Roberto Forzoni: Andy Murray has developed steel of a champion

Published on 12/09/2012 00:44

ANDY Murray has grown up since I worked with him in 2007. He has always had huge talent, but the biggest factor that led to his US Open success is his maturity.

He has always been a tough cookie who has been supported by his family, and he’s taken different things on board from every coach that he’s worked with. He’s got a certain steeliness, strength of character, and is even more determined now.

You can’t have the success he’s had in recent months without that. That’s a quality you associate with champions, and he’s developed it over time.

Five years ago, Andy was a great tennis player. If anything was holding him back, it was probably his inability to control his emotions on court, which isn’t unusual for a 20-year-old. But he has matured, and I think his gold and silver medal wins at the London Olympics were significant. He achieved those victories in a team environment when he was largely under the radar.

Even if you looked at his performance in that final against Roger Federer, you could see the progress he has made.

His emotional maturity was clear when Novak Djokovic came back to 2-2 – he took the bull by the horns and just went for it, focusing on the positives.

A barrier has been removed, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he wins two grand slams in 2013.

• Roberto Forzoni is a sports psychologist and former national performance psychology manager at the Lawn Tennis Association.