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Will Murray overcome injury?

Author: Brandon Barker
Date: 01/03/2009

A virus caused Andy Murray to pull out of this week's Dubai Championship and yet again the fitness of the British number one is back in the spotlight.

Murray was the betting favourite to win in the Middle East before pulling out ahead of a quarter-final meeting with France's Richard Gasquet and his latest withdrawal has led to suggestions that the 21-year-old Scot will never stay fit enough to win a Grand Slam tournament.

The virus has been hanging over Murray since last month's Australian Open, where he lost in the last eight to Fernando Verdasco despite being installed as the favourite to win the year's first major.

Despite being held in high esteem by the bookies, the closest Murray has come to winning one of the game's greatest prizes was losing to Roger Federer in the final of last year's US Open.

At that point last September, Murray was playing the best tennis of his career which came during a rare run of injury-free tournaments.

But the brittle tag which has followed the Scot since he arrived on the scene in 2005 has again emerged as he was competing in Dubai with an ankle injury which forced him to pull out of the previous week's ATP event in Marseille.

Murray's entire career has been dogged by injury, with the problems dating back to an issue with his knee before he turned professional in 2005.

More knee, back, wrist and thumb injuries were put down to growing pains, but four years into his time in the paid ranks, Murray continues to be hampered by injuries.

His longest lay-off came in the summer of 2007 when a three-month absence caused by a serious wrist injury forced to miss his 'home' Grand Slam of Wimbledon.

But it is less the lengthy lay-offs and more the stop-start nature of his career - caused by frequent niggling injuries - which have led to suggestions that Murray just cannot stay injury-free for a long enough period to fulfil his undoubted potential.

Murray has been told to rest up for ten days in a bid to finally shake off the effects of a virus, but it is hard to definitely predict a summer of success for the British number one.

Several betting pundits have questioned Murray's ability to play consistently week in and week out to break the Rafael Nadal/Federer stranglehold on the current game and become the first Briton to win a Grand Slam since 1936.

And while Murray's undoubted ability and belief continue to be let down by his fragile body, there appears little danger of Fred Perry relinquishing his unwanted record any time soon.

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