From Crying Baby to a Matured Brit :The Rise of a New Champion- Andy Murray

It’s been 76 years since a Brit has won a major event at Wimbledon. It's been so long since the crowd at Wimbledon has cheered for a Brit player as they did today.  Andy Murray created history with his win today claiming his first Olympic gold medal for a country which has long awaited a champion since Fred Perry.

Andy Murray defeated Roger Federer in a convincing manner in straight sets: 6-2, 6-1, 6-4. Federer looked tired after the epic semifinal match but today was the day for Andy Murray, a well-deserved victory. It was the biggest win of his life and career, and indeed one of the most inspiring in the history of Olympics.

Today's victory for Andy Murray was not just another one; it is the win that has officially put him in the champion’s league. Whatever doubts people had about his ability to handle pressure, has now been put to rest. Today he showed to everyone that true champions are those who have the ability to rise up from their failures and emerge stronger than ever before.

It was at the start of the year, when we first saw the emergence of the resilient Murray when he stretched Djokovic to a marathon 5 set match in the semifinals of Australian Open. It could have been one of the crushing moments of his career but as Ivan Lendl told him: This is just the start; you have got to be ready for more to come.  And then came the crucial moment in his career, the finals of Wimbledon where he lost to Federer in a thrilling 4 set match. Although he lost the Wimbledon trophy, he emerged as a winner in the heart of the tennis fans in Britain with his tough persona and determination.

With such crushing defeats, one would expect Murray to be bogged down as he has shown in the past but this time, it was not to be. As Murray himself said it, earlier he used to get depressed and take off for some days, this time he was back on the court after 5 days feeling good and looking to his next goal- Olympics.  He believed he has matured as a player, grown up as a person and unlike the past, he was more positive.

And a huge reason for such growth can be contributed to the one man he decided to hire after consulting with Darren Cahill – “Ivan Lendl”. And what a difference he has made in his belief, mental attitude and shot making especially his forehand .From a crying baby who was famous for faking injury symptoms during the match, holding his back or knee to give false impressions to his opponents, shouting at his camp after almost every point, Andy Murray has finally come out with his real self - the resilient, aggressive and above all a confident player who believes in his game rather than other distractions.  Lendl has brought in him the passion and toughness the British has been asking him to show since he first emerged a young prodigy.

Not many know, but when Murray was a child, he witnessed the Dunblane, Scotland school shooting massacre where a crazed gunman killed 16 of his classmates and a teacher. I can only imagine the effect it must have had on his mind and till this date, Murray is reluctant to talk about it. What's truly inspiring is that in spite of such a horrific event; he has come out as a fighter who wanted to prove to the world that giving up is never an option. Everyone including Federer, Nadal and Djokovic had been expecting him to rise any moment, and today was the day when he finally got his moment in front of his own people at the historic venue of Wimbledon at Olympics. What better way to stamp upon your authority than the tennis and sports heaven?

People might think that giving up is an easy option, look at Murray and see for how many times, he was defeated by Nadal in the semifinals, how many times he has been defeated in the finals by Federer and Djokovic before he finally became a champion.

Imagine if he would have not tried anymore, not tried to hire Lendl, not tried to be the most hard working player on the tour, not tried to be who he is today: Olympic Gold Medal Champion.

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison

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Novak Djokovic: The Toughest Competitor!

"Heroes aren't born in the final act, They are born in the struggle of the plot." That's where the new Djokovic was born.

Rewind to the years before 2011 where Djokovic regularly struggled against the likes of Federer and Nadal, be it service, be it returns, be it any area of his game.

Fast forward to today, he is the man who is unbreakable and has the look of a warrior who knows that he cannot be broken.

