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liamhaydn-blog · 3 months ago

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Why Andy Murray is Britain's Greatest Ever Sportsperson

The Difficulty of Tennis

Tennis can be regarded as one of the toughest, most demanding Sports there is for many reasons. The physical demands are huge, with speed, strength and endurance all required. The mental demands are great with the need to manage stress and emotions, with mental fatigue just as much as physical needing to be overcome.. The mental exhaustion must be resisted in order to allow you to keep problem-solving on the court, keep producing solutions and asking questions of your opponent. The 1 v 1 nature of tennis, with coaching not allowed in-game amplifies the psychological battle, not solely against your opponent but also raging inside your own mind, with noone to rely on but yourself. With no time limit, the match only ends when you are the first to reach 2 sets (or 3 for men in Grand Slams) and due to this you have to deal with being as little as 1 point away from victory, before having to still be on court battling hours later if you were unable to take that matchpoint.

As well as requiring physical and mental endurance, Tennis also demands a high level of skill with the elite players needing to have every shot in their repertoire to a high standard: be it the backhand, forehand, serve, volley, smash, slice, groundstrokes. Berrettini for example has one of the best serves and forehands in the game, his backhand however is susceptible and this weakness has been exploited by opponents, and in part because of this he is yet to win a big title at the time of writing. You constantly need to be making decisions when serving and returning, and when in rallies the need for accuracy is essential, especially when facing the elite players. You can make the correct decision in the shot type you go for but if the execution is just a few millimetres wrong it could cost you the point.

The tennis season is a long one lasting around 11 months of the year, and it requires you to play on vastly different surfaces, in vastly different conditions, indoor and outdoor whilst also adjusting to new timezones and climates. You also have to deal with the different opponent styles that you face from the other end of the court, and adjust tactically. You could on Monday, play a huge server with a great forehand but with a susceptible backhand who doesn't like to be made to hit on the run. So you play to their backhand and try and move them around as much as possible. Then the very next day, you face a great returner and mover with a solid backhand, but with a less solid serve which is prone to mis-firing. What worked for you yesterday, will now definitely not work and you need an entirely new strategy.

Sports that combine the need for endurance, technical skill & mental strength of the highest order should be considered more difficult and demanding Sports that those which only require 2 of those 3, such as Darts & Snooker. And other sports may be more physically demanding than tennis, but do not require the same level of diverse technical skills.

Tennis is one of the most popular individual sports in the world when it comes to global participation, with it being one of the biggest sports across many continents. The ATP top 50 at the time of writing features men from 23 countries and 5 continents. The chances of a kid from the tiny Scottish town of Dunblane going on to top the world rankings in such a global sport, and during by far the strongest and most competitive era of men's tennis were so incredibly miniscule.

Since the beginning of the Open Era in 1969, 29 different countries have produced a singles Champion, 20 on the men's side alone, from 5 different continents. Asia is the only continent not to have yet produced a men's singles Champion in the Open Era, though Nishikori of Japan reached the US Open final in 2014 and India has produced some of the finest Doubles players ever. In comparison, some of Britain's other great Sportspeople have dominated in sports such as Darts & Snooker. The Darts World Championship has produced 2 winners from outside Britain since the event began in 1994 and Snooker has produced 4 World Champions from outside Britain since the World Championships began in 1927.

Murray's achievements of winning Wimbledon, the Davis Cup & 2 Olympic Gold's in a truly global sport have led to him winning the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award a record 3 times. Murray won in 2013, 2015 and in 2016, he became the first and to date only person in the award's 70-year history to retain it. That 2016 win came in an Olympics year, following GB's most successful Olympics ever on foreign soil, yet Murray's achievements that year stood out amongst all others.

An Unsuccessful Tennis Nation

Great Britain at the time of Murray's emergence had been a very unsuccessful Tennis nation for a long time, particularly on the men's side. Britain had been one of the strongest nations in the world prior to World War 2, but in the many decades since they'd gradually sunk into a bit of a joke for the rest of the world to laugh at. Britain held the biggest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, but they hadn't produced a men's finalist since 1938. British tennis hit its lowest ebb in the 1980's when it was considered a successful slam if a Brit was able to win a round or two at the event. Tim Henman had restored some British pride, reaching 4 semi-finals at SW19, but he fell at that hurdle every single time and even he was regarded as a nearly man.

Many of the all-time great British athletes had a recently successful Brit in their field to emulate, who'd opened the path somewhat for them. Murray had to be the one setting the path for future generations himself, it was going to have to him who made the journey through unchartered territory for Britain in the Open Era.

In 2012, he became the first British man in 74 years to reach the Wimbledon final and the following month he became the first Brit to take the Gold in the Olympic singles for 104 years. Later that year Murray went on to finally end Britain's 76-year wait for a men's Grand Slam champion at the US Open and then the following year he became the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years. Given the level of pressure on Murray and the opponent he faced in that 2013 Wimbledon final, Novak Djokovic, statistically unquestionably the greatest Tennis player ever, one of the biggest winners and mentally resilient people sport has ever seen, it has a strong argument for being the greatest victory ever achieved by a British athlete.

It's unlikely any British athlete has ever been under the level of pressure and expectation that Murray had placed on him to win Wimbledon, and not only did he win it, he won it twice. In doing so becoming the only Brit male or female to win multiple Wimbledon singles titles in the Open Era. Murray also ended Britain's 79-year wait to be Davis Cup Champions in 2015, and the following year became the first British man to reach the world number 1 spot since 1941. At Queens, Britain had been without a men's winner since 1938, Murray went on to win the event 5 times, more than anyone else and for this achievement Queens Club immediately announced on his retirement that they will be changing their arena's name to the "Andy Murray Arena" in acknowledgement of their greatest Champion.

