ATPTour.com continues it series paying tribute to Andy Murray as the former World No. 1 readies for his final tournament, the Olympic Tennis Event.
There was rarely a dull moment when Andy Murray stepped onto a tennis court.
The Briton will be remembered as one of the most resilient and defiant fighters the ATP Tour has ever seen. A natural competitor who also possessed one of the most effective counter-punching games in the world, the emotions Murray conveyed as he played encouraged millions of fans to live every shot, every rally, and every match with him.
To celebrate the end of his esteemed career, ATPTour.com looks back on 10 of Murray’s most memorable on-court moments.
[ATP APP] 1. San Jose, 2006: Teenage Murray beats former No. 1s for first Tour title
Murray announced himself as one of the world’s most promising teenagers in 2005. He reached the third round at both the Queen’s Club and Wimbledon, his second and third tour-level events, respectively, before reaching his first ATP Tour final later that year in Bangkok, where he fell to World No. 1 Roger Federer.
Despite starting 2006, his first full season on the ATP Tour, with just two wins in his first six matches, Murray soon gave a reminder of his potential with a milestone performance in February at an indoor ATP 250 event in San Jose, California. The then-18-year-old beat Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt, both Grand Slam champions and former World No. 1s, back-to-back to clinch his maiden ATP Tour trophy.
“Obviously I was pretty happy,” said Murray, who remains the youngest Briton to win a tour-level singles title, when asked about his reaction on championship point. “I was probably in a bit more shock when I won against Roddick, to be honest, because it was my first win against somebody of that standard. Then I had a little bit more confidence going into the final.”
A teenage Murray in action against Andy Roddick during his 2006 San Jose title run. Photo Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
2. Cincinnati, 2008: Masters 1000 breakthrough
Murray had reached four ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals but was made to wait until August 2008 for his first championship-match appearance at that level. After beating Ivo Karlovic in the last four at the Cincinnati Open, the Scot did not let his chance go to waste as he overcame his rival Novak Djokovic in a pair of tie-breaks to claim the biggest title of his career at that point.
“It's huge to win your first sort of major tournament, and to do it in a match like today makes it more special,” reflected Murray after his 7-6(4), 7-6(5) triumph. “I've been in semi-finals four times before this week and lost every time against tough players. This week I played well the whole week… I put in a lot of work off the court to be able to win these sorts of tournaments, and it makes it all worthwhile.”
It was the first of 14 Masters 1000 titles for Murray, a tally which places him fifth on the all-time list behind only Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Federer and Andre Agassi. He won the title at seven of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments, with only the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters missing from his resume.
Murray celebrates after winning his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati in 2008. Photo Credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
3. London Olympics, 2012: Mastering Federer on grass
London 2012 offered Murray the rarest of opportunities — to compete at a home Olympics in the prime of his career — and the then-World No. 4 grabbed it with both hands on the lawns of the All England Club. The 25-year-old dropped just two sets across six matches as he charged to the Olympic title in style.
The scenes were in stark contrast to those at the same venue just over a month earlier, when Murray had fallen agonisingly short of Wimbledon glory with a four-set final defeat to Federer. Murray’s tears during his runner’s up speech that day only endeared him further to a British public desperate for an end to its 35-year wait for a Grand Slam singles champion.
Murray appeared to have all-but-forgotten that disappointment by the time the Olympics came around. In the best-of-five-sets gold medal match, Murray dismantled Federer, by then already a seven-time Wimbledon champion, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4. He hammered an ace down the T on match point to complete a remarkable victory and send the Centre Court crowd into raptures.
“You see how much it means to all of the athletes when they do it, how much work goes into it,” said Murray, who later defended his title in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 to become the only player with two men’s singles Olympic gold medals, after his emotional win in London. “The atmosphere in all of the stadiums, when everyone's won gold medals in all of the sports, everyone's just been so happy and pumped. I'm just glad I've been able to contribute to that.”
Murray wins the first of his two Olympic gold medals men's singles at London 2012. Photo Credit: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images
4. US Open, 2012: Murray’s maiden major
The US Open was the setting for Murray’s first Grand Slam final appearance. He fell to Federer in the 2008 final, a loss that began four years of heartache that included three championship-match losses and six semi-final defeats at the majors.
It was also at Flushing Meadows where Murray, a man long dubbed by many as ‘too good not to win a major’, finally got over the line on the biggest stage. The addition of ATP Tour great Ivan Lendl to his team at the start of 2012 appeared to have installed an extra mental edge in the Briton, and that was on full display as he outlasted Djokovic for an epic 7-6(10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 victory across four hours and 54 minutes in New York.
