Andy Murray: Realistic Chance To Become No 1

“I believe I can get there,” Murray has said of the NO. 1 RANKING. “These last few months have proved that to me. I’ll give it my best shot to do it, because I may never get another chance.”

- N. Sudarshan 

Of the many debates that rage in the currentera of tennis, the most intense has been todecide if this is indeed the best the sport hasever had. With three sure-shot GOAT (Greatest of All-Time) candidates in Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, it can’t be otherwise, can it?

Such a conclusion though comes with a huge downside. A player not named Federer, Nadal or Djokovic is rarely considered a winner. Even in the era of Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors — a period that comes closest to the present era — there was always a place for the likes of Guillermo Vilas and Ilie Nastase.

And in the era of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, there was still a place for Jim Courier, Gustavo Kuerten and Yevgeny Kafelnikov. The Federers, the Nadals and the Djokovics possess giant halos and deservedly so. But they are almost always illuminated further by the complete denigration of the rest of the field.

Perhaps no one has been a bigger victim of this than Andy Murray. The Brit is a three-time major winner and an eight-time finalist. But he is a fourth fiddle to Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. After all, isn’t he the one with a win-loss record of 4-17 against the ‘Big Three’ in major semifinals and finals but 10-0 against everyone else? He is the very best among the rest but never worthy enough to be clubbed with the best. The inherent danger in such debates is the false binary one can easily slip into.