In the Open Era, Tim Henman held the record for the British man with the most wins with 496. Murray went onto achieve 243 more. Since the Second World War only two British men had reached a Grand Slam final prior to Murray, John Lloyd and Canadian-Born Greg Rusedski who only switched to British Citizenship in his early 20's. They reached 1 each for a total of 2, Murray had already bettered this by age 24 and his total of 11 Grand Slam finals is more than every other British singles player male and female combined in the Open Era, including Raducanu's 2021 US Open final.

Andy reigned as the British Number 1 for 140 consecutive months, a period of just under 12 years, with only long-term injury ending the run, which undoubtedly otherwise would have gone on for considerably longer. Murray set numerous records in British tennis as the first and only man or player to do many things. He stands alone in the professional era of Tennis as a giant of the British game and his achievements in the sport led him to become the youngest person in modern times to be knighted, earning him the title of 'Sir' before his 30th Birthday.

What Made Him So Good?

What made Murray so good at tennis? Why was he able to compete against the Big 3 for so long, beat them more often than anyone else and dominate the rest of the field? Murray was one of the best returners ever, rated in the same category as the likes of Djokovic, Agassi & Connors when it came to the quality of his return and between August 2015 and June 2017, Murray had a run of breaking his opponent's serve at least once for a run of 136 consecutive matches. That run only coming to an end due to the hip injury.

His ability to read the serve, quickly spotting patterns combined with his reaction speed due to incredible hand eye coordination and speed of movement made him so hard to ace or hit an unreturnable serve against. A great example of this came in the 2016 Wimbledon final, when Raonic hit a 147mph serve, the quickest of the entire Championships into Murray's body in an attempt to jam him up. Raonic quickly looked to move forward off the back of it, assuming that the serve's quality would put him in the drivers seat to finish the point. However Murray's return was so good that it immediately neutralised the point and as Raonic approached Murray simply hit a passing shot which left the Canadian hopeless.

Murray had one of the best backhands not just on the tour, but probably that the game's ever seen. It meant he was incredibly secure off either wing, his depth and quality of shot was always there. Even when a powerful forward was attacking his backhand, it was so reliable at absorbing attacks, and coming back at his opponents over the net even when he was scrambling deep from a defensive position.

The Scot was forever willing to grind behind the baseline and play patient points with deep returns, making it difficult for opponents to come forward and take over the point. This would often force an error to come from the opponents side as they either couldn't match Murray's shot quality or his patience. But Andy was also capable of turning defence into attack with one shot that suddenly caught the opponent off-guard and with that he would suddenly seize the opportunity to finish the point off with a winner. His speed at covering the court, the IQ in which he played points and as well the angles he could find with the ball all made him extremely difficult to beat.

He was an expert at crafting points, but also with an incredible touch and feel for the ball which allowed him to improvise creatively and surprise his opponent. His ability to retrieve the ball from the far corners of the court deep behind the baseline and force his opponent into playing an extra shot often paid dividends. One such famous example came in the 2015 Davis Cup final, which saw a vintage Murray point at matchpoint. Goffin hits a shot down the line which causes some Belgian's to prematurely cheer what looks like a winner to save matchpoint. But Murray reaches it on the stretch and gets it back over the net. Goffin attempts to finish the point again by hitting to the other side of the court but it's not hard enough or far enough away from Murray and he produces one of the finest shots in his repertoire, the backhand lob, high above the head of Goffin before bouncing comfortably in for a winner.

Murray's exquisite touch and feel for the ball always made him a good watch when facing lanky "servebots" who would hit serves and forehands with incredible power. It was always exciting to see Murray often find a way to neutralise all that power, bringing them to the net with his magnificent sliced dropshot, before either hitting a perfect lob over them or a brilliant passing shot often on the run. His ability to reach their attempted winners and force them to keep playing an extra shot or two helped Murray to achieve a great record against the tallest and hardest hitting guys on the tour.

Murray's fitness and durability also made him so difficult to beat. His fitness allowing him to never slow up on the court and keep sprinting for everything. This meant the opponents margin for error was small as if they didn't do enough with their shot, for example if they didn't perfectly execute a dropshot, Murray would be up at the net in no time punishing it. The best-of-five format suited Murray's game and he finished with a total record of 230-60(79.3% win ratio) in BO5 matches. Prior to the hip surgery his BO5 record was 219-48(82% win ratio).

His durability was one reason he had such a good record in deciding set matches, winning 67.7% (193-92), just over two-thirds of matches that went the distance in either best-of-three or best-of-five formats. There was many matches he probably should have lost, but he somehow snatched victory in, just by hanging in there and allowing his opponent to wilt physically or mentally before him.

Another reason Murray won so many of these matches that went the distance was his will to win and his refusal to give up. Murray won 16 matches in his career from matchpoint down and that doesn't even include the two in Doubles with Dan Evans at the Paris Olympics. Andy's memorable run to the 3rd round of the Australian Open in 2023, which he backed up by reaching the final in Doha saw him save matchpoints before winning in 3 different matches in the space of 38 days, and this didn't even include the comeback against Kokkinakis from 2 sets and 2-5 down, with Kokkinakis two points from winning.

Murray won 28 of his 42 career 5-set matches (66.6% win ratio), including a record 11 from 2 sets to love down. 2 of these wins came despite having the metal hip and included the win over Kokkinakis in Australia, which was Murray's most infamous win at a major since winning the Wimbledon title in 2016. The match summed up something else Murray possessed, which alot of the true greats have. Simply he had a hint of madness about him. He's a little bit nuts, a little bit crazy. And this helped him when he was able to drag an opponent into a crazy match. They looked uncomfortable there, like a fish out of water, often close to looking and feeling a bit foolish. Whereas Murray thrived in that situation, the chaotic and random nature seemed to somehow suit him.

