The Northern Echo's Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson casts his eye over the big sporting issues of the week in his new column. Today's spotlight falls on teenage tennis sensation Andrew Murray.

GIVEN that he has won 24 successive finals and already claimed 11 trophies this season, Roger Federer should be able to spot a future Grand Slam winner when he sees one.

So, when even the world number one is drooling over Andrew Murray, Britain's wait for a successor to Fred Perry really could be at an end.

By admiring the "big repertoire of shots" he was forced to repel in the final of the Thailand Open last weekend, Federer highlighted the raw talent that has propelled the Scot to number 72 in the world.

But, when it comes to British tennis, that raw talent is only half the story. In an era of huge hitting and prodigious power, it is mental strength that will have to be Murray's biggest weapon as his career continues to develop. As Tim Henman will no doubt testify, success in this country is a double-edged sword.

Murray's rapid rise through the rankings - he was still outside the world's top 300 on the eve of Wimbledon - has propelled him into the nation's sporting conscience. It has also, however, created a tidal-wave of expectation that could yet engulf him.

Handling the transition from plucky underdog to well-drilled winner is one of the most difficult tasks any young sportsman can face. In the uniquely constricting environment of British tennis, the weight of outside expectancy is magnified to the extreme.

This is a world, remember, where Henman has been branded a failure. A player who has reached eight Wimbledon quarter-finals, won ten ATP tour titles and risen as high as number four in the world, derided for failing to deliver an elusive Grand Slam.

And not just any Grand Slam at that. Henman could have won French Open after French Open to garner his already illustrious career, but it would have mattered little to all but the most committed of tennis aficionados.

Sadly, Murray will be judged against the same barometer of success. When it comes to the sport in this country, Wimbledon is all that matters.

Two weeks of the summer cast an all-encompassing shadow over everything else that happens in the rest of the year.

Henman quickly learned as much and sought to turn Britain's preoccupation with 'tennis' Holy Grail' to his own advantage.

Ever-eager to talk up his chances at SW19, he was a willing participant in the media circus that descends on Wimbledon every June.

But, by grasping every available Union Jack and openly focusing all his annual efforts on one tournament, Henman ultimately helped to deface a career that should have been remembered as one of the greatest this country has ever seen.

By his own admission, failing to win Wimbledon meant he had failed, full stop.

Concentrating all of his efforts on honing his grass-court game also meant Henman neglected to develop the range of shots needed to triumph on continental soil. It is no coincidence that his run to the last four at Roland Garros came after he belatedly adapted his serve-volley technique to allow him to compete on clay.

Murray no doubt shares Henman's desire to triumph on home soil - most players, no matter where they are born, would love to win at Wimbledon - but, for the good of his career, it would be helpful if he ploughed a different furrow to the English number one.

He needs to accept that one tournament is not the be all and end all of his sport and, just as importantly, learn to ignore those who try to tell him otherwise.

Inevitably, there will be plenty that fall into that camp. Murray has already had to field questions about his hopes for next year's Wimbledon - given the pace at which his career is developing, it would be a surprise if he even knew where he was going to be next week.

A tournament some eight months in the future should be at the very back of his mind at the moment and, fortunately, the teenager is uniquely well-equipped to downplay the significance of Britain's flagship event.

By opting out of the traditional route into the sport - Murray left Scotland for Barcelona's renowned Sanchez-Casal Academy at the age of 14 - he was able to hone a baseline game that is as far-removed from Henman's classical serve-volley style as it is possible to be.

Rather than representing a solitary shot at success, Wimbledon is actually the Grand Slam Murray is least likely to win.

Australia and America should be far more conducive to his back-court approach.

That will not go down well with those who view tennis through parochial eyes. But, with next year representing the 70th anniversary of Perry's last Grand Slam win, it might finally bring an end to one of the longest waits in British sport.

One can only speculate on what David Beckham tunes in to when watching TV in his Spanish home, but it is to be hoped he has found time this week to catch some of the Conservative party conference in Blackpool. He could certainly do with remembering what it feels like to be a right-winger.

After last month's disastrous decision to employ him at centre-midfield, Sven Goran Eriksson will return the England skipper to his more natural position on the flank when Austria visit Old Trafford on Saturday.

The only problem is that, in the past, he has struggled to stay there. Drifting here, there and everywhere like a headless chicken, Beckham has developed an irritating tendency to expose his full-back, unbalance his side's attacks and generally get in the way of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, two of England's most creative midfielders.

With his side needing maximum points from this week's double-header to qualify for the World Cup finals, Eriksson must tell his skipper that enough is enough. Otherwise, like the Tories, England too could be looking for a new leader by the end of next week.

As if his life has not taken enough bizarre turns, Mike Tyson has spent most of the last fortnight in Chechnya opening a new gym.

Given the war-torn republic's desperation to break away from its current rulers, it is to be hoped he resisted the urge to name it "From Russia With Glove".