Can Murray win Wimbledon?

Murray goes into Wimbledon playing some of the tennis of his career

So it all kicks off this week. The time when everyone starts getting back into tennis for real. But always one question remains, can the guy flying the flag for Britain finally victor? It's been 75 years since the last British winner in Fred Perry, and look what happened to him. The first player to ever complete a Career Grand Slam. by winning all the major tournaments, and even has his name paraded around the streets of 'high fashion' these days.

So a Brit winning Wimbeldon is kind of a big deal. But can Murray do it?

Fresh from his promising victory at Queens, and a near miss at Rolland Garros, this year seems as good as any to claim that title the likes of Tim Henman or Greg Rusedski could only dream about.

But with a potentially mouthwatering semi - final clash lined up with Rafael Nadal, and the seemingly unstoppable form of both him, Djokovic and Federer seem to be in of late, he's going to have the play the tennis of his career.

So one thing that his been noted about Murray, besides his unbelievable technical ability and fitness, is his ability to play his best tennis when he is down and seeming fragile.

Do Murray's outbursts fuel or hinder him?

But this attribute has it's weakness.

Sure he's able to find another gear when he's playing poor against a top 50 player, and even a top 10, as he showed against Viktor Troicki in the 4th round at the French Open, recovering from 2 sets down and a number of broken rackets to eventually win. But against a world class plater like Nadal or Djokovic, these lapses in focus and concentration purely act to fuel his oppositions confidence.

Take the French Open semi - final for instance. Murray lost a tightly fought first set 6-4 to Nadal, and from there, screams of frustration from across the court was music to Nadal's ears, and he was able to use this to his own advantage and secure victory.

By venting his frustration, Murray actually harms rather than composes himself, and although it's always great to see a player hate losing as much a Murray does, as it shows his passion, he's never going to achieve the greatness he deserves if it isn't worked on.

You never see the likes of Nadal or Federer losing control when they're playing poorly, they are able to compose themselves, and due to they're mental strength, never give anything away to the opponent.
Murray has come out recently claiming that he will never lose the emotional intensity of his game, which is a valid point, but positioning those emotions into grand slam winning focus is the key, and this monstrous feat that will take complete mental control from Andy.

OK, I'm not saying that this form of frustration is entirely adverse, as McEnroe's famous outbursts showcased, but most often, even as can be seen below, Federer and Djokovic have been seen losing they're focus, but mainly due to supposed errors from the umpires, and in the last few years, they're mental developments have increasingly lowered these instances.

Even Murray himself has noted that his on court demeanour must improve if he is ever to compete for the top prizes, claiming "it is something that has to get better" but at the same time, he explains how turning up the intensity at certain points in a game has positive effects on his performance.

"It's about picking your moments to get pumped up. It's not a problem to get angry or upset. It's about not doing it throughout the match."

Murray went on to add: "There is always the danger of getting too frustrated and going into Wimbledon, I have to stay level headed and then, when the time is right, use up some of that emotional energy on court."

So Murray is obviously aware of the potential effect of his outbursts but whether Murray's new coaching team, headed by Darren Cahill are able to implement these strategic moments into Murray's game, or whether this will just come with age and experience as it has done with top 3 remains to be seen. But Wimbledon will certainly give us a strong indication of that, and the directions Andy is taking in improving his game, as he, and everyone around him knows he has the capability to emulate the great Fred Perry, and get his named printed on some polo tops in years to come.