The madness of Murray could be epitomised in just one point in that match. He trailed Kokkinakis by 2 sets and 2 games to love. It was the 2nd round of the 2023 Australian Open, a tournament Murray had no chance of winning given he'd not reached the last 16 of a major for six years. It was late at night, he'd just played a near 5-hour match in the first round against Berrettini and the prospect of getting back into this match and taking it the 5-set distance was next to none.

Kokkinakis is serving to make it 3-0 when Murray brings up a breakpoint. But the Australian plays with authority on the point, hitting hard accurate shots corner to corner. Murray retrieves them both forcing Kokkinakis to play another shot to finish the point, a smash put-away. Murray retrieves it and forces him to play another, then another, then another, then another until suddenly Kokkinakis is back behind his own baseline and hitting the ball into the net. Kokkinakis appeared to quickly regain control, going into a 5-2 lead, but it was an illusion. Murray took it to a tiebreak, won it and went on to win the match which concluded at gone 4 in the morning.

Consistency at the Grand Slams

Murray reached 11 Grand Slam Finals, only bettered by 8 men in the Open Era. Only 7 have reached more than his 21 major semi-finals and just 6 have more than his 30 Quarter-Final appearances. He is one of only 7 men along with the Big 3, Rod Laver, former coach Ivan Lendl & childhood hero Andre Agassi, to play in all 4 major finals in the Open Era. Murray is one of just 6 men in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals of every slam on at least 3 separate occasions, and the same is true for him reaching the Quarter-Finals of every slam on 6 occasions. Andy reached atleast the Quarters at all 4 majors in the same calendar year on 4 different occasions, which only the Big 3 have done.

Murray has 200 Grand Slam match wins, which only 7 men have bettered in the Open Era. Exactly half of those wins have come on a hard court, which is the 7th highest on the surface. The Scot retires with a 200-57 record (78% win ratio). Prior to the hip resurfacing surgery Murray's slam record stood at 189-45(81%).

The man from Dunblane is one of only 5 men to reach 5 Australian Open finals. Between 2010 and 2016, 5 of the 7 finals featured Murray, with the Scot having the misfortune to meet Novak Djokovic, the best player in the history of the Australian Open in 4 of them. Djokovic won all 4, as he has the other 6 Australian Open finals he's played to date. In that 7 year period, Murray was a remarkable 37-0 against non-Big 3 opponents at the Australian Open, with an overall record of 39-7, with 5 losses to Djokovic (including a 5-set near 5 hour semi-final epic in 2012) and 2 to Federer. With 51 match wins at the event, Murray is 5th highest in the Open Era, with a 51-16 (76%) record. Before the two hip surgeries that record stood at 48-13(79%).

Roland Garros was Murray's weakest slam, yet between 2011 and 2017 he reached at least the semi-final in 5 of the 6 years he played (missing 2013 through injury), losing in the quarters the other year. He had a 30-2 record at the event against non-Big 3 players in this timeframe and 30-6 in total. His record at the French prior to the hip surgeries was 39-10, with an 80% win ratio which remarkably put him in the top 10 men in the Open Era at the event, despite it being his worst surface. With 2 defeats and no more wins at the event since the hip resurfacing, that win % has dropped to 76.

Wimbledon is ofcourse the slam Murray is most associated with and for good reason. His 61 wins is only bettered by 5 men, with him trailing 7-time winner Pete Sampras by just 2 wins. His overall record of 61 wins for 13 losses gives him a win ratio of 82%, the 9th highest on the men's side in the Open Era. Prior to the hip surgery, Murray's record was 57-10(85%) which was then the 7th best.

Between 2008 and 2017, Murray made the Quarter-Finals for 10 consecutive years. His record vs non-Big 3 players in this period was 47-2, with an overall record of 48-7. Between 2009 and 2016, he only once failed to reach the semi-finals, successfully getting there on 7 occasions. Murray's special relationship with Centre Court began with a 5-set loss to David Nalbandian in 2005, the first and only time Andy would ever lose from 2 sets up. From the moment he had defeated Stepanek, ranked 299 places above him in the 2nd round of his first Wimbledon, the hopes of a nation would rest firmly on his shoulders each and every summer. From 2005 up until 2017, Murray would be the last Brit standing on either side of the singles draw every year that he entered.

Though the pressure was immense, Murray progressed steadily each year. From the 3rd round in 2005, then it was the 4th in 2006, then a first Quarter in 2008 after injury ruled him out in 2007. Murray then fell at the semi-final hurdle 3 years consecutively, before finally reaching the final in 2012. He was beaten by Federer, but a year later got himself back there again and this time he wouldn't be denied. The expectation was extraordinary after Federer & Nadal's early exit made Murray a strong favourite alongside Djokovic, but the title looked a long way away as Murray trailed Verdasco 0-2, a set from elimination. But Murray refused to lose, roaring back and in the final comprehensively outplayed Djokovic for a straight sets victory.

The US Open was a special tournament for Murray, he was junior champion there in 2004 and 4 years later he would reach a maiden slam final aged 21. It was another 4 years of waiting before he could be on the winning side of a Major final, and that of course came at Flushing Meadows. Between 2011 and 2016, Murray made at least the Quarter-Finals 5 out of 6 years and achieved 49 wins at the event, which is the 9th most in the Open Era. His career record there is 49-16(75%) with his record before the hip injury 45-12(79%).

