Henman's leaving was supposed to be the end of an era. Back then, Andy Murray, still making his way back from a serious wrist injury, was determined to "do it for Tim" and win his opening match for his friend and mentor. Getting back into the World Group would, Murray and all concerned thought, be a fitting way to mark the end of Tiger Tim's playing days.

But one year on and Henman, the man with the lovely table manners and pretty volleys, is all but forgotten. When Wimbledon's No.1 court crowd erupts with applause at the start of this weekend's Davis Cup World Group relegation tie against Austria, the cheers will all be for Murray. He is the world No.4, the US Open finalist and the likeliest successor to Fred Perry, Britain's last male grand slam champion, that the patient faithful have seen in 72 years.

At 21, Murray has already outstripped Henman's achievements and legacy. Henman was 29 before he claimed his one and only Masters Series title while Murray won his first last month. Henman never reached a grand slam final and spent only a handful of weeks as the world No.4. Murray will stay in that spot until the end of the year, has already booked his ticket to the Masters Cup extravaganza for the world's top eight at the end of the year and could be No.3 or higher by February.

Murray, though, is not concerned with legacies and leaving his mark on the history books. He lives in the present and plans for the future – and after losing to Roger Federer in the New York final, he knows that he is close to reaching the one goal left to him: a grand slam title.

"This is the only thing that I've been good at or wanted to be good at since I was young," he said. "It's not so much about leaving a legacy, but it's about achieving something that I've wanted to do since I was a kid and I'm hoping that one day I'll be able to do it.

"After the final, you're disappointed that you've lost but it gives you a sort of belief that you deserve to win one of these tournaments. It's much closer than it was before and you've just got to work even harder and hopefully it'll come one day."

Murray's progress in the past few weeks has given John Lloyd, Britain's Davis Cup captain, just cause for optimism. If Britain beat Austria, they will keep their place in the World Group, the premier division of the competition.

Austria's top player is Jürgen Melzer, whom Murray beat in five sets in the third round at the US Open. Coming back from a two-set deficit, the Scot ground down Melzer in four hours and Lloyd is hoping the damage to the Austrian's stamina and psyche will be lasting. He also knows that with Murray in the team, the rest of the squad – Andy's brother Jamie, Alex Bogdanovic and Ross Hutchins – will raise their game to try and match the standards set by the world No.4.

"You've got that person in your team and he's the leader of the team," Lloyd said. "He's got that stature now where the other guys on the team and your opponents look at him across the net and they see a guy who's deservedly No.4 in the world and a grand slam finalist. There's an aura about him. I think the psychological aspect of him not just beating Melzer but wearing him down, when Melzer is known as one of the fittest guys out there – that's huge for us, no question about it."

Lloyd prides himself on creating a good team spirit but his idea of fun is not necessarily everyone's pick for a good night out. One of the first team bonding sessions was a trip to watch the captain's beloved Wolves play Charlton yesterday. "There might be a bit of a backlash and a boycott," he said before the match, "but I'm insisting that they have to go so they're coming to watch my magnificent team play."

But once the "fun" is over, the hard work begins in training. Murray has to win both his singles matches against Melzer and Alexander Peya to give the team some breathing space. Bogdanovic, the world No.172, has never won a live rubber in the Davis Cup but should be evenly matched with Peya, Austria's No.2 and the world No.168, although expecting Bogdanovic to make much of an impression on Melzer may be asking too much. That leaves the doubles as the more likely source of Britain's third and all-important point.

"I've got three good combinations in the doubles, there's no doubt about that," Lloyd said. "If you look at it on paper and all things being equal and everyone being well and injury free, then the two Murrays are my No.1 combination."

If the Murrays do not play together, Lloyd is still feeling confident. Andy and Hutchins are good friends and played doubles together at the US Open, reaching the second round where they only lost by a whisker to the top seeds. Hutchins also played with Jamie in the Davis Cup World Group tie in Argentina earlier this year.

Everything, then, hinges on Murray and the weather. In risking a tie in late September at Wimbledon – the magnet for every rain cloud in Europe during the Championships – Lloyd may be pushing his luck. Yet he believes that grass suits all four of his players while the Austrians will not be at home on the lush green stuff. And now that he has a US Open finalist in his team, Lloyd believes the balance is tipped in Britain's favour.

"I always felt that playing on grass would make us the favourites," he said. "Andy knows he'll get a great reception when he comes on the court on Friday – and that's something he fully deserves. He deserves to be where he is in the world rankings and he's breathing heavily down the necks of the big three now. It's quite remarkable."

The post-Henman years are looking brighter than ever with Murray in his current form. If Lloyd can just persuade Scotland's finest to support Wolves, his life as Davis Cup captain would be complete.