Andy Murray: A Fourth Successive Wimbledon Semi or a Historic Final?

Read absolutely nothing into Andy Murray’s early exit at Queens last week, he will have a decent Wimbledon.

Last week was his first match on grass since his defeat to Rafael Nadal in the 2011 Wimbledon semifinal and his first competitive matchup since losing to David Ferrer at the French Open.

He played a seasoned tennis player and someone who had already played a competitive match on grass this year in Nicholas Mahut. It was no real surprise that Murray lost to the Frenchman.

The Scot once again heads into Wimbledon with the weight of British expectation on his shoulders. Many expect Murray to do well, but perhaps the expectation levels are dropping as the big four has, in the eyes of many experts, been depleted to the big three.

Murray showed promise at the start of the year that he could close the gap to Novak Djokovic. In his dramatic five-set loss to the Serb in the Australian Open semifinal back in January, Murray looked a better player both technically and mentally.

However, the much repeated phrase that Murray would have won a slam in any other era is becoming a tag line and perhaps an excuse for many when it comes to his grand slam record.

How many of you would back Murray to make a fourth successive Wimbledon semifinal? The answer is probably the majority. But how many of you would back him to make the final? Honestly, not many.

Ivan Lendl was seen as the last remaining piece of the jigsaw that was needed for Murray to go that one step closer and win his first grand slam final.

His presence in the Murray camp has brought a steel about the Scot. He carried on against Jarkko Nieminen at the French Open when many said he should have retired and remarkably reached the quarterfinals despite supposedly carrying a back injury.

The question is; can Murray reach the Wimbledon final for the first time?

After his lost to Nadal last year, BBC television commentator Andrew Castle said: “It’s Nadal again, he rips the heart out of Murray." That very quote epitomises where Murray has been lacking.

He has the game to hurt any of the big three, but under Lendl he has an improved mental attitude and seemingly a belief that he is as good as Djokovic and Nadal.

After losing the third set to the Spaniard last year, it seemed like all the positive attitude had been sucked out of the Scot. We will only know the lengths of his improvements if he is in the same situation again this year.

If Murray has been able to benefit from his early exit from Queens and train hard on the practice courts that will help him for Wimbledon.

He told the BBC: “It will be a bit like preparing for the Australian Open. I often go to Melbourne without playing a competitive tournament, just training hard, and I’ve always played well there."

That seems positive, but for Murray to at least make the final at Wimbledon he will have to serve well, maintain his improved mental attitude and keep telling himself that he can beat the best.