way through to the top. Winning gold in front of his home crowd has given him the required confidence to play his A-game even on the big stage. There is no fear now, there will be no failures now. A new changed and a better Murray is about to start a new life.