Tennis in 2013: momentum with Murray but can Rafa make a return?

Will Nadal recover from knee tendonitis once again, or will the big four of tennis become a big three?

Men's tennis is experiencing a golden era. At the top of the game are four titans - Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal - who perform so consistently that it's almost the norm for them to occupy all semi-final berths of a tournament. When they do not, eyebrows are raised.

For a perspective on how challenging it is to break the dominance of the game's elite, consider that it took Murray five attempts to win a grand slam final. He wrestled the 2012 US Open away from the clutches of  Djokovic, but only after an epic struggle. Djokovic found a champion's spirit when two sets behind and forced Murray to defy his nerves in a deciding fifth set.

Of the four, Djokovic was third to climb the ladder to tennis greatness. He did so by lifting the 2008 Australian Open title which presented him as a genuine rival to the then top two, Federer and Nadal. But Djokovic only continued to snap at their heels until 2011 when he dominated the calendar year, winning his first 41 matches and three of the four majors.

He has had a career-long rivalry with Andy Murray, who mirrored his progression through junior to senior ranks. However, Murray has had to endure many more painful defeats during his rise; he lost once to Djokovic and three times to Federer in grand slam finals before finally winning one of his own.

It is testament to the supremacy of the top four that some tennis circles contend that any one of them would be world number one in a different era. The performances in last year's Australian Open final from Djokovic and Nadal were seen as superhuman. The top four shared all four grand slams in 2012. Them aside, only Juan Martin Del Potro has won a major since Marat Safin won the Australian Open in 2005.

Things are likely to change in 2013. Age has been a recent threat to the longevity of Federer's career, but his play shows few signs of relenting. He has always found a way to adapt his game - by adding an extra few miles per hour to his serve, for example - and his simple yet slick technique continues to be devastating. Despite this, the gap between Federer's decline and the rise of Djokovic and Murray will inevitably increase.

The season-starting Australian Open is missing a big four name. Rafael Nadal has not played since losing surprisingly in the second round of Wimbledon and his absence leaves a major hole in the tournament. Nadal has suffered with knee tendonitis throughout his career, but for him to face another lay off of this magnitude is very worrying.

It is a chilling absence. Nadal is only 26 and has been faced with career-threatening injuries at the regularity that most players suffer mere niggles. His high-intensity style lends to heavy impacts on his joints and Nadal has paid the price of his successes. At the highest level, tennis is about building up momentum and maintaining steady form throughout a major, and there is a fine line between winner and runner-up. The spectacular 2008 Wimbledon final ended tamely when Federer hit a routine forehand into the net with both players competing at the brink of exhaustion.

Whether Nadal can continually return from an injury as serious as knee tendonitis to the pinnacle of the game is uncertain. It is a recurring problem that he will face throughout his career and while Nadal is getting his knees back to working order, Murray and Djokovic will be fine tuning, tweaking and honing their arsenal. It puts him at an obvious disadvantage.

Murray has proven he is now one of the very best and barring the extraordinary 2013 will see him battle with Djokovic for the game's highest honours. Federer will be there or thereabouts, as there are no indications to say otherwise. The question mark looms over Nadal and whether he is able to recover from his latest bout of injury.

Sports Personality of the Year 2012 - Andy Murray

The case for the tennis player who grew to greatness in front of a nation's eyes

Winning a tennis major is an extraordinary achievement. A player must go on a solo journey through seven matches, each more testing than the last, pushing themselves to their physical limits when at the same time defying nerves that inevitably surface. Winning one with the pressure of 76 years of a nation's pent-up hopes focused entirely on you is something else.

These are the enormous obstacles Andy Murray had to conquer when he beat Novak Djokovic in September to win the US Open, becoming Britain's first grand slam winner since Fred Perry's 1936 triumph.

His victory is even more impressive when you consider that he's competing in arguably the toughest era of men's tennis ever. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic are all multiple grand slam champions and three of the best players to have picked up a racquet. They all possess phenomenal grand slam pedigree and invariably Murray has to overcome any two of them in a slam to win.

While the US Open victory was the greatest achievement of Murray's breakthrough year, the public basked more in his success at the Summer Olympics, where he won singles gold and mixed doubles silver.

photo by Marianne Bevis

As home favourite, Murray was under huge pressure to deliver the title for Team GB. But he did so, and emphatically, losing only one set all tournament and crushing Roger Federer 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 in the final.

Murray was also making his way to another final with 18-year-old Laura Robson. They forged a fearsome partnership and were only beaten by the No.1 seeds Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirinyi.

Another long-standing record fell to Murray at Wimbledon. He became the first British male to make it to the All England Club final since Bunny Austin in 1938. He was leading Federer too, but dropped intensity at a crucial moment in the second set and from that point momentum was firmly against him.

But Murray won the public's affection with a moving post-match interview on the court. It was a tear-jerking speech that was cruelly conducted immediately after he had lost. Murray poured his heart out to the nation after two emotionally and physically draining weeks. He has been accused before of not showing personality through his play, but in this touching moment at Wimbledon Murray revealed his hopes, motivation and bitter disappointments.

Tennis is an individual sport, where once you're on the court no one can help you. Under the guidance of Ivan Lendl, Murray has shown he can be the very best. It has been a breakthrough year for Andy Murray.