Nadal, Djokovic and Murray: 10 Reasons Why Andy Won't Win a Slam

Roger Federer is on the wane. Rafael Nadal and now Novak Djokovic have superseded him at the world tennis pinnacle.

Meanwhile, Andy Murray is a man in waiting, having been World No. 4 for over a year.

In the last year, Djokovic has steamed his way to the top. While Djokovic faced hard application and sharp focus, Andy Murray had stood still.

Here we discuss 10 reasons why Andy will never make it to No. 1, or win a Tennis Grand Slam.

The Greatest Since Fred Perry?

Fred Perry was the last British tennis player to win a Grand Slam and the greatest of all time. In total, he won eight Slams, being the first man to win all four titles. He was also World No. 1.

Andy Murray is possibly the most talented all-round tennis player Britain has ever produced, but has so far failed to emulate his role model's achievements.

There was far less competition in Fred's days and tennis was a 'gentleman's' sport, played in white trousers. None of this denies Perry's ability, but Andy arguably has more.

He has the best all-court game of any Brit, is one of the fittest athletes on the circuit and, when on song, has an indefatigable attitude.

He may have the best two-handed backhand in the game and an outrageously good drop shot as well, but there are far too many other factors (all of which are soluble), that lead to his under-achievement.

So why will he never win a Slam?

1. His First Serve Isn't Good Enough

Andy Murray has an excellent first serve...when he gets it in.

He ranks 16th in the world on numbers of aces. He is an intelligent server, who is prepared to mix both direction and pace. The result is reflected in his 21st ranking on points won on first serve.

However, his first service percentage at 59% is awful, leaving him way behind Rafael Nadal (67%), Novak Djokovic (66%) and even Roger Federer (64%).

Now, this glaring weakness has been staring him in the face since he came on the circuit. It puts so much pressure on the rest of his game that, if I were his coach, I'd have him working for a week on nothing else.

He will never win a Slam until he sorts this out—the most important stat in his game.

2. His Second Serve Isn't Good Enough

When put together with the previous slide, you start to get the picture why, sometimes, Andy seems to walk on court with one hand tied behind his back.

Of the players he admires, Pete Sampras had one overriding quality. When the chips were down and his back was against the wall, he could serve his way out of trouble.

Andre Agassi frequently served below 170 kph on his first serve and, like Murray, had an outstanding all-court game. He also had a second serve good enough to keep his opponent under pressure.

While Murray has a good body serve and can also slide one away from the right hander, his pace isn't good enough on second serve to win many points. As with other aspects of his game, he may be too defensive, seeking to put the ball in play and battle his way through the ensuing point with athleticism.

But regularly under 145 kph, he's putting too much pressure on himself. The result is reflected in stats of only 47% points won on second serve, ranking him 64th in the world.

3. His Forehand Isn't Consistent Enough

When Andy Murray is on song and feeling confident, he can have a blistering forehand. Brad Gilbert christened it his 'fearhand' during the time he was Andy's coach.

Roger Federer and Darren Cahill are among respected names who have suggested that he needs to be more aggressive if he wants to win a Slam.

When he's standing on the baseline, he not only loves hitting a succession of 15 or 20 drives in the long rallies, but they also wear his opponents down.

His forehand can be solid.

But he is better than that and when he lets it go, searching out the lines, there is no better forehand in the world.

Unfortunately, it sometimes breaks down under pressure and his opponents certainly regard it as his weaker side.

His service return stats show how good it could be because he is top of the rankings on first service return points won; fourth on second service return and second in return points won.

So here's the simple prognosis: play more aggressively, rely on your forehand more and hit those lines.

4. He's Not Aggressive Enough

As the Australian Open Final showed, if you're happy to stand behind the baseline, trading blows against a ground stroke player of the quality of Novak Djokovic (or Rafael Nadal), you're going to get beaten.

I don't know what the stats are, but it seems that when Andy Murray gets into a baseline slugfest, he loses more points than he wins.

Compare that to Djokovic, who picks his moment and goes for the outright winner and you get the picture.

