Murray's Mental Strength Holds Key to Securing Grand Slam Triumph

Jamie Murray was getting increasingly frustrated with his younger brother towards the middle of last year: "It was frustrating for me to watch Andy not doing as well as I thought he should be. Mentally he was not as strong as he ought to have been, but over the last six months he has changed all that." It is a change that took him to the final of last year's US Open, and has persuaded many he is set to win his first grand slam title here at the Australian Open.

The turning point undoubtedly came against France's Richard Gasquet last summer when Murray recovered from being two sets down in an emotionally charged fourth round match on Center Court, which saw the British No1, having been generally outplayed, impose his will to crushing effect on the Frenchman.

Gasquet, a year older, is every bit as naturally talented, but this was a rite of passage for Murray. "For whatever reason something kind of clicked with Andy," said Jamie. "Mentally he became a lot more mature on the court and certainly he started to understand how to play his best tennis. I always knew he was more than good enough to play at the top level."

There had been some friction between the two brothers last year, notably when Andy opted out of Britain's world group Davis Cup tie in Argentina, leaving the team with no chance of victory. There were also problems when they played together in the Beijing Olympics. Both situations were handled poorly by Patricio Apey's Ace Group, and contributed to the brothers' decision to sever the relationship and join Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment.

Jamie, who will play here in the men's and mixed doubles, is himself a strong character and is delighted to see his brother realizing his potential. "Andy is playing so much better, is full of confidence, and is coming into this tournament knowing he can beat all the guys at the top."

The mental sea change is something Murray, seeded to meet Spain's Rafael Nadal, the world No1, in the semi-finals, having beaten him at the same stage of the US Open, freely admits: "My mindset going into matches is much better now because I have been playing consistently well. I'm going into matches confident, with not as many nerves," he said.

Nerves were something Murray talked about quite openly at the beginning of his career, unlike Tim Henman who, in public at least, was very up about such matters. In this respect Murray represents a new generation, although in recent times he has shown few signs of ­suffering. That said, all players are susceptible, even Roger Federer.

Murray will have an extra day of practice before opening up his fourth Australian Open against Andrei Pavel, the veteran Romanian, tomorrow. Pavel missed the majority of last season with a serious back injury, and has recently become Romania's Davis Cup captain, on what may be his last year on the ATP Tour.

Murray, after winning the exhibition event in the Emirates and then his first title of the year in Doha, his ninth in total, chose not to play in the Kooyong exhibition here, deciding that practice would be more beneficial together with steady acclimatisation. "You need to be prepared for all the different changes in conditions. Some days it can be very, very windy, some days extremely hot, and the next day pretty cool." So far the summer has been generally cool in the Victorian capital, and the courts are consequently playing a little lower and slower.

To date Murray's experience of the Australian Open has been mixed. His one outstanding match came in the fourth round two years ago, under the floodlights of the Rod Laver arena, when he lost to Nadal after winning the first and third sets. That was the night when Australia sat up and said collectively of Murray: "Who is this bloke, mate?" On that evening he hit the ball with a power that few had seen before – the first clear indication of his slam potential.

Last year was a disappointment, with Murray losing in the opening round against France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the eventual runner-up, who this time around is having back trouble. "I think everybody got carried away with that defeat," said Murray's mother, Judy. "Tsonga played great tennis, and people forgot Andy's relative inexperience. It was disappointing, but not something he dwelt on."

It was all part of the learning curve, with Murray responding both positively and progressively. Federer was right to gently query Murray being made favorite here, having not yet won a slam; though even the Swiss, who since the US Open final has lost to Murray three times, would be pushed to name anybody currently playing better – certainly not him, Nadal, or Novak Djokovic, last year's champion. The form, and perhaps the title, is very much in Murray's court.