All this has opened the door for Andy Murray. The current world No.2 has made up one half of the rivalry that has defined men’s tennis over the last couple of years but has more often than not played second fiddle in this relationship with Novak Djokovic. However as the Serbian’s fortunes dipped following the French Open, Murray’s soared. The pain of losing two four-set grand slam finals in a row gave way to elation in the face of winning his second Wimbledon title and second consecutive Olympic gold. The Briton could not, however, maintain this momentum and posted a title-lacking showing in the U.S. hard-court swing. This somewhat stifled his campaign to wrest control of the top ranking from Djokovic, but the battle is still very much on. The Serbian has a mountain of points to defend in the coming months and depending on the longevity of his injury and whether or not he can regain his imperious form he may find doing so an insurmountable challenge. On the other hand Murray did not fare well over this part of the calendar last season, particularly in the World Tour Finals, and therefore has a genuine shot at making up the gulf in ranking points. Whether or not Andy can overtake Novak before the end of the season hinges on a few external factors, namely the form of the other big players. However at its core this battle will be decided by whether the Glaswegian can play lights out tennis for the entirety of the homestretch. He has proven he can be a world beater but has not as yet sustained this level of play for more than a few weeks. This, in essence, is the difference between a grand slam champion and a world No.1; a daunting chasm, but one that Murray will have to bridge if he is to reach the pinnacle of the sport.