WHEN THE tennis road extends into the 11th month of the year, it takes a special player to find the self-motivation and durability to play five matches in a week and win the Tennis Masters Cup. Roger Federer is clearly one, having won the title four times in five years. Andy Murray could be another.

Let’s be honest on two points. First, the tennis year is too long and in 2008 there have already been more than enough top-flight tournaments, with four Grand Slams and an Olympic Games. Second, Shanghai is not the most enticing place after so many months of travelling, and it can only be good for tennis that this event is moving to London next year. Nobody can be surprised that Rafael Nadal is not going. Money has ceased to be a lure for him, he has the world No 1 ranking for the year sewn up and the prospect of winning the Davis Cup for Spain in a couple of weeks is clearly far more important to him.

Nadal’s absence has every chance of translating into a great opportunity for Murray, who, after Federer, must rate as the second favourite to take the prize. Nobody will really know how Federer feels until he gets out on court, perhaps not even himself. He has made a lot of noises lately about his main priority, getting fit and ready to win back the top ranking from Nadal next year.

Murray, on the other hand, goes into the event on something of a roll. I wouldn’t say he would like the year to go on for another couple of months because he must be looking forward to a rest like everyone else, but he has matured and improved so much as a competitor in the few months since Wimbledon and his game is the one all the other top guys currently fear.

His first serve is so much more of a weapon. He has allied his extra upper-body strength to improved technique and, most importantly, he believes he’s going to tee off a good ball rather than stepping up to the serving line worrying whether his second serve will be good enough. His ground strokes were already good but now they are better, his volleying is up there with the best and his powers of endurance are supreme. I’m now convinced he will win a major in the not too distant future and it might easily come as soon as January’s Australian Open. I’ll also stick my neck out and say he will overtake Novak Djokovic to become world No 3 before long. Murray’s game is flourishing and continues to improve, but I feel Djokovic has faltered because of technical issues he needs to sort out quickly.

With this being Murray’s first experience of the Tennis Masters Cup, he will hopefully be fired up. However, things don’t always work that way. A year ago an exhausted Djokovic was a huge disappointment, and new boys often struggle. This time there are four of them, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Juan Martin Del Potro and Gilles Simon joining Murray as first-timers. I particularly like Tsonga because when he’s on form he opts for all-out attack, and he will be on a high after doing France proud by winning last weekend’s Masters Series title in Paris.

I only once made it through to the Masters, as it was in my day, and my emotions weren’t exactly those of somebody invigorated by the thought of yet another arduous competition. At this time of the year most guys long to put the rackets away and take things easy.

When I played, New York’s Madison Square Garden was the venue and was in need of a new lick of paint even then. I’ve not been to the Qi Zhong Stadium in Shanghai, but I’m sure it’s a impressive sight. Nevertheless, I’m pretty certain that every player there would be more revved up by the thought of playing a big prestigious tournament in London at the O knowledgeable tennis crowd. We all know money is the driving force behind staging year-ending tournaments in countries not normally associated with tennis. It’s why the top women are playing at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships in Qatar, and why the Masters Cup has been in Shanghai in five out of the past seven years. It’s high time to bring the event back to the real tennis world, and I would not be surprised if Murray came home with the trophy. What a prospect that would make for London and in 2009.