Bates: Exciting future for Murray
Andy Murray has convinced Great Britain Davis Cup captain Jeremy Bates of his ability to succeed at the highest level individually and for his country.
By reaching the final of the Thailand Open, Murray’s worldwide profile has been elevated and his ranking has risen to 72nd.
Bates only ever got as high as 54th, but he is absolute in the view that Murray is heading for the top.
“The world is his oyster with the ways he looks at it,” said Bates.
“You look at his game, you look at the skills he’s got; he’s got a huge serve, he has weapons off the ground and he has a very good tactical brain as well.”
Murray stretched Roger Federer in the Bangkok final, even breaking the undisputed world number one in the second set.
“It’s a great performance obviously,” said Bates. “He’s beaten some world-class players and everybody is delighted but nobody more so than Andy I’m sure.”
And although Bates was reluctant to set the 18-year-old Scot any targets, he believes we have only lifted the lid on his potential.
“He’s still just 18 years of age and far from his peak and I think there’s a lot of high hopes for his peak,” said Bates. “Hopefully one day we will see him out there beating Roger.”
There was Davis Cup disappointment for Bates and Murray in September as Switzerland whitewashed Britain.
Murray lost to Stanislas Wawrinka in the singles, a reminder of the quality in depth of the men’s game, and the challenges the teenager must still meet.
But with Murray and Greg Rusedski set to spearhead the British team next year, as they look to battle back into the Davis Cup’s elite World Group, Bates sees every reason to back the bid.
“I would say that Greg’s in some of the best form of his life and I wouldn’t want to write him off too quickly,” Bates told BBC Radio Five Live.
“What Andy has done is phenomenal. It gives everyone involved in the sport a big boost but from a Davis Cup point of view it’s absolutely essential.
“We have a clear goal of trying to re-attain our position in the world group and you need world-class players to be able to do that.
“You need more than one, two or three of them to put a credible challenge together and it’s very good news for everyone involved in the Davis Cup team for Great Britain.
“It’s also an inspiration to some of the younger players, and some of his peer group, who are following hard in Andy’s footsteps because they can relate to him.”
It may take some of those teenagers to come through for Britain if Bates is to be able to select from at least three players in the world-class bracket.
The likes of Martin Lee and Alex Bogdanovic have not built on their early promise, and with Tim Henman retired from Davis Cup, an injury to either Murray or Rusedski would leave Britain exposed.
Bates peaked in the world rankings aged 34, whereas Rusedski and Henman both hit prime form in their mid-20s.
It remains the great unanswered question how far Murray can go in the game, although he has already exceeded expectations and won a bet with Bates after making a surprisingly early entry into the world’s top 100.
“When you see somebody emerge like this, nobody really knows what the timescale will be,” said Bates.
“Some people mature later, some mature earlier, and so much of that depends on the various aspects of a character.
“I remember Tim developing very quickly once he got inside the top 100. He moved down into the 20s in a relatively short period of time.
“But certainly there’s been no comparison to what Andy has done and I’m sure he’s still trying to take stock of it himself.”