Murray had runs of outstanding levels of consistency across all the majors. Between the 2011 Australian Open and the 2013 Wimbledon, he reached at least the semi-finals at 9 of the 10 slams he played, exiting in the Quarter-Final at the other. His record against non-Big 3 players at the slams in this time period was 53-1, and 56-8 in total. Between the 2012 and 2013 Wimbledon's, he reached the final of all 4 majors that he entered (skipping Roland Garros 2013 due to injury), winning two for a 26-2 total record in that time.

Between the 2015 Australian Open and the 2016 Wimbledon was another golden period for Murray, as he reached atleast the semis at 6 of 7 slams played, going on to the final in 4. His record vs non-Big 3 players at this time was 38-1, with a total record of 38-6. He reached 3 successive finals in 2016 across the 3 different surfaces, for a 19-2 record.

In the exactly 9 years between Murray's first and last Quarter-Final appearances he played 36 slams, reaching the Quarters at 30, the Semis at 21 and the Finals of 11.

The Big 4 Was Real

"He had a lot of finals. He was an amazing player that probably played in a difficult moment of the history of tennis, because, he shared the tour at the prime time of Novak, Roger and myself. And he was, in my feeling, the one that was at the same level as us, in general terms. Then, in terms of victories, it's true that he achieved less, but in terms of level of tennis, in terms of holding mentally, the winning spirit week after week... He was the only one that was very close to, to be at the same level as us."- Rafael Nadal

Murray registered 29 victories against the Big 3 (12 whilst they were ranked #1 in the World), which is more than anyone else and 12 more than the next man Del Potro. 25 of those wins came at one of the big events (either Grand Slam, Olympics, Tour Finals or Masters event). Murray had a 14-17 record against the Big 3 in finals, which improved to a pretty remarkable 12-7 in non-Grand Slams. He also had a positive combined record against the Big 3 in Masters finals with 8 wins to 6 losses, with 5 wins and 5 defeats against Djokovic, the most successful player in Masters history.

Murray and Federer had a very competitive rivalry, with the Brit leading the head to head after 20 matches. Federer ended with a 14-11 edge, though Murray led 6-3 in Masters 1000 matches. Against Nadal, Murray won 7 of 24 matches but won 3 of their 4 meetings in finals. His rivalry was close with Djokovic for the first 20 matches, before the Serb pulled away to win 25 of their 36 total matches (including 1 walkover). Though in finals it was significantly closer with Murray winning 8 of 19 and he remains the only man to have won finals against Djokovic on every surface: indoor & outdoor hard, clay & grass.

Murray met Djokovic in 7 Grand Slam Finals, making it the third most played men's final in the Open Era, only trailing the greatest rivalries in Tennis history Nadal-Djokovic & Nadal-Federer which produced 9 slam finals apiece. Murray and Djokovic met in all 4 Grand Slam Finals (a rarity only shared by the Nadal-Djokovic rivalry in Men's Tennis) with Murray winning the US Open & Wimbledon finals and Djokovic winning the French Open & all 4 Australian Open finals.

Between 2008 (the year Murray won his 1st Masters 1000 title) and 2016 (the year he won his last) the Scot won 14 Masters 1000 events and reached 21 finals, Federer also reached 21 finals but won only 10, Nadal won 19 from 30 finals and Djokovic won 27 from 39. Murray had 9 seasons as a top 10 player & in those seasons which came between 2008 and 2016 he won 41 ATP titles, which was 6 more than Federer in the same period and only 5 less than Nadal, with Djokovic winning 59.

From the 2008 US Open where Murray made his first slam final and the 2016 Wimbledon where he made his last, Murray played 11 slam finals, which was the same amount as Federer managed in that period and only 2 fewer than Nadal with Djokovic reaching 19. Between 2012 and 2016, the peak years of Murray's career, he reached 8 slam finals winning 3. Federer in the same time period made exactly half, winning 1 of his 4 finals. Nadal also appeared in less finals reaching 6 but winning 4.

It goes without saying that the Big 3 caused Murray alot of pain throughout his career and they prevented him from winning many more events. But Murray went toe to toe with them for around a decade and when playing at his best, he was extremely difficult for those guys to get past. On the two occasions he met Djokovic on Centre Court, Murray won both in best of 3 and best of 5 format. He's the only man to beat Nadal on the Madrid clay more than once, and is the only man to beat Federer in straight sets on Centre Court in a final.

As the stats clearly demonstrate, in terms of Masters titles, ATP titles & deep runs at all 4 majors, he was comparable to the Big 3 for the 9 years he was at the top of the game and absolutely in the same category as them in the years 2012 to 2016 in particular.

Big Titles

In the 11 Grand Slam finals Murray reached, he met either Federer or Djokovic in 10 of them. This limited Murray to just 3 Grand Slams, but given the opposition they came against and the circumstances in which they were won, they certainly feel worthy of more. Murray went into the 2012 US Open final against Novak Djokovic aiming to not only end Great Britain's 76-year wait for a men's singles champion, but also to avoid his name going into the history books as the first man to lose his first 5 Grand Slam Finals.

It's hard to imagine many more difficult circumstances to win your first major than to face Djokovic on a hard court. Murray let a hard-earned lead of 2-0 slip away as they went into a 5th and deciding set. He was one set away from losing from the most commanding position he'd ever reached in a slam final, and had he done so it's hard to believe he'd ever have recovered mentally.

