Andy Murray is Britain's greatest, an inspirational man who refused to accept failure as his fate

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All good things come to those who wait. It would not be absurd to suggest Andy Murray has had to wait more than most to achieve his ultimate ambition in life.

When news filtered through from Paris on Saturday afternoon that the Scot was world number one without hitting a ball, there was an immediate sense of anti-climax.

Yet there was also something entirely fitting about the manner in which his astonishing, and at times angst-ridden pursuit, of his sport’s most revered position finally concluded in the French capital amid a scene of relative calm.

An unfortunate leg injury to Milos Raonic meant Murray did not need to win a semi-final at the Paris Masters to unseat Novak Djokovic at the summit as he was given safe passage to the final and number one ranking.

For once, Murray was allowed time and space to reflect on what he has achieved in a burgeoning career that began in 2005 before galloping towards this final gilded seal of approval 11 years later.

Time and space to enjoy the fruits of his labour without having to drag his frame through the physical and mental torture of attempting to justify just how supreme a sporting figure he actually is.

Unlike on July 7, 2013 when he became the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936, or November 29, 2015 when he led Great Britain to a first Davis Cup since 1936, there were no fireworks on November 5, 2016 to celebrate his anointing.

Yet this Bonfire Night is a date that will forever be enshrined in Murray's memory until the tennis firecracker throws his final serve down the T of life.

It will already be posted in his grandad Roy Erskine’s latest scrapbook charting the somewhat revelationary rise of the ultimate local lad made good.

He replicates Djokovic in becoming the first new player to lead the rankings since 2011. He is the first figure outside of Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to achieve the feat since 2004.

If anybody should be allowed to enjoy what they have carried off at the tennis temple, it is a sporting figure without compare in these parts.

For so long, the Holy Grail appeared to be the holy fail, but no more. No longer can the line be trotted out that Britain’s greatest sportsperson was never his sport's greatest.

His single-minded supremacy surpasses anything a British sportsperson has achieved in foreign climes. In such a global sport, Murray's magnificence stands alone. Above men such as Steve Redgrave, Chris Hoy and Mo Farah in all their obvious glory.

Reared in the sleepy hollow of Dunblane near Stirling in Scotland, a quaint little settlement of less than 10,000 inhabitants, which is earmarked by a Cathedral and a rather fashionable hotel, Murray has become an ambassador and beacon of light for a community haunted by the murder of innocent schoolchildren back in 1996 when only good fortune saved him from being a victim of the massacre.

He is an inspirational Great British diplomat in a sport that had largely been a bit of a farce in rainy Blighty.

Murray trained in Spain as a kid to prosper at the age of 15 when there was a more lucrative possibility of a career in football. And he has made it to number one despite being written off by his detractors as a surly, dour Scot, a nearly man of our times.

Tennis tends to makes its way into the national conscience for a fortnight every year when Wimbledon is on, but Murray has changed the outlook from dim to as bright as a summer pint of Pimms at the All England Club. The hope is that Murray's success will spawn future generations. Even if they are unlikely to be as formidable.

He is a walking emblem of consistency and reliability. Of how you can succeed in sport and life if you try, try and try again. And try again.

This was not his destiny. He did not deserve it, he earned it. He had to work bloody hard for it. A good warm-up man does not always get to become the headline act.

Before he won the US Open in 2012, many doubted whether he had the minerals to claims a solitary Grand Slam having come up short four times. And look where we are now.

John Isner, his American opponent in the final of the Paris Masters on Sunday, said he was relishing the chance to take on the game's best in reference to Murray's fresh standing. The nearly man is suddenly the man.

Murray has won two Wimbledons, the US Open, two Olympic golds and the Davis Cup at the age of 29. He has lost eight Grand Slam finals, he has cried at some, turned the air blue at plenty and probably moaned extensively about his own shortcomings to close family and friends, but never has he felt sorry for himself. Great champions never do.

He is not universally liked in a sport where old habits die hard. Probably because he is his own man rather than trying to be something he is not.

Despite being only the 26th man in history to achieve the number one ranking, and the second oldest man to dock in top spot for the first time behind John Newcome at 30 in 1974, there are those who will continue to question such a gold standard.

This onlooker suggested the other day that there are genuine reasons to believe Murray is already among the top five players of all time. It prompted much wailing and gnashing of teeth among some critics.

Yet you look at how the game was played back then to how it is performed today to see Murray’s three Grand Slams should not be the only way to measure the greatness of a player. The consistency, natural ability, fitness levels, work ethic and voracious appetite to improve singles him out as someone very special.

In others eras, he would have won many, many more. But he has still done enough to be measured alongside his peers.

When Murray lost the French Open final to Djokovic in June, he was over 8,000 points behind the Serbian as the game’s undisputed number two, but he added titles at Queen’s Club, Wimbledon, the Rio Olympics, Beijing, Shanghai and Vienna to go with his success at Rome prior to Roland Garros.

A win in the Paris Masters would be his eighth title of the year before the World Tour finals in London, an event he has yet to win. This would be as good a time as any to set the record straight on that one.

What is left for Murray to achieve in tennis? An Australian Open is entirely feasible having lost five finals in Melbourne, while he has already spoken of his desire to conquer clay at the French Open.

Without injury or unforeseen loss of form, a career Grand Slam is something that must be deemed an entirely realistic prospect. His new status should merely enhance his feeling of self-worth.

If he maintains this level of excellence, self-belief and personal desire in the next 12 months, nothing should be deemed beyond him.

So what if there was no sense of theatre in Paris on Saturday afternoon. Hang the bunting.

We are fortunate to be living in the times of Britain’s greatest sportsman of all time. Times that could yet get better.

There remains the tantalising prospect that in 2017, the world could be his and all that is in it.

For Andy Murray, the waiting is finally over.