Murray prepares for ultimate test:: BBC Sport

BBC SPORT | Tennis | Murray prepares for ultimate test~~~

OK, I'll admit it. When, four months ago, Andrew Murray lost to Marin Cilic in the French Junior Championships, I thought it was a sign that he might not be quite ready for the Big Time of the ATP tour. Then came Wimbledon, wins in Challengers, qualifying for the U.S. Open and the infamous vomit-laced win first round win there over Pavel. Great strides, yes, but even as recently as last week, after his straight set loss to Wawrinka in the Great Britain-Switzerland Davis Cup tie, an observer as astute as Peter Bodo was pleading for a "reality check for Murray fans."

So, tomorrow, Murray takes on Roger Federer in the final of the ATP's Bangkok event, having disposed of the fifth (Soderling), third (Ginepri) and seventh (local hero Srichaphan) seeds. Murray now faces the challenge of breaking Federer's streak of 23 consecutive finals wins.

But he's really already accomplished the most difficult feat--following up one big win with another. He needed to beat Soderling to achieve one of his stated goals--Top 100 by year end. Yet having done that, he wasn't content to pause there. Instead he took out Ginepri and Srichaphan in consecutive days. And all of a sudden (now that he's back playing best of three), the fitness issue is receding into the background.

Reality check? Having earned his way into facing Federer in a tour final at the age of 18, Murray's actual life has probably exceeded his wildest fantasies.