Great Expectations - starring Andy Murray

Beating the very best opponent at the sport you play must undoubtedly give confidence to the winner to go on and do greater things. Andy Murray has achieved such a feat six times over the indescribable Roger Federer (I say that because there aren’t any superlatives left to use!). When the two men duel tomorrow night at London’s O2 Arena in front of a capacity crowd the expectation will be great, the atmosphere will be deafening but how long will a Murray win satisfy us all? Is it largely expected by the British public that he should beat, arguably, the game’s greatest ever with little debate? Or will the argument of no Grand Slams to his name diminish a victory that may well see him go on and lift the ATP World Tour trophy?

Questions, questions, questions – such questions are posed because by the nature of the beast. The beast in question is the Great British sporting public.

A Murray win tomorrow night should not only satisfy but cement once again why he is being heralded as potentially the greatest British tennis player to have ever lived. A list that is as short in length as it is in quality. Unfortunately when we have a successful sporting icon to latch on to we do expect nothing less than victory, even against a man who has won fifteen grand slam titles. Is it a given? No. But because of Murray’s 6-3 record over Federer there are greater expectations than there should be. And even if the Dunblane man does lift the trophy on Sunday there will still be a niggle in most people’s minds. Yes, that’s great over three sets Andy but we want to see it over five sets over the two week duration of a slam.

Note to the British public: Good things come to those that wait.

Murray’s first group victory over newly crowned US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro on Sunday was like most of his victories. It was like watching a tennis version of Ali – Foreman. The huge hitting Argentinian battered down shots with an array of missile like groundstrokes against the ever fast- moving and always counter punching Scot. The ability he has to soak up such pressure is really a joy to watch. One can only imagine the mindset of his deflated opponent when he returns ball after ball after ball. Murray knows in opponents like Del Potro that it is only a matter of time before he capitalises on their inevitable errors. And the rest of the men on the tour know that if they do not produce their very best tennis the mistakes, which Murray thrives on, will creep in and eat away at them mentally more than anything else. But there will still have been voices yesterday that would’ve perhaps whispered, rather than shouted, “That’s great Andy but he’s still won a slam before you”.

Note to British public: Do you really think Del Potro’s game is suited to go out and win slam after slam?

Regardless of what happens over the next week all eyes will still have a corner glance at next year’s calendar. January 18th is the date that you’re looking for. Once again Andy Murray will have everyone gripped when the Australian Open begins. Last year’s overwhelming hype that saw him placed as favourite before the event started will not happen again. The storm has settled slightly and people recognise that the men’s game is as strong as it’s ever been. Murray holds his place rightly at number four in the world. The Grand Slam total for Murray may read zero as opposed to the 22 held by the three men above him. But would you bet against Murray making it 23 slams held in the top four come next January?