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[benniebone]

Yes Andy is no 2 at the moment These rankings are simply a snapshot  at a particular moment of time Clay is his great weakness but grass and hard court are his strengths
  Roll on Wimbledon

[Ruthie]

  Now I wonder if his back issue has halted his progress somewhat, maybe the best of Andy on clay is yet to come.

I fear the back problem could mean that Andy never fulfils his potential on clay.   It would be only natural if he always now approaches clay with some tentativeness and anxiety that he could aggravate the underlying problem. 

[Grabcopy]

I just think 2011 showed how good Andy could be on the surface (I still don't think his draws could have been that kind in three tournaments, especially on clay).

He's not a clay-courter. End of discussion. He's still beaten only ONE top ten player on clay. As he'll never win the French, skipping it every year to practise on grass makes a lot of sense.

[tamila]

I also think that the injury has hindered his play on clay and  the fact that his knee did not show up until he played on clay in Spain.  Trying to protect his knee could put a strain on his back as so many injuries create problems elsewhere in the body.  My hip problems, undiagnosed for 10 years, has caused some problems in my lower back which have improved dramatically on the right since that hip was done.  This also applies to animals.  One of my horses did hurt his back but even after it healed he still put strain unevenly on his hind legs for nearly a year.  Eventually he realised that it did not hurt anymore and we were able to compete in endurance again.

[teejay1]

He's not a clay-courter. End of discussion. He's still beaten only ONE top ten player on clay. As he'll never win the French, skipping it every year to practise on grass makes a lot of sense.

To be fair I didn't say he was a clay courter. I also didn't mention him winning the French. I was talking about Andy's injury, if it has impacted on his chance to develop on the clay at all, might he be a consistent quarter or semi finalist by now if the injury had not happened.

It also strikes me as amazing that Andy got into three clay court semi's without meeting another top ten player before that point in 2011. There must have been some slightly freaky results.

[ABF]

To be fair I didn't say he was a clay courter. I also didn't mention him winning the French. I was talking about Andy's injury, if it has impacted on his chance to develop on the clay at all, might he be a consistent quarter or semi finalist by now if the injury had not happened.

It also strikes me as amazing that Andy got into three clay court semi's without meeting another top ten player before that point in 2011. There must have been some slightly freaky results.

I think Andy's game style is very much all court. That said, I think Andy is severely restricted by the movements required on a clay surface by his lower back issues. I agree in that Andy has on occasion , eg 2011, shown that he can definately play well on that surface. His match vs Djoko in Rome proved that to my mind.
I don't believe Andy will ever achieve much success on clay, however. It clearly damages his back each season. The problem is that if he wants to getthe no1 ranking he has to find points from the clay season so he doesnt lose too much ground. Its a major problem for him i think. He has publicly stated reaching no1 is a major ambition of his.