But he steadied himself and outlasted Djokovic in the joint longest final in US Open history, and the 4th longest Open Era final ever at the time. The win felt like an amazing achievement then, but with hindsight it's aged brilliantly, as Djokovic has gone onto establish himself as the best hard-court player ever and the best 5-set player ever. And for Murray to win his first major against Djokovic on a hard-court in a match that went the 5-set distance, showed not just unbelievable quality but extreme mental fortitude. For a long time this was the only 5-set major final that Djokovic ever lost, until he was beaten aged 36 by Carlos Alcaraz in the 2023 Wimbledon final.

In the 2013 Wimbledon final, Murray secured his 2nd major with another victory over Djokovic. Winning this one in straight sets was incredible at the time, but seems even more incredible now given that Djokovic has gone on to be a 7-time Wimbledon Champion with a 3-0 final record at SW19 against the 8-time Champion Federer. In 3 extremely tight sets, Murray was able to out-clutch the most clutch player of all time, breaking at the right times and holding his nerve in 3 consecutive sets to see it out. From his first 8 Wimbledon finals, this was the only one Djokovic ever lost until losing in back-to-back years against Alcaraz aged 36 and 37.

In his 11th and what turned out to be last Grand Slam final match, Murray finally met someone other than Federer or Djokovic in the final and didn't let the opportunity pass, defeating the huge serving Milos Raonic in straight sets. Murray dropped just 2 sets all tournament, both against Tsonga in the Quarter-Finals. Aside from that one small blip where he let a 2-0 lead slip to 2-2, in all the rounds before and after he was borderline unplayable, reaching the final without needing to break out of second gear. In the final he played like a man who'd been there many times before and like in 2013, was rock solid in the clutch moments to see out another straight sets victory.

From Murray's 21 Grand Slam semi-final appearances, on the 18 occasions he didn't go on to win the tournament 16 of his losses came against the Big 3. He had a 10-2 record in either Grand Slam semis or finals against non-Big 3 opponents, with Roddick (Wimbledon '09) and Wawrinka (Roland Garros '17) the only men outside of the Big 3 to beat him at that stage.

Murray recorded 5 wins over the Big 3 at Grand Slams with 2 against Nadal, including in the 2008 US Open semi-final, with Murray progressing through to his first slam final. Murray also notched 2 over Djokovic, both in slam finals and came close to more in a couple of semi-final defeats, including memorably in the 2012 Australian Open semi-final, with Murray falling just short, coming within a few points in the deciding set. Murray managed 1 Grand Slam win over Federer, with what was one of his best ever performances at a major in the 2013 Australian Open semi-final. Federer clung in winning 2 tiebreaks, but Murray's serving and forehand was so exceptional on this day that the Swiss only delayed the inevitable.

The Big 3 played a seismic role on keeping Murray at just 3 slams, but he did still manage to win 20 Big titles. This includes 14 Masters 1000 titles, 2 Olympic Golds & the ATP Tour Finals, aswell as the 3 Majors. Only 5 men have won more on the ATP tour, those being Sampras & Agassi, aswell as the Big 3. He is one of only 5 men to reach every major final as well as the Olympics final, with Djokovic only recently joining Andy, aswell as Federer, Nadal & Agassi on the list.

With 14 Masters 1000 titles, Murray has the 5th most, with 3 more than Sampras on 11. He won 7 of the 9 Masters Events, and reached the final at 8. The Monte Carlo event is the only final appearance missing, with Murray losing in 3 semi-finals there. The Scot won 4 Masters 1000 titles without dropping a set, which only the Big 3 have done that many times.

By beating Djokovic to the ATP Tour Finals title in 2016, he prevented the Serbian from winning the event 5 years in a row, with this being the first time someone had beaten him in the final. Murray also topped up his collection with 2 Olympic Gold medals.

His record for GB

Murray has a phenomenal 45-4 record in singles competition when representing Great Britain. With a 92% win percentage, his win ratio for his country is higher than the Big 3's for their respective nations. 12 wins came at the Olympic Games for just 1 sole defeat, and Murray's Davis Cup record stands at 33-3.

At the Olympics, Murray is the most successful singles player, the only player with 2 Olympic singles Golds, and therefore of course the only player to retain it. He won his first at the 2012 games in London, producing one of the most impressive weeks of his career, roared on by his home crowd. After beating Wawrinka in the opening round, Murray progressed to meet Djokovic in the semis, taking him out 7-5, 7-5. In the final he met Federer, the man who'd reduced him to tears and triggered an immense outpouring of emotion from him just weeks prior on the very same court.

This time the outcome was to be totally different, Murray won in straight sets for the loss of just seven games. The biggest title of his career at the time, Andy had earned it by beating Djokovic and Federer (now regarded as the two best grass courters of all time) in back-to-back matches, both in straight sets. 4 years on, Murray would win again this time in Rio De Janeiro, in another carnival atmosphere. Though this time it was one sounding more like a Football crowd due to the number of South Americans in attendance, with plenty pulling for the Argentine Del Potro (who'd defeated Djokovic & Nadal on his way to the final) whilst the Brazilians pulled for Murray. In an epic battle, Murray came through 3 sets to 1, to put his name in the history books forever.

In between winning those two Olympic Golds, Murray brought more glory to British tennis in the form of the 2015 Davis Cup. Andy led GB past USA, France, Australia and Belgium in the final. In total, GB won 9 singles matches and Murray won 8 of them from the 8 he played. Aswell as the singles, Andy also played 3 Doubles matches alongside brother Jamie and he won all of those aswell. This meant that in winning the tournament, GB had won a total of 12 matches & Andy had been on the court for 11 of them.

