Andy Murray has claimed he will not consider it a failure if he emulates Tim Henman by going through his entire career without winning a grand slam.
Murray is preparing for the season's unofficial fifth grand slam at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London next week, where he will take part in a round robin tournament featuring the world's top eight players. The competition starts on Sunday, and the O2 Arena is guaranteed a new champion after Nikolay Davydenko triumphed last year.
The past 12 months have proved to be some of the most testing of Murray's career, with inconsistent form punctuating his title hopes after he started the year so brightly by reaching the Australian Open final. The British No. 1 has lifted only two pieces of silverware throughout the season, and recently dropped down to world No. 5 in the rankings.
At 23 years of age, Murray's recent form has seen him enter a period of decline, not improvement, but Britain's great hope for a first male grand slam winner since 1936 insists he will still achieve his dream. However, if he falls short, he will not consider himself a failure.
"It's certainly not going to help my life if I start getting obsessed with it," he said in the Daily Mail. "If I don't ever achieve it, I won't think of myself as a failure and it won't be through lack of trying.
"If I do it, it'll be a great achievement and, anyway, I think I'll still do it."
Courtesy: ESPN