Andy Murray will never win a grand slam...unless he gets a personality transplant

Over the past few years I have been closely watching Andy Murray, ever since he burst onto the professional scene as a budding young teenager in 2005 and took over from Tim Henman as the great British hope.

During the early years of his career, I was mightily impressed with his talent. His speed and ability to cover ground that sometimes might not seem possible and his increasingly low error rate made him one of the hottest talents in the world.

Less than three years ago, when the Scot reached his first Grand Slam final (US Open 2008), I was really encouraged by his potential. Probably being an optimistic fan, unlike the characteristics of your average British tennis fan - stemming largely from the expectation in the days of Henman - I felt like Murray could be the worlds best player by the time he was 25.

However, since that first loss in the final to Roger Federer, having seen Murray be completely destroyed, I have had huge doubts about his credentials as a Grand Slam winner.

In big games, Murray's temperament is a big problem. His inability to keep a cool head when things aren't going his way are a trait we have come to accept and in my opinion, he totally lacks the bottle it takes to become a champion. It is visible off the pitch, too, where interviews with the press are conducted in a moody, monotonous and disinterested voice.

Not only have I come to realise that he is unlikely to ever fulfil his potential, I have also come to dislike the guy. He has so much talent and so much potential, but his aloof and defeatist attitude have put paid, in my opinion, to any chance he might have had in winning one of tennis' major honours.

About a year ago, I made a small bet with a friend who still believes Murray can do it. You might have thought that, last week, I would have been worried about losing that bet as he looked almost unstoppable on his way to the Australian Open final. Unfortunately, the only emotion I had was a faint hope that he wouldn't, one again, fall at the last hurdle. Despite the bet, I do still want Murray to succeed because, after all, he's all we English tennis fans have to hang on to right now.

Of course, I was proved right in this case, and not to say I will be right for the rest of his career, but the game against Novak Djokovic has only served as confirmation in my mind that Andy Murray will never win a grand slam.