David Wheaton: Young Scot wields attitude of contender

In a country known more for strokers of white dimpled balls than strikers of yellow fuzzy ones, Scotland's Andy Murray has emerged in 2009 as a kind of prohibitive favorite to win the year's first major tennis championship, the Australian Open.

"Prohibitive" in that scaling a first major-title wall is always fraught with peril, not to mention that world Nos. 1 and 2, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, and defending champ Novak Djokovic, will be doing everything they can to prohibit the No. 4-ranked Murray from breaking their monopoly of the majors dating to the 2005 French Open.

Yet a quick glance at the Scot's results in the past year indicate that the top trio might become a quartet sooner rather than later. Garnering five tour titles in 2008, a final run at the U.S. Open, and a 21-for-23 run in matches since then, including a sassy start to the new year in beating Federer and Roddick back to back to win Doha, and suddenly, "promising" is turning protagonist before our eyes.

I'll admit, I, a junior champ at the U.S. Open the year Murray was born (gulp), wasn't swallowing all the hype about this skinny Scot, a fellow winner of the same event in 2004, after poking my head through the courtside portal of the Grandstand Court at Flushing Meadow a few years back only to see Murray lose a rather whimpering early-round four-setter to someone-or-other.

Yeah, he struck the ball well off both sides, moved fluidly for a tall bloke, and "shortened the court" on occasion (pro-speak for taking the ball inside the baseline), but a point-ending weapon was not evident and the serve and temperament (not to mention the hair) looked out of control.

But now that I think about it, another fighting Scot named William Wallace had his bad days, too.

Like Wallace, the 21-year-old Glasgow-born Murray regards himself a commoner rather than a noble, shouting and snarling his way through matches, all spit and vinegar, with the fieriness of a clansman coursing through his veins. For those who follow British tennis, Murray might be the next Big Hope following "Gentleman Tim" Henman, but the untucked and unrefined Scot is the anti-type in every way.

With an entourage that would make Jay-Z jealous -- head coach, technical coach, two fitness coaches (in case one breaks), physiotherapist, agent, parents, girlfriend, and more that I'm probably forgetting -- Murray has vastly improved his strength and endurance (he is fond of pounding his chest and pumping his biceps after gut-checking points) and his previously underperforming serve.

Still there is the subtlety of what makes him so good: great court coverage, smart point construction and a solidness from the baseline that does not easily break down. Not quite an attacker yet certainly not a retriever, he's more of an all-arounder who keeps unforced errors low and lets the game come to him.

Most important, though, with a 5-2 career record over Federer, recent victories over Nadal and Djokovic, and some big tour titles to boot, Murray has earned the belief that his first major -- and a Gael-nation celebration -- might only be a fortnight away in Melbourne.