Saturday night the BNP Paribas Open produced another shock result for Andy Murray. Canadian Qualifier, Vasek Pospisil served and volleyed his way into the 3rd round of the Masters 1000 series event. The Canadian dismissed the world No. 1, 6-4 7-6(5) in just under 2-hours.

Pospisil took the 1st set in 46 minutes playing aggressive tennis and delivering velocity on his serves in the 120MPH range. He took advantage of 2nd serve opportunities winning 89 percent of those points. When Set 1 ended only two points separated Andy and Vasek, 29 and 31 respectively. Another reminder that tennis is about winning the important points and the margins are minute.

In set 2, Pospisil held steady playing aggressive but also held his ground in long rallies. The Canadian snowbirds were aggressively flying their flags but Murray wrestled with adjustments to make up ground and found considerable success reaching 6-6. But on this night, Pospisil was “too good.” During the tie-break, he was quick to capture the lead going up 3-1 and held on to a 6-2 advantage. Once again, Murray fought back to 6-5 but Vasek closed with confidence lifted by crowd enthusiasm, and took the set at 7-6. A single point separated the two 42-41, again brutal margins.

As expected, the post-match pressers were polar opposites. Murray appeared dazed and produced words without expression. He was reflective as he spoke while processing the loss. In contrast, Pospisil rode the wave and spoke of the positive relationship with his new coach, doubles guru Mark Woodford.

He acknowledged that he had watched and found belief in Misha Zverev’s win over Andy at the Australian Open and also spoke of overcoming personal obstacles in 2016 and a resulting “self-growth.” This growth is perhaps another skill on his tennis resume.

When asked about the serve and volley style, Murray spoke of the reality that a serve and volley player can reach the top of the ATP. He referred that the fleeting use of the style is more a result that the skills are not taught and thus not seen or executed well by most players. He was direct in stating that there is no reason why a serve and volley style cannot succeed. Pospisil’s performance is supporting evidence.

Murray will continue on in the desert in the Doubles Draw with fellow Brit, Daniel Evans. Pospisil advances to his best result at BNP, the 3rd round, where he will take on Serbian Dusan Lajovic. He spoke of needing to quickly enjoy and then forget this win to stay mentally hungry for Monday. So far, his tactics are working.