Anyone remember the last time Andy Murray entered a Grand Slam as the favourite? Or do you only remember the four times he came off second-best?

Those were the days when critics and fans began to despair, wondering whether the Scot would ever be able to overcome the final hurdle. He was a solid four among the Big Four. Looking back on Murray’s career, the image that pops out most poignantly is that of him sobbing on Centre Court at Wimbledon in 2012 after losing yet another Grand Slam final, this time to Roger Federer.

The perennial bridesmaid

But just weeks later, back on the same court, Murray redeemed himself in front of the home crowd by winning the Olympic gold medal. He followed it up soon afterwards with a victory at the US Open over Novak Djokovic to claim his first Grand Slam. The monkey was finally off his back. When he went on to become the first British man since Fred Perry to triumph at Wimbledon the next year, he could lay claim to a legitimate spot in the quartet that has dominated men’s tennis for the past decade.

And yet, in the next three years, Murray finished as a runner-up in three more Grand Slams, each time losing to his nemesis Djokovic. Born exactly a week before the Serb, Murray seemed resigned until a few months ago to play a strong and consistent second fiddle to the world number one. Tennis analysts criticised him for being too defensive in big matches and for getting too negative when he was down. Murray seemed destined to be forever the bridesmaid.

But in sport, anything can happen, and, suddenly, this summer, everything changed.

Has Murray’s time come?

When Djokovic completed the Career Slam back in June 2016 by finally winning the French Open crown that had long eluded him, it seemed that his era of dominance was under no serious threat in the near future. Pundits began to make bets on how many majors he would pile up, and how quickly he might overtake Federer’s record of 17. Then, the unthinkable happened at Wimbledon. Djokovic lost to American Sam Querrey in the third round of Wimbledon. Murray grabbed the opportunity to win his second title at the All England Club.

What’s more, he followed it up by beating a resurgent Juan Martin Del Potro in Rio to win the gold medal, defending his Olympic singles title from four years ago. Suddenly, as three of the Big Four struggle with injuries and lack of match practice, it is Murray who is left to defend their fort from an onslaught by a new generation of players. Even though the bookmakers have placed Murray behind Djokovic in the odds to win this year’s final Grand Slam title, the US Open, it sure looks like Murray’s time has come.

In recent days, Djokovic has said that at Wimbledon he was impacted by troubles of a “private” nature. While he claims those have now been resolved, his summer since then has been mediocre at best. Although he managed to win the Rogers Cup Masters Series title in Toronto at the end of July, he did so in the absence of Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Murray.

Djoko's decline

In Rio, he suffered a shock defeat at the hand of Del Potro, an outcome that left him weeping at the end of the match. At 29, Djokovic is well aware that a four-year wait until the next Olympic Games, an event at which he is yet to win a medal, might prove too long. After Rio, the world No. 1 disclosed that he was suffering from a left wrist injury and was going to skip all tournaments until the US Open.

Last week, he sounded unsure about his form coming into New York: “I’m doing everything in my power, with obviously the medical team, to make sure that I’m as close to 100 percent as possible during the course of this tournament…at least for the beginning of it.”

The wrist injury means Djokovic is having trouble executing his backhand. The first few rounds will be crucial to bolster his confidence and test his wrist. And while he may well prove to be healthy enough to play his way into the final and even win a thirteenth slam, there is no doubt that Djokovic looks less invincible right now than any time in the past few years. His lingering injury woes, ever so slight lack of confidence, and recent losses are likely to inspire fellow players into believing they have a chance against him. And no one believes this more than Andy Murray.

Even with Djokovic around, Murray had a pretty stellar first half of 2016. He reached both the Australian Open and French Open finals. However, he lost both to Djokovic and was at one point ranked more than eight thousand points behind the Serb in the Association of Tennis Professionals 2016 race.

This gap has since narrowed to less than three thousand points. If Murray wins the US Open, the race for the No. 1 ranking at the end of the year could well go down to the wire. This is a situation no one expected to see six months ago.

Whether it’s because of Murray's renewed partnership with Ivan Lendl, or his late peak, or increased aggression in his shots on big points, coupled with Djokovic’s slight decline, clearly it is the Scotsman's star that is in the ascendant. And as we go into his favourite surface and his favourite slam, his fans have every reason to feel optimistic that the Andy Murray era might just be beginning.

Oindrila Mukherjee tweets here.