Comeback king Andy shows added edge

Sport has a funny way of producing the greatest dramas when we least expect it.

Andy Murray was down and out against Richard Gasquet last night as the Frenchman assumed a two set lead and was left simply needing to hold his serve to seal the match.

But the young Scotsman has obviously been watching Turkey in the European Championships and the way they waiting till the final nail was all but hammered into the coffin before finding something extra within themselves to force their way back into the game.

I will freely I admit to being one of the Murray doubters, I questioned whether he had the mental desire to push himself to the very top, but in one titanic performance packed with Henman-esque drama, Murray went a long way to answering a number of the questions posed.

There have never been questions over Murray’s ability, just his capability to realise his potential.

The Frenchman, it has to be said, was complicit in the great Murray comeback, Gasquet simply fell apart in and shrugged his shoulders in true Gallic fashion as the crowd roared on their new hero.

However, Murray’s defiance and belief in his own raw talent never faltered and he fed of the energy of the ecstatic Centre Court audience.

Murray faces a much stiffer test in the quarter final when he takes on the awesome Rafael Nadal, but he has nothing to lose.

He will be in an almost unique situation of a home player at Wimbledon playing in the last eight with almost no pressure on his shoulders, simply because noone expects him to win.

I backed Nadal to win the tournament at the outset and I still expect him to prove too much for Murray, but then – like most of us – I expected Gasquet to complete the formality of a straight sets win early yesterday evening before he threw away the advantage.

With Andymonium spreading it underlines why we are so desperate to see a new wave of talent coming through, we simply cannot imagine Wimbledon without the dramas thrown up by the British interest.

Following the Henman years and the exploits of Murray, we have had our feast and let’s hope it’s not followed by a famine.