It would be fair to say that the past 12 months has been a mixed bag for Great Britain's Andy Murray.
The year started badly for the 24-year-old, but as the season progressed, there was some cause for optimism that he would become the first Briton to win a Grand Slam since Fred Perry.
After an unsuccessful stint at the Hopman Cup paired with Laura Robson in early January, Murray entered the Australian Open as the world number four.
A succession of victories over Karol Beck, Illya Marchenko, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Alexandr Dolgopolov and David Ferrer saw Murray advance to the final in Melbourne.
Standing in his way of a first Grand Slam title was Novak Djokovic, the world number three. Many pundits had Murray down as the favourite, but little did they know that his Serbian opponent was about to embark on a winning run of a lifetime that would see him end 2011 as the world number one.
Djokovic defeated Murray with ease 6-4 6-2 6-3, a loss that would have a detrimental effect on the Scot's form.
Early exits from competitions in Rotterdam, Indian Wells and Miami throughout February and March left Murray scratching around to rediscover the winning touch that got him to the Aussie Open final.
The loss in Miami prompted a split from coach Alex Corretja, and with it brought a change in fortunes.
In April Murray reached the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters, before losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal.
A defeat to his nemesis Djokovic followed in the semi-finals in Rome, but this did not prevent Murray producing a positive showing at the French Open. He reached the semi-final for the first time in his career, before exiting the event at the hands of Nadal once again.
In the build up to Wimbledon Murray triumphed in the final at the Queen's Club over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but that momentum failed to carry him to further success at SW19.
Yet again a semi-final match with Nadal beckoned and almost predictably, Murray lost out 6-4 6-2 3-6 6-2.
The bright lights of New York and US Open then awaited, with Murray becoming only the seventh player in the Open era to reach the semis of all four Slams in a single year. But in a recurring story Nadal would again emerge victorious from their final four meeting.
However, Murray was about to begin a stretch of trophy-laden tournaments in the Far East.
Victories in Japan, Thailand and Shanghai came in quick succession, allowing Murray to leapfrog Roger Federer into the world number three slot.
Murray entered the end-of-season ATP World Tour Finals as one of the leading contenders for the main prize, but in an alarming end to his run of form, he was to fail on the big stage.
On this occasion it wasn't an opponent that got the better of Murray, but a groin injury that saw him withdraw from the competition after a loss to David Ferrer in the opening group match.
His early retirement allowed Federer to regain third spot in the world rankings, meaning Murray will start 2012 exactly where he began in 2011.
Liam Apicella
