Was it all due to patience? Of course not; but he needed patience to get here and to keep going. The same age as Murray, he had to wait for the older Federer and the slightly older Nadal to show him their vulnerabilities, which he learned to exploit. He had to counter their specialties, Nadal’s huge topspin and Federer’s pinpoint service and bull’s-eye forehand. Among others — because, obviously, these two (Federer in particular) were adapting and improving throughout their own dominant years, no less than he.