Can Murray now have a Jim Courier like career?

[NadalAgassi]

Now that Murray has finally gotten the monkey off his back could he end up having a Jim Courier level career. Personally I think that is the maximum realistic for him, I dont think he is ever going to be a dominant player like Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic have been, but could maybe win 4 or 5 slams total, and have one year ending at #1.

[cork_screw]

Do we really need to bring up that ginger. I think I'm going to vomit.

[90's Clay]

Why not... The depth is GONE from the men's game..And with nadal and fed's career winding down, Murray has no one other then Nole to contend with in the next few years.

I'm sure Murray will at the very least have a Courier type career. There is no one up and coming who have shown their merit to be a champion. Murray won't have a Sampras or Andre or so some others around to stop him in a few years.

Other then Nole.. And I question how long he can go anyways. Nole won't last on top IMO as long as Nadal and Fed did.

[kishnabe]

It would be a hard ask in the era of Fedalovic.

Still think Murray can get 1 or 2 more majors in addition to the US Open.

Not in short period of years like Courier. Maybe when Federer starts declining enough to cause little trouble for Murray. Nadal not at his best.

Then Djokovic would be the bigger problem. 50/50 when it comes to that matchup on HC. Grass for Murray. Clay for Djokovic.

[90's Clay]

Originally Posted by kishnabe

It would be a hard ask in the era of Fedalovic.

Still think Murray can get 1 or 2 more majors in addition to the US Open.

Not in short period of years like Courier. Maybe when Federer starts declining enough to cause little trouble for Murray. Nadal not at his best.

Then Djokovic would be the bigger problem. 50/50 when it comes to that matchup on HC. Grass for Murray. Clay for Djokovic.

Murray will be around much longer then Fed and Nadal will. Djoker won't regain the level he had last year I don't think either. Not much outside the top 4, Murray will have PLENTY of chances

[NadalAgassi]

Originally Posted by kishnabe

It would be a hard ask in the era of Fedalovic.

Still think Murray can get 1 or 2 more majors in addition to the US Open.

Not in short period of years like Courier. Maybe when Federer starts declining enough to cause little trouble for Murray. Nadal not at his best.

Then Djokovic would be the bigger problem. 50/50 when it comes to that matchup on HC. Grass for Murray. Clay for Djokovic.

Now with the slam monkey off his back Murray should definitely be able to pass a 31 year old Federer next year. This year was a nice final hurrah of sorts for Federer but he is going to have a hard time staying ahead of younger guys like Nadal or Murray next year. Nadal will need to come back very strongly to get back on top of Murray, we will see if he does. I could see Murray being the #2 guy next year atleast, mostly depending on Nadal.

[90's Clay]

Hell I could see Murray and Djoker being the 3rd and 4th players in the last 5 years or so to win a grand slam in the next few years.

People don't seem to realize how LAME the rest of the tour is. These guys will have SO many cracks at slams its crazy

[forzamilan90]

Murray can definitely realistically get to 4-6 majors I don't see why not, he's a young man

[NadalAgassi]

Originally Posted by 90's Clay

Hell I could see Murray and Djoker being the 3rd and 4th players in the last 5 years or so to win a grand slam in the next few years.

People don't seem to realize how LAME the rest of the tour is. These guys will have SO many cracks at slams its crazy

I agree except Murray will never win the French. It would be a huge surprise if he somehow did. Djokovic should win a French at some point, and Murray should win both an Australian and a Wimbledon at some point.

[90's Clay]

Originally Posted by NadalAgassi

I agree except Murray will never win the French. It would be a huge surprise if he somehow did. Djokovic should win a French at some point, and Murray should win both an Australian and a Wimbledon at some point.

I expect Djoker to win the French before Murray.. But once Nadal's gone, that French Open will open up for many players. I don't know how much longer Nadal will have a strange hold there. Hes getting up there in mileage

[tacou]

Definitely. Who knows what condition Nadal will even be in next year/from now on? Especially if Murray can grab this next AO, he could win closer to Llendl's 8. 6 slams after that over the next 4 years? It's possible.

I think 6 will be his final.

[THUNDERVOLLEY]

Reasonable theory, however some significant differneces may be that which derails Murray's chances in this comparioson/projection:

Jim Courier did not take "forever" to win a major. He was 21years old and only 4 years into his pro career when he won the French Open in 1991.