Anyone who watched the titanic 5 set doubles match in the semi-final against Australia's Hewitt & Groth in an incredible Glasgow atmosphere, or who saw Murray's Davis Cup-clinching matchpoint in the final against Goffin away in Belgium, will surely never forget it. Perhaps noone has ever come closer to winning a team tournament single-handed as Murray did in the Davis Cup that year. The way he absorbed all the pressure and expectation, with the team's chances resting entirely on his shoulders and used it as motivation to inspire the team to victory was extraordinary to see.

When representing Great Britain, Murray often shone outside of just singles action. Aswell as many great performances alongside his brother in the Davis Cup, Murray also has a 3rd Olympic medal for his run to the Mixed final in 2012 alongside Laura Robson. Given all the memorable moments Murray has provided when representing Britain, it was a fitting conclusion to his career that he should finish at the Olympics on the Doubles court alongside Dan Evans, giving the British public that last drop of excitement.

The Olympics is the career pinnacle for most of the all-time great British athletes, and Murray conquered it twice, aswell as reaching the pinnacle in his own Sport by winning 3 Grand Slams. Though the Olympics singles title has sometimes been referred to as the 5th major, and there's an argument for that especially in the years Murray won it when the final was best of 5 sets.

Titles, Finals & Match Statistics

Murray reached 71 ATP finals which is the 16th most in the Open Era on the men's side and won 46 of them which is the 15th highest total. With a 46-25 record, he has a final win ratio of 66.2%, which is the 12th best. Before losing his last 3 finals with the metal hip, his 46-22(67.6%) record was then the 8th highest win ratio in the professional era. Andy won at least 1 ATP title in 13 different seasons, only 6 men have won in more seasons. He also won multiple titles in 10 consecutive seasons with only the Big 3 & Sampras enjoying a longer run since the introduction of the ATP tour in 1990.

What makes Murray's final record even more impressive is he faced a member of the Big 3 in 31 of them, so 44% of his final appearances came against Federer, Nadal or Djokovic. Murray won 14 of them, with 17 of his 25 final losses coming against the Big 3, and 17 of the 22 pre-hip surgeries. Murray's final record against non-Big 3 opponents stood at 32-8, and 31-5 prior to the hip injury. From the 2007 title he won in St. Petersburg up until his final title in 2019 at the European Open, Murray won 30 from 32 finals against the non-Big 3. This run included 15 straight wins, with Murray not losing a final against someone outside the Big 3 for six years between a 2010 loss to Sam Querrey and when Marin Cilic ended the streak in 2016.

34 of Murray's 71 titles came on the hard courts with 20 coming outdoors and 14 indoors. Only 5 men have ever won more hard court titles in the Open Era than Andy, and Nadal is not one of them, winning 9 fewer than Murray. 8 of the Scot's titles have come on grass, with only 4 men having more on the surface. Murray also has 3 clay court titles, with 2 of the final wins coming against Nadal & Djokovic. Andy's other title was won on indoor carpet, at the 2007 St. Petersburg Open.

Murray played 1,001 matches on the ATP tour with 739 wins, which is the 4th most since the tours introduction in 1990. His 73.8% win ratio puts him at 17th on the all-time men's list in the professional era. His record prior to the hip surgeries was 663-190 (77.7%) which was at the time the 9th best Open era record. 200 of Murray's wins came at Grand Slams and 230 at Masters 1000 events, which is the 4th most and gives him the 7th highest win ratio.

503 of Murray's win came on hard courts, which is the 5th most in the Open Era and just 15 fewer than Nadal at the time of writing. His record on grass is 119 wins for 30 losses (79.9%), which gives him the 10th best win ratio for men with at least 50 wins on the surface in the Open Era. His record prior to the metal hip was 107-21, which at the time was the 5th highest and had him above Sampras. His indoor record stands at 115-54 (74.2%), the 10th best ratio in the Open Era for men with at least 100 wins.

The stats show Murray's prowess across surfaces, with him being one of the best players on grass, hard and indoor surfaces over the last several decades.

His 2016 Season

In 2016 Murray had one of the most successful years a British athlete has ever enjoyed. He made the first 3 Grand Slam finals of the year, losing the first two against Djokovic, including his first and what was to be his only Roland Garros final as the Serbian became the first man since Laver to hold all 4 slams simultaneously. But Murray's clay season showed the extent to which he had conquered the dirt, of the 4 clay events he played he reached 3 finals meeting Djokovic in all of them and winning the middle one in Rome, with what was his best ever Singles' championship point, delivering a winner from well wide of the court on the run after expertly reading an attempted put-away from Novak. His performance in that Rome Masters final and aswell when knocking out the defending French Open Champion Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals at Roland Garros demonstrated just how much Murray had improved on the surface over the years, he was truly an all-surface specialist by now.

Murray had had to wait until mid-May for his first title of the year, but he would go on to make up for it. After losing the RG final, Murray would bounce back to win a record 5th Queens title, a 2nd Wimbledon title and a 2nd Olympic Gold medal as part of a 22-match win streak which was ended by Cilic in the final of Cincinatti. The Scot then suffered two gruelling 5-set losses, first to Nishikori in the Quarters of the US Open, which was a painful defeat as Murray was the best and most in-form player in the world at that time and it felt like a good chance to win another major. Murray then suffered defeat to Del Potro at home in Glasgow which effectively ended Great Britain's Davis Cup reign. Murray had led both matches 2-1, but he quickly shrugged off any disappointment, responding to the set-backs by going on a 26-match win streak (including two walkovers) to win 5 successive tournaments including two Masters titles in Shanghai and Paris.

