In gusting winds that whipped up the clay, the 24 year-old Scot launched his personal Operation Desert Storm, only to find his missiles failing to hit the target often enough when it most mattered. This result was confirmation of several things, firstly that Nadal is phenomenally good, secondly that, in technical terms, Murray is not very far behind. The most telling reality, though, is that the 24-year-old Scot is still well adrift of his three main rivals when it comes to competing hard and maintaining a strong mentality over long periods. That may be harsh, and is to judge him by almost impossibly high standards, but winning a Grand Slam, including negotiating his way through early rounds, is going to require him maturing considerably further.