As Tim Henman, former British number one and losing finalist at Flushing Meadows said before the 2009  US Open: "He needs to play more aggressive tennis to succeed," and that's still true now.

Hopefully Murray hasn't become disillusioned, following his loss to Djokovic in the Australian Open, where he played aggressively throughout the tournament and still couldn't prevail.

And that's the style which brought him success in the Cincinnati Masters two weeks ago. But he was back to his same old, same old baseline worst before stumbling through against Robin Haase last night.

Let's hope Murray changes his strategy permanently before he reaches 30, and doesn't regret in fifty years time that he didn't emulate Fred Perry and win at least one Slam.

5. His Temperament Is Suspect

Andy Murray has terrific drive to win. He is his own worst critic. He can derive great motivation from hyping himself up, but his temperament is getting in the way of his potential greatness.

When you watched Pete Sampras, you saw someone who was Mr. Cool, able to stay in the zone for hours at an end.

We're not born with great temperament, it is something we learn. There is obviously anger inside Andy, as well as passion. His on-court swearing is as bad as anyone in the game but, like Wayne Rooney in soccer, he is screaming at himself and his passion leaks out.

If he could only channel this at all times, he has the game to support it. The problem is that his outbursts seem to pop him out of 'the zone' and it takes his more mature adult side to get him back in.

You can see passion in Nadal, Djokovic and even Roger Federer, but it is always a release of energy, focused and in control. With Andy, it is potentially damaging and destructive and you sometimes wonder who he is really railing at - from his present, or his past....

6. He Needs More Consistent Focus

And this is allied to temperament.

Listening to Andy's pre and post-match interviews, you wonder what he does off court. He often arrives at matches looking pretty cool and that is good.

How well does he sleep? How does he prepare? Does he study his opponents? Does he have a clear game strategy and a back-up plan if that doesn't work?

Being so talented, you wonder sometimes whether he relies too much on his extraordinary ability to mix up his game, as needed in a match. He has the full array of shots to match that. He has as fast reactions as any player in the game, but that could make him lazy at times, relying on his ability to get himself out of a corner.

He is a master of the smart play, but sometimes doesn't play smart.  He over-uses the drop shot because he can, or gets sucked into baseline battles when he has the talent to hit the winner at will.

And when things aren't going well, he looks towards his corner, sometimes shouting towards them—a question or a statement of what's going wrong.

He just needs to get and keep his head down more, have a clear strategy, ping down a good first service and use his talent more aggressively to pummel his way to defeat.

He is a gentleman towards his fellow competitors, but perhaps has too much respect for the likes of Federer. And why oh why doesn't he ping the incoming volleyer more often? Too nice maybe?

7. He Needs a Full-Time Coach

Andy Murray has no shortage of top coaches prepared to work with him, including Ivan Lendl. Tim Henman has been suggested, but is not yet ready to travel, for family reasons. The marriage between Murray and Brad Gilbert worked for a while.

Miles McLagan was his fifth full-time coach and lasted two and a half years until July 2010. Since then Murray hasn't had a full-time coach.

Alex Corretja was already sharing duties with McLagan, which is why the latter resigned, but Corretja had TV commitments and wasn't even at the Australian Open.

Darren Cahill has worked with Murray, particularly before Wimbledon, through an arrangement with Adidas. For many people he is the perfect choice, especially as there are similarities between Agassi (Cahill's former charge) and Murray in temperament and talent.

Barry Cowen and Sven Groeneveld (Federer's former coach) were flirted with early in 2011 also.

As we go to press, Dani Vallverdu, Murray's hitting partner and good friend is as near to a coach as there is. It is to be hoped that Andy doesn't think he can coach himself, like Roger Federer, because he is very much the unfinished article.

Before the Monte Carlo Masters, he made it clear he was going to take his time deciding:

"I have to think calmly about what I need exactly. I don't want to rush into anything."

"A lot of ex-players might find it easy to say 'yeah I'd like to coach him' but it's a big commitment and you can't just dip in and out at the big events. It's important to have someone you respect and someone who doesn't take any crap.

