The US Open was an excellent tournament for me and even though I only had to win two matches, nobody will find me complaining that they decided to name me Senior Singles champion. It was an even better one for Andy Murray, a breakthrough into the very top level of the game and further proof that so long as he keeps working extremely hard and doesn't delude himself that he's already the finished article, he will win a Grand Slam title before too long.

Am I surprised he reached the final, beating the new no.1 Rafael Nadal along the way and now stands in fourth place in the world rankings? Not at all. New York and the whole set-up of Flushing Meadows might not be to every players' taste - I always used to get furious at the way the noisy and often very rude paying public almost seemed to disregard the fact an important tennis match was taking place - but it has always seemed to excite Andy.

Do I think he will strive tirelessly to become even fitter, stronger, more durable and the complete modern player? Most definitely. I remember several years ago, long before the days of Brad Gilbert's appointment that I thought Miles Maclagan was the perfect coach for him and that relationship has just blossomed. Make no mistake Gilbert taught him lessons he should never forget but few people are equipped to take the constant battering on the eardrums that comes from the guy I spent nine years playing against and ended up with almost three times more prize money than me although he never got any further than the quarter final of a Grand Slam.

Now Murray has moved on and more than vindicated the decision to sack Brad, something I'm sure sent shock waves of sheer horror through the Lawn Tennis Association. When I first heard about this Team Murray idea I wasn't too sure because I thought there would be a number of coaches telling him different things and that would end up just confusing a young mind but like so many people I was wide of the beam. Things have worked up perfectly with everyone on board knowing exactly what their job does, and more importantly does not, involve.

As we have all seen his fitness and staying power has improved beyond all recognition and he has absolutely no qualms nowadays when the match moves into an exacting fifth set. Add into the mix there are so many other plusses to his game; he moves so well and is as quick as anyone, he has such a good tactical brain, with the exception of a dubious second serve, there are no real technical deficiencies in his game and he's even getting over that habit of overplaying the drop shot. There are so many good shots in his locker; a very heavy and telling first serve, that five-star double fisted backhand that either whips cross court or goes zinging down the line, a vastly improved forehand and the sort of volley that warms my heart. I repeat myself in saying he has far more to his game than Novak Djokovic who now only stands one place above him in the rankings but of course has a Grand Slam title to his name.

Yes, the second serve does need strengthening but in today's game that is not so much of a weakness as it was 15 years ago when the likes of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi or Pat Rafter would cause you some real damage. The likes of Rafael Nadal and Djokovic don't really go after the other guys serve although there were a couple of occasions in the final when Roger Federer sent back returns that absolutely smoked with pace and venom. Maybe Andy should keep a short video of them to remind him how much he needs to work on that aspect of his game.

However now it's time to move forward and not look back. The US Open is consigned to history and although he's understandably very proud of reaching the year ending Masters Cup in Shanghai for the first time, he should already be setting his sights on the next Grand Slam and that is the Australian Open next January.

At the tail end of last year Murray put in a concerted training and conditioning stint with his team in Florida where I understand he has now bought an apartment. Indisputably that put him in good stead for this year and he came out blazing to win the first tournament of the year in Doha. Good on him but let's not forget he then lost first round of the Aussie Open to eventual finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Let's not beat about the bush, from now on tournaments like Doha don't really matter to Murray. It's the Grand Slams he should be concentrating upon and if that's the case he must get to Australia earlier and properly acclimatise to the conditions which can be hot, windy and brutal. Florida was good for last year and I know I am obviously biased in this respect but I would love to see him arrive Down Under with his guys well before Christmas to put in some more really tough physical work.

I take this view. Dunblane is most certainly not the place to be, he's enjoyed plenty of Christmas Days at home as a youngster and there will be plenty more to come when he's done with tennis and has his own children. Right now tennis and winning that Grand Slam title is the priority. Australia is perfect, he can practice at Melbourne Park where they play the Aussie Open, the training facilities are as good as anything in the United States or Britain, there are plenty of players to practics with and if he wants to play warm up tournaments there is a new one in Brisbane next year where things will be nice and warm. Go for it Andy.