With one eye on Roger Federer and the other on his would-be rivals of tomorrow, Rafael Nadal picked out Britain's Andy Murray as the young player to have made the best start to the year. He told The Sunday Telegraph last week he was surprised by the 18-year-old Scot's first ATP Tour win in San Jose in February, when he beat two former world No 1s in Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt.
Anyone would think Nadal was several years older than the likes of the 19-year-old Frenchmen Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils instead of one of their contemporaries. But then few mature at the rate of the Spanish man-child, now No 2 in the world. Their own shortcomings this year put into perspective his own achievement of two title wins after 3½ months out with a foot injury.
"It's not easy to come back," he said. "Gasquet was injured and he's one of the best in the world - I like Gasquet a lot - but he hasn't played very well. For a lot of young players the season is long, but I was thinking that he would be playing better in the first part of the year, maybe top 10.
''Tomas Berdych plays unbelievably, but he began the season bad because he didn't win a lot of matches. Novak Djokovic, I understand, is young [18] and it's not easy the second year on the Tour. Maybe he needs one more year. For sure, he's going to play better in the second part of the year, but maybe next year a lot better still. Monfils began well in Doha and after he stopped a little bit. Maybe the best beginning by any of the young players is Murray. I don't know what his result was in Australia. He lost to [Juan Ignacio] Chela? So it's not a good result, but he beat Roddick and Hewitt in an important tournament. I was surprised he could beat two very good players like that and in the semi-final and final, not in the early rounds."