Trading places in British tennis
By Simon Austin
Clearly no-one had told Andy Murray about the prestige of becoming Britain's top tennis player.
"To be honest this is the bottom of my list of priorities," he said last week.
And Tim Henman was not overly concerned at relinquishing the number one spot for the first time since 1999.
"Players from other countries just think it's bizarre that we make such a big deal of who is the number one in Britain," he said.
Yet we have now officially seen the changing of the guard in British tennis.
MURRAY'S KEY TOURNAMENTS
QUEEN'S (June 2005): Comes to public attention by reaching last 16
WIMBLEDON (June 2005): "Murray Mania" grips SW19 as he reaches third round
APTOS (July 2005): Shows Wimbledon was not a flash in the pan by winning the Challenger tournament in California
BANGKOK (Oct 2005): Pushes Roger Federer in first ATP Tour final
SAN JOSE (Feb 2006): Beats Roddick and Hewitt on way to first Tour title
And former British number one Andrew Castle warns: "Watching Henman and Rusedski has been a doddle compared to what Andy has in store for us.
"His highs will be as high and his lows will be lower. He's bad-tempered, urban, gritty and outwardly emotional."
Murray is likely to remain as British number one for several more weeks at least.
This time last year he was ranked 415 in the world and was the British number 15.
He was competing in low-level tournaments and accordingly has very few ranking points to defend.
In contrast, Henman's next three tournaments are in Dubai, Indian Wells and Key Biscayne, and he reached the quarter-finals in each last year.
So, whereas Murray will be aiming to be ranked inside the top 32 in the world by the time of the French Open in May so that he can be seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time, Henman could by then have dropped outside the top 50.
But do not presume Murray will remain British number one for the rest of the year.
By the second half of the season he will have more points to defend than Henman and they could swap places again.
And Castle urges against expecting continual improvement from the young Scot.
His trajectory has been amazing - never in a million years could I have envisaged it," he says.
"But the next year will be a period of adjustment and he will undoubtedly have some lows amidst the highs."
Castle says Murray's success is based primarily on technical excellence.
"His serve and his fitness have improved hugely, but his biggest strength is the fact he does not have a weakness in his game.
"Technically he is very, very sound. Everyone talks about mental strength, but you need belief in your own game to be mentally sound."
In contrast, Henman's ranking has fallen fairly sharply in the last few months as he has been troubled by back and shoulder problems.
He was fifth in the world last April but has slipped to 49 in the latest rankings.
Castle says this is hardly a surprise.
"Tim is a father of two. He has a lovely wife and a fantastic home. When you have done everything and are going to the same place for the eighth time, spending all your time on planes and in hotels, it's difficult to find motivation," he says.
But he also insists it would be wrong to write off Henman.
"There are more great moments to come from Tim," he says.
"Perhaps on a sunny day at Wimbledon, in front of a big crowd on Centre Court and against a big opponent he's not expected to beat.
"He needs to just get back to enjoying hitting the ball and not worrying about proving anything."
And he says anyone who criticises Henman "knows nothing about tennis".
"Look at it from any angle you choose - the number of years he's been in the top 10, his Davis Cup record, the players he's beaten or the tournaments he's won - he's absolutely world class," he says.
"I've known him since he was 13 and he's totally different to the public perception people have of him.
"He's a great drinker and story teller. No-one has a bad word to say about him on the tour.
"Yet he also has one of the sharpest competitive instincts you'll come across.
"If Andy goes on to have as successful a career as Tim, he will have done fantastically."
Sixpack guard 
Kolya didn't play spectacular tennis that he can play... too many mistakes boy..too many...but hey, I am happy ;D
However, he has to be realistic. If he plays and aggravates his injury, he'll put himself out of the picture for many more tournaments. Okay, the Davis Cup is important as a win would get us back in the World Group (we could play Russia!!!) - but he has to put that aside and listen to the advice he gets from the medical profession. I certainly wouldn't want to see the boy cause himself a mischief. Fingers crossed that he can play, but it ain't looking promising. 
