Andy Murray Faces Long Odds to Turn Olympic Gold into US Open Title

Andy Murray and Roger Federer met for the second time in four weeks on the grass at Wimbledon. An Olympic gold medal is a small slice of redemption for Murray, but it doesn't help his chances to win his first major title in the 2012 U.S. Open.

The 25-year-old rising star has struggled to break out on the biggest stages of tennis. He's made four finals, including the U.S. Open in 2008.

But he's lost each of those matches, including a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 defeat against Federer in the 2012 Championships at Wimbledon. 

Murray is clearly ready to challenge on tennis' biggest stage. The dominant 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 rebound against Federer and semifinal win over Novak Djokovic in the London Olympics show he is improving and able to beat the best tennis has to offer.

Murray played very smart tennis in the Olympics. He moved Federer around the baseline and forced him into errors. He was also serving well, but that is hardly a surprise.

Murray's issue in majors hasn't been his ability to play great tennis. It has been his ability to know and be confident that he can play great tennis.

He seems to cower when his back is against the wall.

He opened up well in the Wimbledon final last month. Nerves didn't seem to be near the issue they'd been for Murray, but he wasn't able to push through adversity after losing the second set.

Murray wasn't heavily pushed in the Olympics, though. He needed a seventh game in both sets to beat Djoker, but he never trailed and there were no service breaks.

His confidence is certainly better after winning a gold medal in front of his home nation.

But he still needs to prove to himself that he can battle through adversity with a major contender and come out victorious.

That could happen at the 2012 U.S. Open, as the field may not be at full strength.

Djokovic is struggling, losing his last two matches in the Olympics. There is also a chance Rafael Nadal won't be a factor as he continues to deal with nagging injury issues.

But Murray's first Major title will more likely come in 2013 at the Australian Open or the Championships at Wimbledon.

He's made two finals and a semifinal in the last three years in Australia. He has his best winning percentage of any major at Wimbledon, winning 81.1 percent of his matches, and made the semifinals in 2010 and 2011.

The DecoTurf courts in the U.S. open haven't been quite as kind, though. He has a 75.9 percent success rate in those matches. 

Murray has played better on the surface of the Australian Open, which produces more bounce than the faster courts at the U.S. Open. Wimbledon also features a bit more bounce since the surface was changed in 2001.

Murray has shown steady improvement over the last four seasons and 2012 could be his most productive yet. He is ready for a breakout major title to go with his Olympic gold medal.

It will come, just not at the 2012 U.S. open.