Why Andy Murray is not a Member of the Big 4 in Tennis...It's Really a Triumvirate

Hi all you tennis fans,

I hope you're doing well and enjoyed the grand slam season in 2015...

This is my first blog posting and I wanted to share some thoughts with you on Andy Murray and the Big 4...

I was watching Andy Murray's match against Kevin Anderson at the US Open a few weeks ago and it was really a disappointing loss for Andy. He had a great summer and finally got over the hump and beat back Novak (after losing the last 8), but I expected more from such a great...especially when you consider that people have given him membership into the Big 4 league with Roger, Novak and Rafa...

Well given the performance of Roger, Novak and Rafa over the past several years and their resilience, I really don't think Andy is a member of the league....sorry Andy

My reasons are as follows:

1. Andy only had 2 slams - the 2012 US Open and the 2013 Wimbledon. This puts him with people such as Stanimal, Safin, Hewitt, Kafelnikov, Rafter, etc.

2. Roger has 17 grand slam titles, Novak 10, and Rafa 14...these guys have surpassed Becker, Lendl, McEnroe, Connors, Edberg, and Agassi in grand slam titles...Andy is way behind these numbers...2 is better than most, but given his talent level and what the game expects of him, he's 2 - 6 in grand slam finals...ugh...

3. Andy has never been number 1 in the world while the others have

4. The other three guys have dominated the game in one respect/area or another...just look at the past eight years and the number of slams between Roger, Rafa and Novak...Roger has taken the game to new heights and broken every record, and he's been the dominant number 1 until the past few years. Rafa has 9 French Opens and is the best player on clay in the history of the game...Novak has been the best player in the game since 2011...he's had two years where he's won 3 out of the 4 slams (2011 and 2015)...when you consider these milestones, Andy is nowhere to be found and is in the doldrums...yes, I know this is harsh...

5. Andy has a losing record versus the other 3 players: 6 - 15 vs Rafa, 11 - 14 versus Federer, and 9 - 19 versus Novak

6. Attitude and Intangibles - when I see the other guys out there, I feel they have more fight, tenacity, the desire to win, they complain less, etc. whereas Andy is looking to bark at someone, yell at his box or whomever...ultimately, those other guys get it done and will themselves to the finish line...but with Murray, I feel he still has several humps to get over...he needs to start beating them more regularly, he needs to compete better, and frankly, just make more slam finals to solidify his place in tennis history...

These are preliminary thoughts guys. Feel free to share your comments.

Thanks again for reading this blog and please share it with other tennis fans :)

More to come...

Best,

Surya