Wimbledon 2012: Andy Murray Must Take Advantage of Nadal's Historic Upset

When Rafael Nadal was shocked by the Czech Republic's Lukas Rosol on Thursday in the second round of Wimbledon 2012—you could almost hear the wheels turning in Andy Murray's head.

Murray, despite being the world No. 4, has only reached a Grand Slam singles final three times in his career, in large part due to the collective cog that is Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. He's been ousted in the semifinals of Wimbledon in the past three years. The past two years, Nadal has been to blame.

When Nadal lost in five grueling sets to the world No. 100 on Thursday, it opened up an opportunity for Murray in a major, an opportunity he hasn't had for a long time. He's 349-116 in his career with 22 singles titles on the ATP Tour, but his resume has been marred because he's never won that elusive Grand Slam singles title.

It's possible that Murray loses to either Djokovic or Federer in the final if he advances, but the first step is getting to the final. In the second round on Thursday, Murray disposed of Ivo Karlovic, 7-5, 6-7, 6-2, 7-6. He faces Marcos Baghdatis next in the third round on Saturday.

Baghdatis isn't a gimme for Murray. Murray only holds a 4-3 career record against the Cypriot. The last time they faced each other at Wimbledon was in 2006, which saw Baghdatis win in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6. Obviously, they are in different points in their careers now, but Baghdatis did beat Murray in the ABN Amro Championship in February 2011.

Beyond Baghdatis, of course, there are some other ranked players still in the mix in Murray's bracket. You have David Ferrer (No. 5), Juan Martin del Potro (No. 9), Marin Cilic (No. 18), Kei Nishikori (No. 20) and Andy Roddick (No. 25). Murray lost to Ferrer in the quarterfinals of the French Open this year and Roddick defeated Murray in the semifinals of Wimbledon 2009.

In that respect, it's not a sure thing that Murray will blast through the rest of the competition en route to the final.

But Murray must capitalize on a great chance to advance to his fourth career Grand Slam singles final. He may be 25 years old, but he's been on the Tour for eight years; he's an old 25.

This is Murray's opportunity to put all his frustrations behind him and rise to the final. The question is, will this be a career-defining tournament for him or will it be yet another case of close, but so far away?

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