Novak Djokovic: How He Can Defeat Andy Murray to Guarantee an Olympic Medal

Novak Djokovic breezed into the semifinals of the 2012 London Olympics, taking out a strategy-disoriented Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

He now guarantees himself a spot in a medal round.

His form has been streaky this week, seeing him drop a couple of sets and lose serve a few more times than viewers are accustomed to.

On the other hand, Andy Murray, the home hero and favorite, is playing exceptionally well and can give Nole a good run for his (and Serbia's) money.

Novak needs to center in on making a high percentage of first serves and neutralizing Murray's first serve on the return spectrum of the sport.

Andy has been serving better than we have seen from him in over a year and his forehand (though it is no longer the same fundamentally sound stroke that Ivan Lendl had him utilizing in Australia) is also improving immensely.

Nole can attack the Murray backhand—and the slice that it is accompanied with—to open up the forehand side.

He has been coming to the net to finish off points against other opponents this week, but I do not think that is as advisable for this particular match because of how well Andy covers the court and stretches for passing shot digs.

Novak should use his drop shot much more, on the backhand side of course, to take away Andy's advantage of coming forward aggressively.

Lastly, it is imperative that he makes Andy play that extra ball, just as the Scottish star does to all other players in the field.

Novak has a good shot at playing in the gold medal round, but he must focus and realize where his game is right now to be able to move forward with success.

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