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Andy Murray - Great Britain hope or too much hype?

Sky Sports' Barry Millns assesses Andy Murray's career so far

It is almost three years since Andy Murray first popped his head above the parapet by winning the US Open junior title. As I watched from the stands on that hot day at Flushing Meadows, it was evident how the young Scot could already combine terrific anticipation, court craft, movement, power and touch into a compelling force that pointed to a bright future.

Turning pro in 2005 it was not long before he was making more headlines - having become the youngest Briton to play Davis Cup, two wins at Queens and a narrow loss to Thomas Johansson, in which Murray fought on despite injuring an ankle and being hit by cramp, made him the talk of British tennis.

Johansson, who eventually won 7-5 in the final set, paid credit to his brave opponent: "I'm very impressed with the way he's playing - especially his serve and his groundstrokes - and he's going to get even better."

A fortnight later, on debut at Wimbledon, Murray duly beat George Bastl and Radek Stepanek in straight sets before thrilling the middle Saturday crowd by taking the first two sets off former finalist David Nalbandian on Centre Court. But again cramp and fatigue undermined Murray's bid to go further and having faded over the next three sets his lack of strength and conditioning became a national topic of debate.

That continued at the US Open where, on his senior debut, Murray was sick on court during his five set victory over Andre Pavel and then was hit by more cramp and fatigue in his five set loss to Arnaud Clement. It was not something new coach Mark Petchey was really able to address until the off-season, but by then Murray had climbed a staggering 449 places over the year to No.65 and also given a good account of himself against Roger Federer in his first ATP final in Bangkok.

Still growing there was no doubt that Murray needed to strengthen up physically. But his fatigue and cramp also had much to do with the amount of emotional energy he kept expending on court - huge roars of disappointment bursting from within after losing points, as well as loud cries of delight when he won some.

It was symptomatic of the hungry perfectionist that Murray is and reminiscent of another smouldering character with incredible talent, John McEnroe. Petchey also did his best to address that issue but come the spring of 2006, differences in opinion between them about the way forward, after Murray had won his first title in San Jose, led to them parting company.

Teaming up with Brad Gilbert following Wimbledon, where Andy Roddick fell victim to Britain's young hero, pushed Murray to a new level tactically - a stunning win against Federer in the Cincinnati Masters further indication of his capabilities.

From there he ended the season ranked No.17 and began 2007 with a runners-up showing in Doha, before an epic first encounter with Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open. That showed Murray how a more aggressive approach will stand him in good stead in the long term, but also underlined the gap he still needs to bridge physically and mentally to mix it consistently with the best in the game.

Sadly, after defending his title in San Jose, a spate of injuries prevented Murray from playing his best in back-to-back Masters Series semi-finals in Indian Wells and Miami against his young rival Novak Djokovic, who has soared above him since.

But having entered the Top 10 in April, the wrist injury Murray suffered in Hamburg in May was the cruellest blow because he was hitting the ball better than ever before. His two-handed backhand up the line has always been a world class shot and his serve is certainly more potent than it was. Yet his forehand that day against Filippo Volandri was also a devastating weapon, which allowed him to switch from supreme defence into sensational attack in an instant.

Rehab has at least given Murray time to improve his volleys into another valuable asset. But bearing in mind where he is right now with his wrist's recovery, it is highly unlikely that next month the 20 year-old will fulfil his teenage ambition of adding the senior US Open title to his junior one.

The most important thing is that he and we remain extremely patient with his progress or lack of it over the next few months. Britain's best has to regain total confidence that he can hit all his shots at full throttle before attempting to make further strides towards the top of the world game. There should be no rush.