Murray turned pro in 2005, yet he took the better part of a decade to win now--in 2012 at the age of 25.

Murray is older in tennis years, and theoretically has a shorter window of time remaining to win another three (if that). Unlike Courirer--who had a rather large body of legendary competition to deal with during his majors-winning years, Murray only had three legitimate threats.

Of course, competiton like Federer is fading in his twilight years (bolstered by Murray's Olympics beatdown of Federer)leaving Djokovic and Nadal as the only real threats, but again, Murray himself is older, so he may not win four.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[Cormorant]

Well he's not getting near the RG trophy, so that's one less similarity between them. And Murray is getting better as he gets older, unlike Jim who did the reverse. You might be fooled into believing the Scot can make short work of reaching #1 with all the pundits suddenly speculating on it (e.g. McEnroe, Rusedski), but Courier started his season at the top with a win in Australia-where Andy's prospered-so a 2013 triumph there would be a good omen.

[90's Clay]

Originally Posted by THUNDERVOLLEY

Reasonable theory, however some significant differneces may be that which derails Murray's chances in this comparioson/projection:

Jim Courier did not take "forever" to win a major. He was 21years old and only 4 years into his pro career when he won the French Open in 1991.

Murray turned pro in 2005, yet he took the better part of a deacade to win now--in 2012 at the age of 25.

Murray is older, and theoretically has a shorter window of time remaining to win another three (if that). Unlike Courirer--who had a rather large body of legendary competition to deal with in his majors-winning years, Murray only had three legitimate threats.

Of course, competiton like Federer is fading in his twilight years (bolstered by Murray's Olympics beatdown of Federer)leaving Djokovic and Nadal as the only real threats, but again, Murray himself is older, so he may not win four.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Well Pete emerged (and some others) which helped knock Courier out.. There is no one around (other then Nole but still I question how long we will last too really), that could totally stop Murray dead in his tracks. Fed will decline even more heavily soon, its inevitable.. Will Nadal return to top form? With all the mileage and injuries he has had he could be borderline retirement too.. Theres two guys who can stop Murray leaving the ranks eventually soon or at least declining

[THUNDERVOLLEY]

Originally Posted by 90's Clay

Well Pete emerged (and some others) which helped knock Courier out..

But he still managed four majors amongst some powerful competition still winning majors themselves, which is a key difference between Courier and Murray.

Will Nadal return to top form? With all the mileage and injuries he has had he could be borderline retirement too.. Theres two guys who can stop Murray leaving the ranks eventually soon or at least declining

I think Nadal taking time off is the right medicine for him. His ability and fighting spirit will not go anywhere soon, so if he's recovered...rested, he can be a brick wall to Murray--and not just on clay. Then again, Murray is no spring chicken in tennis terms, and will his retreiving style hold up with each passing year? As noted earlier, capitalizing on 1st majors at an earlier age is another advantage Courier had which Murray completely missed.

[Devilito]

Courier dominated a strong field for a couple of years. He's miles ahead of Murray as it currently stands. He could have been up there with Agassi in terms of career had he not fallen off the deep end in the mid 90s at a young age. Heck he used to dominate Andre like a ******* step child.

[Fedex]

Originally Posted by NadalAgassi

Now that Murray has finally gotten the monkey off his back could he end up having a Jim Courier level career. Personally I think that is the maximum realistic for him, I dont think he is ever going to be a dominant player like Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic have been, but could maybe win 4 or 5 slams total, and have one year ending at #1.

Bloody hell man. Give the guy a break.
You should get a job as Lendl's assistant.

"Well done Andy. You got the slam.
Now what time practice tomorrow. We have at least another 4 slams to win."

[monfed]

Umm I predict he'll have a far better career than Courier's. He's a far better player than Courier to begin with and is a threat at 3/4 majors(excluding RG).

[Benhur]

Lendl won his first major on his 5th slam final, and so did Murray. That's quite rare (I am not sure if there are any other instances) and it's odd they ended up as a coach-player team. If Murray continues to take after his coach in these kinds of numbers, he is going to win slam finals a lot more frequently in the next few years.

[90's Clay]

Originally Posted by monfed

Umm I predict he'll have a far better career than Courier's. He's a far better player than Courier to begin with and is a threat at 3/4 majors(excluding RG).

Did you see Courier at his peak in the early 90s??? NO WAY is Murray better then that Courier