Good effort, Andy, at this year’s Wimbledon but maybe not quite good enough just yet. Reaching the quarter-final meant you went one step further than you have gone in any major previously and I’m convinced you have the potential to go all the way and give yourself the chance to become a Grand Slam champion. Regardless of what you say about your best opportunity being the US Open, you should reassess and make Wimbledon top of your list. I like the way you perform on the grass; you move well, have a good turn of speed and your improved body strength has made your first serve an extremely valid part of your game.

I should not need to tell you there is still a lot of work to be done and now is the time to push forward, rather than spending too much time reflecting on what has happened in the past fortnight. I liked what I heard when you said that by this weekend you would be back on the court and working on your game again.

Take these suggestions on the areas I think you should be addressing in the manner they are meant. I don’t intend any form of criticism but believe in a year’s time, given good health and freedom from injury, you can come back to Wimbledon and legitimately give yourself a chance of going several steps further.

1. Improve your resilience

The way to win Grand Slams is to come through a tough match, utilise as much time as is available to recover and then march straight back out on court with the mindset that you are going to do it all over again. Saying to yourself that you feel tired or thinking you might be a little bit weary are not options. Winning a major title involves winning seven best-of-five-set matches in a fortnight; some may be straightforward affairs, lasting just three sets, others will be marathons. You did superbly to battle back against Richard Gasquet but seemed a little flat in the opening stages against Rafael Nadal, and that gave him just the impetus he needed.

2. Add more pace and bite to the second serve

If I was 20 years younger and walking out to play you in a major tournament, my entire game plan would be based around attacking your second serve. It is your Achilles heel at the moment and as you well know, word of such weakness spreads around the locker room.

Look at the statistics from the Nadal match; you won just 24% of the points from your second serve in the second set and 41% in the third. That is not good enough. Your first serve is good, you’ve worked hard on the upper body strength and you are reaping the dividends but the second serve is more about confidence. Basically you have got to hit the ball harder and have more belief in it doing the job, but that requires hard work on the practice court.

3. Get yourself a killer shot

Your overall game is improving all the time and you are now a worthy member of the world’s top 10 again, but to go that step further it’s time to really develop a shot that opponents will fear as a massive weapon. Your double-handed backhand, either down the line or hit crosscourt, has all the hallmarks. Certainly you don’t miss too many opportunities to hit a winner but the shot just needs upping a gear or two. The mark of champions is the ability to come up with the big shot from anywhere on the court and carve deep slashes into the opponent’s confidence. You have that ability but again it requires consistent hard work week in and week out.

4. Addressing the drop shot

Two matches, two very different stories. Against Gasquet you overused the drop shot to the extent that we in the commentary box could tell when it was coming, so your opponent must have had great ease in reading the tactic. Then against Nadal I think you used it twice; the first ending up sadly at the bottom of the net, the second much later on winning you a point. People who have been watching your game far longer than me say it’s always been one of your favourite plays and I’m sure every one of your coaches have discussed the shot with you. I guess I’m saying what you have heard a hundred times before when I say it’s clear there are times you overdo it. However, it is a very legitimate tactic when the right opportunity presents itself. You need to ration the times you play it but don’t ditch it altogether.

5. Keeping up the much-improved on-court demeanour

Things have been so much better in that department over the last few weeks. I know only too well that it’s hard not to shout and scream when you feel you have been dealt an injustice by an umpire or line judge, and there are times when it is better to let off steam. But I’m also acutely aware that it’s no good going out on court thinking the whole world is against you and allowing it to push you deeper and deeper into a black hole. I was interested to hear you stressing that you are enjoying the whole thing a lot more, and that’s good. Keep that feeling going because in the long run you are not going to get too far with a persecution complex. On that I speak from personal experience from my younger days.

6. Use the fact the Wimbledon crowd really do want you to win

It shouldn’t take too much arm-twisting to make you admit the atmosphere from the crowd at the climax of the win against Gasquet was very special. Remember that, savour it and now embrace the fact. You are the British nation’s great hope but in terms of support, view that as a help rather than a hindrance. I know there seemed to be as much feeling for Nadal but maybe if you had given the crowd a little bit more to shout about, they could have started to pump up your emotions. There is a fine line between feeding off the crowd and overdoing the chest-thumping stuff, but you seemed to have got it about right in beating Gasquet. Learn from that experience.

7. Examine your time management and aim to peak for the big ones.

The build-up for Wimbledon is tricky because the French Open is always standing in the way. I’m not asking you to miss out on Roland Garros at this early stage of your career but there is the need to prioritise. I don’t need to tell you that there are far better chances for you on grass than on clay. Keep that very much in mind when it comes to planning your year and remember that true champions are known for the Grand Slams they win rather than the minor titles. Look to peak for the big ones and start out the year with a positive showing at the Australian Open. Of course I might be biased but to me the sensible thing would be to base yourself there for the entirety of the off-season in December.

The conditions are perfect, you could not experience better acclimatisation and just remember that the better you do in the Australian Open after losing in the first round this year, the higher your seeding will be at Wimbledon.

8. Sharpen up your court craft

This is something that only comes with experience but you have got an intelligent head on your shoulders and should study the games of others. There were times during the defeat by Nadal that I thought you were playing way too far behind the baseline and got caught out for it several times. I think you are becoming increasingly more comfortable at the net and your volley is good, but it can always get better. There is no better way of working on this aspect than playing more doubles and I know you are heading to the Olympics with the plan of linking up with your brother Jamie. I don’t expect you to do that in majors because you must prioritise on the singles but in lesser tournaments around the world it would be a good idea. Remember John McEnroe always insisted it was the best form of practice and while I might not agree with him on too many aspects, he’s right on this one.