Before the Paris final, Murray went onto court knowing he was the new world number 1 no matter the outcome but it would have been very short-lived had he lost the ATP Tour Final against Djokovic to end the year. The year end number 1 was on the line aswell as the trophy. To reach the final Murray had beaten the rest of the top 5, including wins over Nishikori and Raonic which were the longest matches in the competitions history. With a straight sets win over Djokovic, Murray became the only man outside the Big 3 to end the year as World Number 1 between the years of 2004 and 2021. With wins over every other top 5 player, this was one of the most impressive tournament wins of Murray's career, proving that at that moment he was hands down the best tennis player on the planet.

Murray played 17 tournaments in 2016, reaching the final in 13 of them and winning 9, including 5 consecutively to end the year. He reached 7 consecutive tournament finals between May and August and had two separate win-streaks of over 20. He became the first and to date only man to win a Grand Slam, the Olympic Gold Medal & ATP Tour Finals in the same year. He finished the year with a 78-9 win-loss record, winning 63 of his last 67 matches after losing the Madrid final. After losing the RG final, Murray was over 8,000 points behind Djokovic in the race, yet managed to hunt him down and improbably catch him to end the year as World Number 1. For his efforts that year Murray would earn around £16.3M, which is the 2nd most any player has ever earned in a calendar year, but it would also come at a cost, as the 172 singles matches he had played in the last 2 years began to take its toll on his body.

The Unluckiest Tennis Player Ever?

Murray played in what was undoubtedly the Golden Age of Men's Tennis and its strongest era. Aswell as the Big 3 or the Big 4 including Andy, the top 10 was made up of exceptional players such as fellow Grand Slam winners Wawrinka, Del Potro & Cilic, aswell as Berdych, Tsonga, Nishikori & Raonic, all of whom would also have reached and potentially won more finals if not for the Big 4 denying them on so many occasions. Murray had a 21-9 record in Grand Slam matches against those 7 names, with 2 defeats to Wawrinka coming after the hip operations. He also has 9-1 record in ATP finals against them, with Cilic the only one to beat him.

Despite facing off against the Big 3 84 times and playing with metal in his hip for 5 years, Murray still had a winning record against top 10 opponents with 105 wins and 96 defeats. Prior to his hip surgeries his top 10 record was 101-80 (55.8%).

From his first ATP final in Bangkok in 2005, where he met Federer in the final, Murray spent all of his career prior to the hip injury competing against Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, players who all have a strong case to be included amongst the top 10 greatest athletes of all time. Given Murray's success against the rest of the top 10, it's likely he would have dominated tennis if not for the Big 3, and if just 1 of them didn't exist, he'd at least have 5 or 6 majors. From 21 semi-finals, 16 times Murray was prevented from lifting the trophy courtesy of a defeat against a Big 3 member. He was also knocked out of a major before the semi-final stage on 4 occasions by either Federer, Nadal or Djokovic.

Against these 3 absolute giants of Sport, Murray was still able to reach the number 1 spot in their era, which is surely one of the greatest achievements ever by a British athlete. He was also able to hold onto the top spot for 41 weeks, which is longer than fellow greats Boris Becker, Ilie Nastase & Mats Wilander managed at the top of the rankings in their careers. Djokovic has a strong argument for being the greatest athlete of all time in an individual Sport, given the amount of records he holds in the era he's played in, and Murray was able to get the better of him in 8 finals, including 2 Grand Slams.

But despite the huge amounts Murray has achieved, he's also not had a great deal of luck. He met either Federer or Djokovic in 10 of his 11 major finals and on the 3 occasions he beat a Big 3 member on the way to a Grand Slam final, each and every time there was another Big 3 player waiting to meet him in the final and deny him the trophy.

Against Federer and Nadal, his age was always more of a disadvantage than an advantage. With Federer being 5 years older, when Murray first began his career the Swiss was in the prime years of his mid-20s. When Murray reached his mid-20s, Federer then had a wealth of experience behind him whilst still being incredibly fit. Murray was only a year younger than Nadal, but it always felt like the gap was bigger, given that the Spaniard was already a major winner as a teenager and had already won every major by the age of 24.

Then at the age of 30 when Murray's age for the first time looked to become an advantage against Federer due to Andy now having more confidence & experience, whilst still having a significant youthful edge over a Federer approaching the other side of 35, that was when Murray's body broke down and he never made a Slam Quarter-Final after the age of 30.

Also sometimes forgotten due to all the success & consistency Murray had is that when his hip effectively ended his career at the highest level, his prime had really only just begun. 2015 & 2016, years in which he won 5 Masters titles, Wimbledon, the Olympic Gold, the Davis Cup & the ATP Tour Finals were really just the beginning of what should have been Murray's trophy winning prime. In this period he was becoming extremely dominant on the court, opponents were beginning to fear him in a similar way they did the Big 3, in the way in which they quickly felt defeated and out of their depth.

A cruel quirk was that in the years Murray was competing for majors, Djokovic was by far the most dominant player and Murray's most regular adversary in semi-finals and finals, with the two meeting in 7 Grand Slam finals, with the Scot losing 5. Between the 2010 and 2016 US Open, Djokovic made the final in 19 of the 25 majors, losing just twice before the semi-finals. But between the 2017 Australian Open and the 2018 Roland Garros he didn't make it past the Quarter-Finals once, due to injuries which caused issues with his form and motivation. This time period was when Murray could have took advantage, now in his prime and taken his slam count up to 5 or 6. But of course, it should happen that just when the path to more majors would have been more open than it had ever been for him, Murray's hip snatched the chance away and it was instead a mid-to-late 30's Federer who capitalised along with Nadal.

