Andy Murray Proving He's Back in Elite Form at 2014 BNP Paribas Masters

Andy Murray's not fooling around. 

A couple of months after his season appeared to be a lost cause, Murray has bounced back. Yesterday he qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals with an impressive 6-3, 6-3 win over Grigor Dimitrov. Ignore the scoreline. It wasn't that close. Murray dismantled Dimitrov. 

It was the kind of "sho nuff" beatdown that can give a man his swagger back. 

The win certainly gave Murray his place back among the elite. It also answered his critics who had questions about Murray all season long. He faced scrutiny about everything from his female coach to his place among the Big Four.

Forget all that now.

Murray is sending a message to the rest of the ATP Tour. He's using his racket to make a statement. He is playing like the man who captured the 2013 Wimbledon title. 

After the match against Dimitrov, Murray told a member of the ATP Staff that he noticed there were no letdowns in the match. 

"

In some of the matches that I've had against the top, top players, I've had some periods in the match where my level had dropped off a little bit, and the best players capitalise on those moments. I didn't have any of them today. I played well from start to finish...I made it very difficult for Grigor. I hardly made any mistakes at all throughout the match.

"

Since crashing out of the U.S. Open in the quarterfinals, Murray has been on a tear. He has won three titles in two months. 

Most impressive has been how well Murray is moving on the court. This late in the season, Murray appears to have fresh legs. He is peaking just in time for his return to London. 

Last year, although he qualified, Murray missed the year-end finals because of a back injury. He underwent back surgery in September. 

He returned to play in Doha in December 2013, but looked less than stellar. He failed to advance beyond the quarterfinals in any tournament until he reached the semis in Acapulco, where he lost to Dimitrov.

Murray would lose to Dimitrov again, in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. It was a lackluster and lethargic performance by Murray, who was trying to defend his title. Novak Djokovic defeated Murray in the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open and sent the Scot out of the ATP Top 10. He sank as low as No. 12. Suddenly, London seemed like a long shot. 

Going into the Asian swing, Murray appeared to be getting a second wind as others were running out of breath. He won the Shenzhen Open and reached the semifinals in Beijing. 

He began racking up points and got himself back in contention for London. He defeated David Ferrer in three sets to claim the Vienna Open. On October 26 he defeated Tommy Robredo in a three-set final in Valencia. 

After the U.S. Open, Murray downplayed his desire to play in London. He even dismissed the idea of playing a schedule designed to pick up points. In his post-match press conference, Murray told reporters that he would not run himself in the ground just to make the tournament.

"To be honest, it was not a massive goal of mine. I mean, it's obviously nice to qualify for it. It's a good tournament. I played a number of years, you know, and enjoyed it. But, yeah, I don't want to overplay...I won't expect to overplay just to try to qualify."

Apparently, Murray changed his mind. 

Going into Paris, Murray knew he needed to reach the quarterfinals to qualify. When he spoke with the ATP, Murray seemed confident about his chances. "The others guys behind me will need to play extremely well in Paris to knock me out, so I've done everything I could."

Now that Murray has secured spot in London, he's looking beyond the ATP Finals. He told the Express that "My goal will be to try to win the tournament because I still have a chance of moving up the rankings this year...Whatever happens this week has an effect on the middle of next year."

Meanwhile, Murray's playing as well as anybody on tour, including Djokovic and Roger Federer. He'll get his chance to see where his game stands in London. He's back among the elite, where he belongs.