Murray must overcome problem at Grand Slams

SO ANOTHER Grand Slam has passed Andy Murray by.

There is no doubt about the Scot’s supreme talent, he is still young and has plenty of time to win a Grand Slam so perhaps a panic is unwarranted. However, it is slightly concerning that Murray, now ranked number two in the world, has failed to live up to expectations in any of the majors this year. On his favourite hard court surface he has been knocked out in the last 16 at the Australian and now US Open. Going out at the quarter-finals on the clay at the French – his worst surface - was respectable and that was quickly followed by his semi-final defeat at Wimbledon - his best Grand Slam performance of the year, but one where he was hotly tipped to meet Roger Federer in the final.

Somehow, I feared for Murray at the US Open as soon as he put in such an impressive display against Taylor Dent before his defeat to Marin Cilic. It was similar at Wimbledon. After he destroyed Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarter-finals, expectation rose so high it was almost considered a formality for him to beat Andy Roddick and reach the final. At the moment Murray is unable to string the wins together needed to win a Slam and often a very good performance is followed by an average one.

It may be a psychological problem, or as John McEnroe has suggested, it could be physical as a result of overtraining between games. Either way, it is a problem that Murray will have to overcome if he wants to go on and win his first Grand Slam next year.