Andy Murray is on a roll. It can’t be denied. Murray showed promising signs that he would win the US open at Wimbledon 2012. A performance that was solidified at the Olympics later. Andy Murray’s biggest achievement for 2012 was the US Open which has sealed Murray’s path to World Number one status for 2013. Even Borris Becker thinks so, who recently commented on the BBC, where he made mention of excellent coaching from Ivan Lendl. Lendl also had success at a similar age to Murray.
Murray has moved to third in the ATP rankings behind Roger Federer at number 1 and Novac Djokovic at number 2. Rafael Nadal as moved to fourth.
Can Andy Murray become number one during 2013?
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- He has youth on his side. Winning the US Open at age 25.
- Roger Federer is nearing the end of his career and may start a period of decline.
- Rafael Nadal has bad knees. His knees may not hold up.
- Murray has good recent form.
- Murray has a strong forehand, his defensive skills are as good as Djokovic and Nadal, and his return is world class.
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What’s the next important competition?
The Australian open will be the test to judge if Murray has what it takes to climb the ATP rankings during 2013. It’s a grass court competition which is where Murray has form. Clay court competitions like Roland Garos (French Open) are not Murray’s strong point. Expect Nadal to continue dominating clay court competitions, especially Roland Garos (even with bad knees). No doubt Murray will be working on his clay court performance with Ivan Lendl who started his career on clay courts. Taking Lendl’s influence into account there is still scope for surprise performances on clay this year from Murray. He finished third at Roland Garos in 2013 which is his best performance yet at the tournament.
The top four are still in a league of their own . The rivalry between Murray and Djokovic will hot up in 2013 as Nadal’s knees hold him back. The only wild card as ever is Roger Federer.