In 2019, when Murray had improbably battled back to return to the tour with a metal hip, he won an ATP title against Wawrinka just months into his comeback. But he hadn't played much tennis over the last few years and desperately needed to spend more time on the court if he was to again become a player who could go deep in the big events. But then the following year Covid struck and Murray was limited to just 7 matches over the whole year. And also with the world locked down, tennis players were away from the tour and forced to spend alot of time training solo. This meant there was little to do but work on fitness, and when the full tour returned players seemed a little fitter, a little faster. Murray's endurance levels and speed at getting across the court had been one of his superpowers and one of his advantages over the rest, now it would no longer be the case.

The Comeback

Constant severe hip pain took Murray off the court during his peak. His love for the sport, sheer force of will and stubbornness saw him then return to the game with metal implants inserted into the hip to absorb the surface impact. Noone in singles tennis had previously returned to play in a similar situation, so there was no measuring stick on how the return would go.

In the first months back on the tour, Murray won 2 titles, one with Feliciano Lopez in the Doubles at Queens and the other in singles against Wawrinka in the European Open. For the 5 years Murray would play on with the metal hip this would be as good as it got, though he was able to reach a further 3 ATP finals. But the former World Number 1 had to live with being less than 50% of what he once was.

The player who was once capable of beating Djokovic on hard, Federer on grass and Nadal on clay now had to accept losing regularly in the early rounds of draws against low ranked players. And he did so with a remarkable level of humility, without feeling sorry for himself that he was now reduced to this, that injuries had stolen his time at the very top. Free of ego, Murray endured what must have been at times highly frustrating, with his body unable to do what his mind wanted it to anymore.

Whilst his once-great rivals added to their legacies with Djokovic and Nadal reaching over 20 slams each, Murray continued to grind away, even dropping down to the challenger tour. At less than half of what he once was, he hung around the top 50 for years, reaching as high as 36 in the world with the metal hip, getting right to the edge of being seeded for a major again. His love for the sport kept him going, and the odd bit of magic here and there gave him the encouragement he needed to keep fighting. Like Muhammad Ali in the late '70s, Murray may have been a shadow of his former self but he went on raging against the dying of the light, refusing to quit on anyone's terms but his own. He soaked up the punishment against those he would have toyed with in his prime, without any self-pity, out of sheer love for the fight.

Legacy

Sport ultimately is about entertaining its billions of viewers, making them feel something and for a brief time making the outcome of that sporting event feel like the most important thing in the world. It's doubtful if any athlete has done that better than Andy Murray. You could check the score of a best-of-three sets Murray match and he'd be a set and 1-3 down. You'd check again close to an hour later for the confirmation of defeat and see it was still going, taken to a tiebreak. Murray would be 0-3 down in the tiebreak and you'd again assume it was all over. Then Murray would win the tiebreak and take a 2-0 set lead in the final set. You'd start to relax, the finish line in sight. You'd check back in half an hour later expecting the confirmation of a Murray win and they'd still be going, locked at 4-4. Another half hour later and finally you'd get your winner and much more often than not it'd be Murray

Noone could make you feel as wide a range of emotions as often and as rapidly as Murray. So often he would veer from the sublime to the ridiculous and back. The emotions were only heightened by seeing him go through the exact same emotions on court, all of them clear to see, heart bared on his sleeve. The rollercoasters and level of drama his matches would so often provide made him from an engagement perspective, one of the most entertaining athletes ever. If you wanted to ride the highs and lows with an athlete, there'd have been no better choice than Murray as he experienced the up's and down's with everything in between for the entirety of his career.

The last week of Murray's career at the Olympic Games was an excellent summation of why Murray is so beloved by so many sports watchers. In the opening round he's 9-4 down in the first to 10 points match-deciding tiebreak, he saves 5 matchpoints to come back to win 11-9 alongside Dan Evans. 2 days later and he saves another 2 matchpoints to win 11-9 in the 3rd again. In the end it took 9 matchpoints to finally end the professional career of Andy Murray. Drama loves him and he loves the drama, often finding another level to reach when he most needs it, almost taunting defeat when it feels it has him in his clutches, only for him to say "not today, not just yet."

His love of the game, his love for competing at the sport made him a fantastic ambassador for the game of tennis. Was his behaviour always perfect? No. Was it always utterly genuine, often bizarrely funny? Definitely. Murray found ways to deal with the burden of pressure placed on him not just by the entire country, but also the huge expectations he placed on himself, with Murray demanding near-perfection of himself, knowing that's what was required if he was to beat the Big 3 to a big title. He responded to set-backs and adversity time and again, as the pressure only increased. After losing his first 4 Grand Slam finals, he responded by winning his 5th. After losing in the Wimbledon final to Federer, he came back a month later to the same court to face the same opponent and beat him for the Olympic Gold and then a year later got himself back in the Wimbledon final and this time won it. And in 2019 when injury appeared to have ended his career prematurely at the Australian Open, he battled on for another 5 years.

In total Murray played 1,001 ATP tour level matches, 148 of them with the metal hip. His final win came in his last completed match, fittingly the 1,000th. Murray fighting on for so long with the metal hip and still managing to win more matches than he lost with it on the ATP tour added to his enduring legacy as a titan of British Sport, who kept on fighting longer than anyone could reasonably have asked of him.

With Queens already naming their arena in his honour, it's surely only a matter of time before Wimbledon commissions a statue of him to join Fred Perry, the greatest British man before Murray's arrival. This will go some way toward acknowledging Murray's enormous contribution to Tennis in Britain. And though his contribution on the court may be over, there's plenty left for him to provide for future generations be it through coaching at youth or senior level, or merely through the inspiration his journey will provide others for decades to come.

#andy murray #tennis #novak djokovic #roger federer #rafael nadal #carlos alcaraz #olympics #paris 2024 #parisolympics

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