Australian Open 2012: Andy Murray Proves Grand Slam Drought Will End Soon

Andy Murray will win a Grand Slam title in 2012. Sure, he came up just short in his bid to upset Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals, but his high level of play proved that he's finally ready to take the next step on one of the sport's biggest stages.

The Scottish star has long been criticized for being too defensive in matches against other elite players, and rightfully so. It's virtually impossible to beat Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer in a five-set match when all you're doing is serving as a backstop.

It was a different story on Friday. Murray was much more aggressive in the marathon match, finishing with just two less winners than Djokovic. That's the style of play he needs to bring every match if he's going to break through at a major.

Bringing Ivan Lendl on as coach was the perfect move. He was one of the tour's heaviest hitters during his career and will force Murray to start going for more winners, even if the risk factor goes up.

The best part of it for Murray is that his defensive skills and fitness will never leave him just because he's being more aggressive. He'll still be able to run down the majority of his opponent's shots and, like he proved against Djokovic, he can handle an extended match.

It's just that he'll be bringing an entirely different dimension to the table. Since he'll be featuring more pace, his foes won't be able to sit on a short return or weak saving stab. They'll have to be prepared for a complete, all-court game. One Murray hasn't had until now.

The French Open is the next major and it doesn't start until late May. That gives Murray, who made the semifinals of the event last year, and Lendl four months to fine tune his next approach. By then he should be operating like a well-oiled machine.

Even if he falls short there, he made the final four of the other two majors last season as well. So he's been close at every Grand Slam stop. It's just about getting over that hump.

Judging by his performance against Djokovic, it won't be much longer before that happens. The new-and-improved Murray will take the tennis world by storm this summer.