Watch: Andy Murray shows off vintage form against Novak Djokovic at Sony

Although he came away with a loss, Andy Murray exhibited some promising play against Novak Djokovic. (Joel Auerbach/AP) It's been nearly nine months since

Courtney Nguyen | Mar 27, 2014

Watch: Andy Murray shows off vintage form against Novak Djokovic at Sony /

Although he came away with a loss, Andy Murray exhibited some promising play against Novak Djokovic. (Joel Auerbach/AP)

It's been nearly nine months since we've seen anything resembling Andy Murray's best tennis, but that's OK. Finally achieving a career-defining victory and then going under the knife for back surgery will do that to you. But Murray finally seemed to turn the corner this week at the Sony Open, where he ripped through the draw only to lose to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals in a well-contested match.

After the loss, Murray said he was pleased with his progress and that his anticipation and movement in particular had improved. That definitely showed in this stunning backhand pass he hit past Djokovic early in their match on Wednesday. The two engaged in a long, grueling rally before Djokovic looked to end with a big forehand approach shot wide to Murray's backhand. The Brit picked the right angle in pursuit and was able to flick an angled backhand pass for the winner.

Watch the point below:

Published Mar 27, 2014

COURTNEY NGUYEN

Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.