'I will use Novak's big year as my inspiration'

You can do it: There is much Murray can learn from Djokovic's examples this year
David Smith10 April 2012

Britain's Andy Murray says Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic's form over the past 12 months makes him believe he can one day win a Grand Slam title.

New world No1 Djokovic won his second major of the year in beating Rafa Nadal at Wimbledon yesterday and British No1 Murray knows he must emulate the Serbian star's approach.

Murray admits he is "going to have to find that extra few per cent" if he is going to beat the top players and follow their path to glory.
But the Scot added: "I know it's possible, just look at Novak."

Djokovic now has three Grand Slam titles to his name, after winning the Australian Open in both 2008 and 2011.

The 24-year-old from Serbia also helped his country win the Davis Cup for the first time last year and has lost only once in 2011, beaten in the semi-finals of the French Open by Roger Federer.

"I remember watching Novak lose in the semi-finals of Wimbledon last year against Tomas Berdych and then a tough match against Rafa in the US Open final," world No4 Murray said in his column for BBC Sport.

"He's obviously improved a lot since then. That's something I need to look at and try to replicate. I'm 24.

"Right now, this age is pretty much the time I'm going to be at my peak in terms of fitness and strength, so I need to sit down with my team and get the priorities sorted in terms of my game and my training."

Murray's own Wimbledon challenge ended on Friday when he was beaten in four sets by Nadal in their semi-final on Centre Court.

However, former British No1 Tim Henman believes Murray has the game to one day win Wimbledon but needs to improve his mental strength.

Four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Henman highlighted an incident during the match with Nadal, when Murray, having won the first set, lost his way after blowing a big chance to break early in the second.

"Having missed that forehand during the fourth game of the second set, there was definitely some sort of a reaction as he lost seven games in a row," said Henman.

"He got distracted from his game plan and game style."

Murray is back in action this week when he competes for Great Britain in a Davis Cup tie against Luxembourg in Glasgow.

He will then travel to his training base in Miami ahead of the hard-court stretch leading up to the US Open, which begins at Flushing Meadows on August 29.

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