Fleming: impressed by Murray

Murray has the physical talent to be number one in the world and to win grand slams, but becoming that is about more than just physical talent.

Peter Fleming
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Peter Fleming feels Andy Murray's performance in Toronto proved he has what it takes to emerge as world number one.

British number one Murray enjoyed a fine win over world number three Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of last week's hard-court event, before losing to Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal in the last four.

And Sky Sports' tennis expert Fleming feels the Scot's performances in those two matches demonstrated that Murray has regained the physical prowess to challenge the world's top players after his injury lay-off last year.

"Andy played great tennis in his match against Djokovic, the first time he's beaten the Serbian," Fleming told Sky Sports News.

"That was a big step for him and showed him that he's capable of playing with the best in the world.

"Even his match against Nadal when he lost in the semi-finals, showed great tennis, and it's nice to see Andy back playing the way that he can.

"He can be as good as he wants to be, it's just a matter of digging as deep as possible.

"He has the physical talent to be number one in the world and to win grand slams, but becoming that is about more than just physical talent.

"There's a little bit of luck involved, but it's also how well you compete, how well you bounce back from injuries and how well you bounce back from defeats.

"It's an incredible growth opportunity, shall we say."

No crime

Nadal paid tribute to Murray after their match in Toronto, saying he could emerge as one of the world's top players and Fleming agreed that losing to the irrepressible Spaniard was nothing to be ashamed of.

Fleming continued: "He's the best, so to lose to Rafael Nadal on any surface is no great crime.

"A year ago Andy was about number four in the world in terms of where he was in the race and his results before he hurt his wrist.

"It's taken a little while to pull himself back together, but I think he's probably just about at that form again."

Murray is set to enter battle alongside the likes of Nadal, Djokovic and world number one Roger Federer in this week's Cincinnati Masters as the final Grand Slam event of the year - the US Open - approaches.

And while Fleming refused to rule out hopes of a famous Murray tournament victory, he still feels Nadal is the man to beat.

"I think Nadal's probably the favourite to win in Cincinnati, just by a hair," he concluded.

"The courts are usually a bit faster in Cincinnati than they are in Toronto, so that might favour Federer a little bit and don't forget Djokovic, he's still right there.

"If Andy is fit and continues to play well, he might cause an upset here and there so it's really exciting. I think it's going to be a great week.

"Federer and Nadal have to be the two favourites and then Djokovic a level below and Murray a level below that."