 Murray's next Grand Slam chance will be the French Open
|
Andy Murray's impressive run to the final of the Australian Open has seen him rise up to third in the world in the latest ATP rankings.
The 22-year-old, who lost in straight sets to world number one Roger Federer on Sunday, returns to the top three for the first time since October.
He replaces Rafael Nadal, who retired injured in the quarter-finals.
It is the first time Nadal has been outside the top three since before winning his first French Open in 2005.
Novak Djokovic, who lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last eight at Melbourne Park, moves up to number two.
However Murray, on 7,800 points, is only 510 points adrift of the Serbian and after his defeat to Federer, the Scot is keener than ever to lift a Grand Slam title.
"I'm hungry to win one," he said. "I haven't [achieved it] since I was 16, 17 years old when I started playing the junior Grand Slams.
"I worked really, really hard to try to do it and give myself the opportunity. So far it has not been good enough but I'm sure one day it will be.
 |
606: DEBATE
Tiger Tim
|
"I've got a long career ahead of me, and I'm going to have more opportunities to win them.
"I hope that I will, but if I don't there are a lot more important things to worry about than tennis.
"I'm getting closer to it and my results show that. I've just got to keep working hard."
One person who feels Murray's hard work will pay off is Federer - he remains sure a Grand Slam success will come for his rival.
"It's not an easy thing to do to win your first Grand Slam. That's not trying to screw with his head, you know. It's just a tough thing," said the Swiss.
"The next one is not going to get any easier, but his game is so good that I'm convinced he will win one.
"He has got everything you need to beat the best and to win big tournaments. I think he's extremely strong in his mind, and I just feel like he's got the game to do it. The question is just when."
Henman and Becker on the Aussie Open final
And former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker believes Murray has the mental skills to achieve his dream.
"The more often he gets to a semi or a final and doesn't win, I think the media over here is going to put even more pressure on him. I think we should all relax a little bit," he told the BBC.
"The guy did amazing. There isn't another player in sight from this country who can do what he did."
No comments:
Post a Comment