"It doesn't have to be someone screaming at you, it can be taking you to one side and explaining that things aren't good. But if it takes shouting in my face to get the best out of me then I'll have to accept it."

He'd better decide soon, though, because he's now 24 and should be at his peak. In the meantime, his biggest influence may be his Mum....

8. Should His Mum Give Him a Break?

It's brilliant to see the relationship between Andy Murray and his mother Judy. She is clearly utterly committed to her son's success and has been since he was born.

Not many people realise the debt we owe Judy Murray, who has been one of Scotland's top tennis coaches.

There have been some other successful family relationships.

Rafael Nadal is coached by his uncle.

The Williams sisters have always been coached by their father.

But Richard Williams now watches many of their matches from home. He realises that the intensity of his connection with his daughters can work both ways.

We don't know who Andy is looking at in his team's box, but there is frequently an exchange between him and Judy. We often see the passion of Judy's involvement, which is great.

But how many times does this snap Andy out of the zone? How often is he seeking approval from the person he is clearly closest to?

Steffy Graf might have never become the player she was if she hadn't banished her father. John McEnroe's father had to go. There has been a host of other parents who had to make way, like Mary Pierce's father.

So maybe Judy has to take a back seat because certainly in the big matches, she may be an unnecessary distraction if Andy is to reach the pinnacle that his talent deserves.

9. His Lifestyle

You either love him or hate him, but Andy Murray is a celebrity in the UK.

He may court disaster with some of his comments, which betray his Scottish nationalism, but he has replaced Tim Henman as the nation's favourite.

Henman was a millionaire very young through sponsorships. This was because British sport, not just tennis, needed a clean cut role model. So, he was sponsored by Robinson's Barley Water.

Andy Murray is sponsored by Scottish company Highland Water, but that is where the connection ends. His image is rather more scruffy, especially his hair and face stubble. And although he has improved under the guidance of Simon Fuller, he doesn't court style followers.

At an estimated $10 million a year, Murray earns half the salary of Wayne Rooney, but thirty times the pay of Prime Minister David Cameron.

With a demanding tennis schedule, he has relatively little time to spend so much money. In June, he ditched his Ferrari in favour of an Aston Martin, "a bit of class", because he felt a 'prat' driving the Ferrari.

He also revealed: "I'm told my earnings in prize money have just gone through the $16m mark. I'd pay all of that back to win Wimbledon."

$10 million may not be a huge amount in the US or Switzerland, but it goes a long way in the UK. Murray could retire now and live very comfortably for the rest of his life. Let's hope he doesn't lose his ambition, because he could retire well before 30 if he did.

10. Too Much Pressure and Expectation

It's hard being the best British tennis player in a generation—let alone for 75 years. Like the Soccer World Cup win in 1966 and Fred Perry in the 1930s, Brits love living in the past and are desperate for success.

Tim Henman found it hard carrying that weight of hope and expectation. For Murray, the hard surfaces may not be the only reason he prefers the US and Australian Opens to Wimbledon.

Like Henman, he loves it when the crowd gets behind him and they can carry him along. But the Wimbledon crowd can go deathly quiet or wail with anguish when things go wrong.

Some players love Wimbledon (certainly all the greats), but with Henman Hill being renamed Murray Mound, the thousands inside the grounds and the millions at home, there is a huge burden of belief.

And even overseas, the British media follows him and world media picks up on his aberrations.

He is an intense young man with a huge talent like we haven't seen in Britain for 75 years. He is determined, though not yet destined, to win a Grand Slam. If he does, we may see him go to the next level.

Our general conclusion, however, is that he has challenges to iron out and the clock is ticking. Federer is already talked about as being on the slide at 30.

Andy Murray is also a very single-minded young man. He knows what he wants. It is also to be hoped that he knows what he needs.

Above all, that is a world class coach to 'boss him around', take some of the media weight off him, get his game firing on all cylinders and fulfilling his potential.

For now, another year is likely to slide by without the big win and, with a burgeoning bank balance, how long before it becomes too comfortable and too easy to retire?