Murray's stock on the rise

EVEN IN today's fiscally fickle times, when the sound of credit being crunched is drowned out only by the wail of bankers sobbing into their six-figure redundancy cheques, it did seem a little strange that the country's most successful tennis player was taking his holidays in Roehampton. This was taking caution just a little too far.

Once his duties were finished at the Davis Cup tie against Austria at the end of last month, Andy Murray booked himself a well-earned three-week break from competition. But rather than sunning himself on some far-flung beach, Scotland's finest took a couple of days off at home and then packed his bags and headed to the National Training Centre in Roehampton, south west London.

There, with his racquets locked away, Murray put himself through the usual round of timed 400m laps at the local track, chin-ups with a 20lb weight strapped to his midriff and hours in the gym, putting his body through strange and bizarre contortions under the watchful gaze of Matt Little and Jez Green, his fitness trainers. A couple of hours' hitting tennis balls came as light relief after that little lot.

It was not the way most people would choose to spend their time away from the office, but it is all part of Murray's plan to establish himself as one of the game's top men. The work may be exhausting and the days spent sweating in the London suburbs may not be glamorous, but Murray is now fitter, stronger and more agile than he has ever been – and the Scot's dedication to the cause has brought praise from Boris Becker.

"You could see from his talent that he was going to be a really good player," Becker said last week, "but it took him maybe a year and a half to realise that talent is one thing, but the secret to success is hard work. He put the hours in and physically he is a different type of player than he was last year. He's number four in the world, so he must be doing something right.

"First and foremost Murray wants to become the best player he can possibly be. With success, you have the support. His rise in popularity has gone sky high because he has become a great tennis player."

Murray's next chance to prove Becker's theory of popularity will come this week at the Madrid Masters, the start of a month-long run to the end of the season that will conclude with his first appearance at the Masters Cup in Shanghai. This time last year, Murray was chasing around the indoor circuit in an attempt to make up for lost time after a wrist injury had cost him four months of the 2007 season. Then he came within one match of reaching the showcase event in China; this year he has already qualified for the eight-man field and can compete at the Masters events in Spain and in Paris in two weeks' time with no pressure.

By winning the Cincinnati Masters and reaching the US Open final, Murray elbowed his way into the group at the top of the rankings – the top trio has now become the gang of four – but the Scot must bide his time before he can make his next move upwards. Novak Djokovic is directly ahead of him but has enough ranking points in the bank to maintain his No.3 position regardless of what Murray does between now and Christmas. But by January, when Djokovic has the Australian Open title to defend, the Scot should be poised to make his move.

By racking up points in the coming weeks, Murray can consolidate his position and edge closer to the men in front. The Masters Cup is a chance to make profit with 100 points available for every round-robin win in the first six days and a total of 750 points on offer for the undefeated champion. At the moment, Murray lies 1,965 points behind Djokovic but 1,000 of those points will vanish from the Serb's tally at the start of the Australian Open next year. And Murray still has four weeks of this season left in which to collect as many points as he can.

On paper, Madrid and Paris boast impressive fields but with Roger Federer hanging on by his fingertips until the end of the season and Rafael Nadal focused on the Davis Cup final against Argentina at the end of November, neither are looking particularly secure. And, as the No.4 seed, Murray would not have to worry about either man until the semi final stage.

Just to add a little spice to the end of the year, Murray will qualify for a £140,000 Christmas sweetener, his share of the tour's bonus pool for the top four who have competed in all nine of the Masters Series events.

The credit crunch may be squeezing Wall Street until it squeaks but Murray's stock is still rising. After three weeks' grind in Roehampton and with three major events left in his diary, he is determined to prove it.