Murray's Time Will Come, Say The Champions

Andy Murray may have lost out in the final of the Australian Open, but the stars of the ATP Champions Tour have predicted that his time will come. Pat Rafter, Goran Ivanisevic and Stefan Edberg all believe that the Briton will win a Grand Slam tournament, despite losing in straight sets to Roger Federer in the final in Melbourne yesterday.

"Murray will win one - it's a question of when, not if," said Rafter, a two-time US Open champion who will play at the ATP Champions Tour event in Delray Beach, February 20-23.

"It could happen at any time. He’s comfortable on most surfaces and he’s a fantastic player. He could win Wimbledon. It’s just a matter of if he can deal with the pressure of playing in the UK. I know the Brits want him to win more than anything so it’s whether he can control those nerves and believe in himself. He’s such a great player and a great athlete. He’s just the complete package.”

Goran Ivanisevic, who dashed Tim Henman's best chance of winning a Grand Slam title when he beat the Briton in their 2001 Wimbledon semifinal, also has faith in the 22-year-old from Dunblane.

"There is a lot of pressure so it is not easy," said Ivanisevic, who will play at the BNP Paribas Zurich Open, March 9-13. "But generally, he has everything - the game, the mind, and definitely he is going to win a Grand Slam title. I don’t know which one, but he is going to win one of them."

Edberg, a six-time Grand Slam title winner, compares the situation Murray is going through to that of Ivan Lendl, who won his first Grand Slam title in his fifth final, before going on to win eight major titles in all.

"You have to 'crack it' first," said Edberg. "Getting the first one is the hard bit for someone like Andy, he just needs a bit of luck. It's like Ivan Lendl. He was in his seventh year as a professional before he finally won a Grand Slam title, and he lost in four Slam finals before he cracked it. When he finally won one, coming from behind to beat McEnroe in the French Open final 25 years ago, it was the start for him. Lendl went on to win seven more Grand Slam titles, eight in total - even more than McEnroe - and become World Number One. I think Andy Murray could do the same thing. It is now about winning one of them, and once he has done that, he will be able to win more."

Federer won his 16th Grand Slam singles title with victory over Murray in the final in Melbourne, but there are many pretenders nipping at his heels.

“Men’s tennis is so open,” said the 1988 French Open finalist, Henri Leconte. “There are eight players who can win a Grand Slam tournament at the moment and that reminds me of the era in the 80s when you used to have Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Mats Wilander, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe and so many other players who could win the Grand Slams.”