Andy Murray - The Story of the Jigsaw Puzzle

I have followed Andy Murray's career closely since he started as a young scrawny teenager and watching him grow in stature and add to various aspects of his game is akin to pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

It was common knowledge when he first broke on the scene that he was a raw talent tipped to be the next big thing in British tennis after Tim Henman. His first appearance at Wimbledon promised much but in the Third Round when leading against David Nalbandian he suffered terrible cramp and ended up losing the match. His fitness issues needed addressing and he was to take on a fitness trainer and use fitness camps in Miami to work hard to become one of the fittest players on the tennis circuit and so put another piece in the jigsaw.

He would soon reach his first slam final but he found his early cracks at slam finals fruitless experiences with heavy defeats coming his way. A split with coach Brad Gilbert left him light in the coaching department and his mental lapses and tantrums were also a hinderance and needed addressing though success continued to come in Masters Cups but the elusive slam win still seemed some way off.

Almost exactly a year ago Andy Murray turned to Ivan Lendl and another piece went into the jigsaw as the pair worked together and the improvements were very soon evident. Andy went down fighting in an classic Australian Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic (the form man of that moment), an injury-blighted French Open ended disappointingly and then it was on to Wimbledon. Murray created another little bit of history reaching the final becoming the first British man to do so for almost 50 years and he gave Roger Federer (the king of grass) a scare before going down in four sets but at last he had taken a set off Federer in a slam. Andy's big breakthrough came a few weeks later when he thrashed Federer to win Olympic Gold and win over a portion of Brits and put another piece into the Murray jigsaw. Andy created history a few months later when he won the US Open and got that big monkey off his back and become the first British man to win a slam for 76 years. His mental weaknesses were virtually eradicated by now and he carried himself so much better on court - another piece in the jigsaw.

Finally, today he popped another piece in it when he beat Roger Federer for the first time in a slam playing aggressive tennis and reach his third consecutive slam final. When will the jigsaw be complete you ask? Well reaching World No.1 would be the summit and along with winning more slams with Wimbledon in particular. The next four or five years promise to be very exciting for Andy Murray fans and I am going to enjoy it after years of knocks and mocks. Well done today Andy.

Great article Craig - here's to the next few years

You don't believe in paragraphs then?

I think Andy might say that the jigsaw is never complete.

(not sure why I'm talking a human fortune cookie tonight. Lemsip overdose perhaps)

Nice one Craig - There seems to be quite a few Andy fans on this forum now but sadly not enough for Novak (as yet), although nice to see socal back.

With Rafa returning and dependant on how well he performs, the top four still look pretty secure, albeit with a reshuffle in positions.

As for Sundays final it's down to may the best man win, but I am hopeful like you, that it will produce the win for Andy.

Agreed SL. It is good to see supporters of all the players on the forum.

Good article Craig

Good article

I can't imagine Novak losing another final to be honest, I feel like as Nadal said after the US Open final "I thought Andy would win because tennis owed him something" I think this tournament is Novaks playground, I think Murray will get him back at Wimbledon after this