Boris Becker expects Andy Murray to return to the tennis circuit with a renewed hunger after his enforced break from the sport.
The Scot had minor surgery on his troublesome back a month ago and last week confirmed his season was over when he withdrew from the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
News from the Murray camp has, nevertheless, been encouraging and in around a month the Scot will travel to Miami to begin his winter training camp as he builds up to the new season.
The nature of the tennis calendar means breaks are usually no more than a few days, even at the end of a season.
Murray had a short holiday after winning Wimbledon but it became clear during his US Open title defence, which ended with a quarter-final loss to Stanislas Wawrinka, that he was physically and mentally jaded.
As well as his recuperation, this period has allowed Murray time out to recharge his batteries and the effect of that will be seen at the Australian Open in January.
Rafael Nadal has shown with his phenomenal season that great things can happen after a lengthy break, and Becker believes that can be an inspiration to Murray.
The former world No 1 told Press Association Sport: “We don’t know the extent of the injury and back surgery is never a good thing.
“The Australian Open will be his target and I trust what he says. He’s got another 2 months to get ready and I think he’ll do it.
“He has been on a bit of a treadmill, from reaching the Wimbledon final last year then the Olympics, winning the US Open, an Australian Open final through to winning Wimbledon.
“If you are forced to take time out, you can really appreciate what you have done and enjoy it a little bit. It does make you more hungry, you realise how much you love the sport.
“And the incredible way that Nadal has come back this year, that can be a good example for Andy.”
While Murray concentrates on getting back to full fitness, the off-season tasks for British women’s number one Laura Robson will include finding a new coach.
The 19-year-old split from Miles Maclagan this week after only four months, having previously been with Croatian Zeljko Krajan for less than a year.
Robson has changed coaches frequently during her short career in search of the right person to help her realise her potential.
This year has been up and down, with more good performances at the grand slams but a failure to replicate that form on the WTA Tour.
From a high of 27 in the rankings after reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon, Robson has dropped to 46 as a consequence of disappointing results in Asia.
That is only seven places higher than she started the season, and Becker said: “Her year wasn’t as good as I expected it to be.
“She’s had problems with injury and illness and that’s probably a reason. Often it’s not the coach’s fault but you have to make somebody responsible.
“Ideally you want to be together with a coach for a couple of years at least. She’s a very talented young player. She has got work to do, she needs to work physically a little bit more but I expect her to come good.”
There are a few likely candidates to replace Maclagan, including Maria Sharapova’s former coach, Thomas Hogstedt, and Swede Sven Groeneveld, who spotted Robson’s potential when she was 11 and has helped her on and off over the past few years through his role with adidas.
“Sven is a very good coach, I know him from my playing days,” said Becker. “And so is Thomas Hogstedt. He’s very knowledgeable and a fun guy.”