When it comes to pressure situations, there is no player who plays more aggressively on break points or match points than Nole himself.  60 out of the last 66 break points has been saved on hard courts by Djokovic till date, he has made the historic comeback against Federer in US Open last year and Murray in Australian Open this year. Not to mention after his heartbreaking loss in Olympics, when everyone had thought that this will really effect his mentality, when there were rumors about his personal problem, he has come strongly and better as a champion (Roger Cup winner and now the finals of Cincinnati Open) and a fighter who wants to make a statement to the world that nothing can stop him from his path  He recently commented on his facebook account:

 "I really missed the feeling of raising a trophy. And I still have a big hole in my heart for missing out the chance for Olympic medal. I dreamed of it and I know how much it meant for my country. But sport taught me to be strong while winning, and even stronger when losing. That became part of my character by now." 

Sports has taught him to be even stronger when losing and that has become his character, such a powerful lesson we all can learn when faced with adversity on our own lives, when we feel we have lost everything and now nothing good can come up in future. If there is one thing we can learn is rather than giving up, take control of your own destiny and shape your future after facing  disappointments.

What more can be said of Nole except that in tough situations, the champion in him become even more dominant and shows us who he is in reality. The way he has won Toronto and reached the finals of Cincy, is in itself  a remarkable example of how well he has bounced back from his defeat in Olympics. It makes me go back to an old adage:

"When the going gets tough, the tough gets going"

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Roger Federer & His Secret of Success.

One of my friends mentioned to me: Life is tough, why is  that others have been able to achieve so much as compared to her.  She debated with me on how luck is a strong factor in deciding who gets all the fame. How she has tried hard and now given up on her goals because of the setbacks she received in the process?

While debating with her, my mind went back to US Open 2009 where Roger Federer was a set up and 5-4 in the second set and still ended up losing the match. That was still alright but come 2011, he lost the French Open Final once again to his friend/rival Rafael Nadal. To add misery to his year, he lost the QF of his favorite GS -Wimbledon after being 2 sets up. Then came all the talks about his being turning 30 and how his era seems to be on the decline. If this was not enough, he had a shocking and humiliating defeat by the hands of the player of the year-Novak Djokovic at US Open (after having 2 Match points in his bag)

What can be more disappointing than the feeling that one day-you are the indisputable king of the world and the other day, you have been failed by your own standards and the entire world doubting your abilities! You are bound to give up in life—won’t you?

But then that’s not who Roger Federer is. He didn’t give up or grieve about his loss, took a break of 6 weeks and came back stronger than ever: Wimbledon, World No. 1, Olympic Silver Medal and now Cincinnati Open. No one predicted this kind of comeback from this champion after his loss in Australian Open and French Open this year. While everyone was writing off his chances, he was busy preparing himself for his goals in life.

The Reason for his success:  He Never Ever Gave Up.

He is an experienced person who knows what he is capable of and what he can achieve.  Even during those tough moments, he didn’t stop believing in himself .  It’s very easy for all of us in life to blame our failures on destiny and not work hard enough to find out where the real problem lies.

In Federer’s own words: I went through some tough moments as well where I was frustrated and I didn't like it as much.  But, I don't know.  I always stay positive.  I'm a very positive person”

During the 6 week break after US Open 2011, Mirka (his wife) told him: “It’s O.K. to lose one or two matches very closely, but you can’t start losing more and more and more. Then maybe something’s wrong in your corner. So you just have to question yourself and check with the entire team, see what everybody thinks.’ 

Isn’t this true for all of us too that something might be wrong in our corner. If we haven’t been able to achieve our goals, then there is something still to be improved upon by ourselves. So next time, when you think of quitting, remember that quitting for sure will not make you reach the goals but trying hard enough in a smart way can definitely help you inch closer toward the goal post. 

Life is all about preparing, competing, dealing with tough situations and seeing how you are doing. You never know what can happen and that’s what makes it so thrilling. So always have faith, never ever give up and go for your goals.

"There maybe tough moments maybe for, you know, an hour or a couple of days potentially, but life goes on and you get a second chance. Everyday push yourself and strive for trying to be better than the day you were before because everything else won't do your job. Being manage to able to do all those things can create really extra ordinary things that you thought was never possible" - Roger Federer

And that’s why he has achieved so much. So why can’t you?

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