Is this Murray's time to dominate?

First topic message reminder :

The path for the Brit appears to be opening up:
-Djokovic can’t even win a set against a ‘cake-walk’.
-Federer will probably retire in the next decade or so.
-Nadal has a knee injury and can’t perform in the major tournaments these days.

OK, I might have exaggerated slightly there
But, jokes aside I do see this time as a chance for Murray. Djokovic’s form has not been the same as last year; Federer (although playing well) at this age will not perform as consistently in every big tournament while Nadal is recovering from a knee injury.

For the last 2 years or so the tour has been dominated by the ‘Big 3.’ Before that the tour was dominated by the ‘Big 2.’ Even though it is possible, I think Murray going on a Djokovic 2011-like tear is unlikely. However I do think this could be his chance to dominate alongside a few others at the top of the men’s game.
Remember, Murray is one of the youngest players in the top 20, his time his hardly running out. If he can avoid injuries I believe he can play at the top level for another 5-6 years or so. Furthermore, there aren’t that many youngsters who are bursting through- certainly none of them are near Murray’s level.

But, I feel I may be getting a bit ahead of myself here. As a word of warning, although Murray’s victory over Federer was his first against the Swiss in BO5, it was not in a Grand Slam. Will this Olympics victory really give Murray the belief in the majors? We shall have to wait and see. Nevertheless it does look possible, very much so. He can beat Djokovic- he nearly beat him in AO 2012 but since then he has improved (unlike Djokovic). He can beat Federer- his record against him is 9-8 altogether- but he needs more belief in the majors. Nadal, well. Let’s see how he comes back from his knee injury.

So, what do you think? Is this Murray’s chance? Will the Gold Medallist grasp glory?

Will be good to hear your views,
IMBL

When will Nadal return?

Some think WTF 2012 but I don think we'll see him until Jan 2013.

If Rafa's injury is the same chronic damage to his knees as has troubled him inthe past, he'd certainly be wise to take the remainder of the year off and get it as good as can be before restarting playing in the run-up to the AO.

On the question of Murray v Nadal on hard courts at the AO, assuming both bring their A-game it should be some match. I'm tending to favour Andy to win, but its pretty close to 50-50 in my mind.

One of the things that impressed me about Murray in the USO was how he was winning even without playing that well (Cilic, Berd-brain) - matches that in the past he'd have got down on himself and been blown away, this time he found a way of turning round and winning (in the case of the Cilic match spectacularly). Hopefully this will build his self-confidence and make him less prone to the melt-downs like he had against Rafa at Wimbledon a couple of years ago.

I'm not convinced he'll dominate the game, and certainly not in the way that Federer did through the mid 00s (doubt I'll see anyone so dominant again), but as Danny commented a few posts back, a slam a year for the next 3 years would do more than nicely.

Apparently the patella tendon tear was a new injury, as was the emergence of the Hoffa fat pad. Recent doctor announcements have stated the underlying knee joint itself is fine.

We'll have to see if he makes DC final now as that may still be a good way for him to come back. But generally his match sharpness/fitness may take months to come back after such an extended break.

Agree re: Murray, dont see him as having the make-up to dominate the tour. He's not the guy of guy who wins week in, week out - he tends to peak at certain events. I also dont think he can physically and mentally stand up to winning tournaments week in, week out - I just dont see him as mentally strong as the others to carry the strain of constant winning.

Regarding your last paragraph lydian I think you have to take into account that this is now a new Murray and not one who loses matches he should win as displayed recently he has a new mental toughness that sees him battle through to success. I mean he must have, been at rock bottom after losing the final at Wimbledon but he showed his mental fortitude to bounce back and take Olympic gold. Likewise in the US Open he was in tight spots against Lopez, Cilic, Berdych and Djokovic but found a way to win - again admirable mental toughness. I do agree with you in saying I do not see him being dominant as his season tends to move in cycles.

Agree re: Murray, dont see him as having the make-up to dominate the tour. He's not the guy of guy who wins week in, week out - he tends to peak at certain events. I also dont think he can physically and mentally stand up to winning tournaments week in, week out - I just dont see him as mentally strong as the others to carry the strain of constant winning.

I just want to stretch this out to even the likes of Nadal and Djokovic. Now Murray can he have a year of dominance? I think he can. The issue he would face like Nadal and Djokovic have is sustaining it. Building on IMBL, what must it be like for Nadal to be in the shadow of Federer, for Djokovic to be in the shadow of Federer and Nadal, for Murray to be in the shadow of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer. I think that is the difficult thing is the place yourself mentally above the rest of the field in light of their achievements. I think all the time Federer has had no-one to look up to makes it much easier to sit at the top. When you look up like Murray has had to and then look down at the rest of the field would make it much more difficult for him to remain a constent force at Slams.

Lets see CC...I hope you're right BTW but I do have some doubts...however I guess they are doubts as things were. Now the landscape is different....Federer cant go on forever at peak, Djokovic seems up and down plus Nadal is a big question so perhaps this can be Murray's time. That said I just dont have him in the same space as Nadal or Federer who won slams for at least 8 consequetive years but then who is in the same space as that? If he can end on 2-4 slams then he'll have etched his name into global tennis immortality...and of course at home he's already done that.

How relevant are Roger's, Rafa's and Novak's previous slam wins to Murray and his chances of dominating? I'm not so sure.

Murray only has one slam, it's true. Roger Rafa and Novak have loads of slams. But the important thing is he is the winner of the last slam. In fact, he's the winner if the last 2 big tournaments. He is the one with momentum. A bit like Man City v Man United. United may have been champions a thousand times, but City are in the ascendancy because the won the last championship.

What is also important is that he has beaten other members of the top 4 three times in a row now. The only question for me is: will he have a dip having achieved his lifetime dream? It's possible, but hopefully not.

I think 1 or maybe 2 slams next year is possible. Djokovic 2011 style dominance? Not a chance in my opinion. I'd love him to do that but I think it's do unlikely with 3 great players around him.

Tignor article about the new profile of Murray here:

http://www.tennis.com/news/2012/09/muzz-understanding/39474/#.UFrEJWt5mK0

lydian wrote:Tignor article about the new profile of Murray here:

http://www.tennis.com/news/2012/09/muzz-understanding/39474/#.UFrEJWt5mK0

Good article. Thanks for posting Lydian