Is This the Year Murray Ends Britain's Drought?

There are lies, damned lies ... and forecasts about when and if Andy Murray will release British tennis fans from the dreaded statistic: not a single male winner of a grand slam since Fred Perry carried off the US title in 1936.

There are statistics, too, that put the 21-year-old Murray's progress into some sort of perspective. His slightly older contemporary Rafael Nadal was 19 years and two days old when he won his first grand slam, the 2005 French Open, and his very slightly younger contemporary Novak Djokovic was still only 20 when he made his breakthrough earlier this year at the Australian Open. Roger Federer was 21 when he began to reel off grand slams by defeating Mark Philippoussis in the 2003 Wimbledon final.

So, if these statistics are anything to go by, Murray should start winning major titles any time now.

His own assessment is that he may not be ready to do so until he is 22 or 23, which may be a very valid and sensible reading of his situation - or it may simply be a way of taking the pressure off himself. If it is the latter, it is dangerous. Nadal and Djokovic have both got where they are today by embracing pressure. They respond to it boldly and with a great deal of skill.

Murray still has to convince us that he can deal with pressure. There are signs that he can - he has already won five titles on the ATP tour to show that he can close out tense matches and he has beaten top 10 players, including Federer (twice) and Andy Roddick (four times).

There have been worrying signs too, though, including poor records against his contemporaries - Nadal leads him 3-0 and Djokovic 4-0 - that suggest when these two put the heat on him his nerve fails.

And then there is the matter of the pressure applied by his coaches. He has tended to fall out with them, including the last two, Mark Petchey and Brad Gilbert, who were not the types to let Murray coast. Now he has gathered around him a team that tend to do his bidding, rather than the other way around. A good idea? Possibly.

No one questions Murray's all-round ability, a player who, arguably, has a greater range of options than any other on the tour. When players go on to the court against Nadal, say, they know what they are going to get - a barrage from the back of the court that will steadily wear them down and, almost certainly, destroy them. Against Murray, they have no idea what to expect. He can duel from the baseline, he can serve and volley, he can mix it, he can change the pace of a rally with incredible deftness ...

Paul Annacone, head coach of British men's tennis, says: "Andy kind of lulls you into a false sense of security. He kind of lets you feel like you can play with him, but then all of a sudden he'll come to the net and hit a screaming passing shot. He'll get down 15-30 and then pop a couple of aces."

Annacone also spells out the dangers: "He does a lot of innate things that are unique and this is what makes him challenging for a coach who wants to promote aggressiveness. In the higher echelons of tennis, it's very, very difficult to walk the fine line between being reactive to what's coming at you and being proactive. Andy's so gifted he can do both. In the next two years he has to figure out how to manage this, when to do which."

Murray has said he can win Wimbledon this year, but has not said it with a huge amount of conviction. Until he acquires this conviction, which is something that comes only with establishing a comfortable relationship with pressure, he is unlikely to set British tennis fans free from their long wait.