“I was obviously very emotional. I cried a little bit on the court,” said Murray when asked what winning a Grand Slam had felt like. “You're not sad, you're incredibly happy. You're in a little bit of disbelief, because when I have been in that position many times before and not won, you do think, is it ever going to happen? Then when it finally does, you're obviously very, very excited. [I’m] mainly relieved to have got over that, that last hurdle.”
Murray was the first British major winner since Virigina Wade at Wimbledon in 1977 and the first men’s singles winner from his country since Fred Perry won the US Open 76 years earlier in 1936. The Scot never made the championship match in New York again but remained a consistent performer at the Slams — his 11 finals were spread across all four majors, including five at the Australian Open.
Murray became the first British major singles champion in 35 years at the 2012 US Open. Photo Credit: Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images
5. Wimbledon, 2013: Breaking Britain’s duck
An entire nation was glued to its TV screens on a sunny July afternoon in 2013 as Murray finally ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a Wimbledon men’s singles champion. He did it with a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory against World No. 1 Djokovic, although what was ultimately a commanding straight-sets win may have felt more like a trademark Murray nailbiter for many home fans.
Djokovic reeled off four games in a row from 0-2 in the third set, before Murray responded with a four-game streak of his own to close out his win. Djokovic netted a backhand on the Briton’s fourth championship point to send Centre Court into ecstasy and immediately etch Murray’s name into British sporting folklore. Some of Murray’s post-match words reflected the sheer scale of expectation he had met by becoming a home champion at the grass-court Grand Slam.
“For the past four or five years, it's been very, very tough, very stressful, a lot of pressure,” said Murray. “ It's just kind of everywhere you go. It's so hard to avoid everything because of how big this event is, but also because of the history and no Brit having won. I think now it will become easier.”
Three years later, Murray certainly made it appear so. He dropped just two sets the entire fortnight as he overcame Milos Raonic for the 2016 title at the All England Club, where he ultimately finished his career with a 61-13 singles record.
Murray reacts to ending Britain's 77-year wait for a WImbledon men's singles champion in 2013. Photo Credit: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
6. Davis Cup, 2015: Guiding GB to glory
Murray also helped Britain break another of its sporting ducks in 2015, when he spearheaded the country’s charge to its first Davis Cup crown in 79 years. The 28-year-old won all three rubbers he played in the final against Belgium in Ghent, including a doubles victory alongside his brother Jamie Murray.
“I've been pretty upset having lost matches before, but I'd say that's probably the most emotional I've been after a win,” said Murray after dispatching David Goffin in straight sets to seal Britain’s 3-1 final win. “It's incredible that we managed to win this competition. I didn't know that would ever be possible. It's great.”
Murray went a perfect 8-0 across his Davis Cup singles matches in 2015, the most in a single year by any player in competition history alongside John McEnroe (the American was 8-0 in 1983). He finished his Davis Cup career with a 33-3 singles record, the third-most wins for any Briton behind only 1930s stars Bunny Austin and Fred Perry, while he was 9-7 in doubles rubbers.
Murray in doubles action alongside his brother Jamie during the 2015 Davis Cup final. Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images
7. Nitto ATP Finals, 2016: Murray tops the tennis mountain
The years of hard work and battling to keep up with the ‘Big 3’ of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic came to fruition in 2016 for Murray, who put together a stunning late-season charge to rise to World No. 1 for the first time and finish as ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF.
As it turned out, Murray needed every single one of the 24 consecutive wins with which he concluded his season to deny Djokovic top spot before 2016 was done. Murray won five of his nine titles for the year back-to-back across October and November, with his victories in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna and Paris ensuring he rose to World No. 1 for the first time ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals.
Murray knew he had to lift the trophy with a perfect 5-0 record at the prestigious season finale in London to prevent Djokovic from reclaiming World No. 1 status. He did just that, defeating Djokovic with a dazzling performance in a championship match that marked the first time in ATP Tour history that the year-end No. 1 honour was on the line in the last match of the season.
Djokovic had been bidding for his fifth straight Nitto ATP Finals title but proved no match for Murray, who delivered a near-flawless display in his 6-3, 6-4 victory to finish the year as the world’s top player. The Briton went on to hold the World No. 1 spot for 41 consecutive weeks.
Andy Murray ends 2016 as No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images
8. Australian Open, 2019: A false farewell
Murray’s time as World No. 1 was cut cruelly short by a hip injury, and the Briton did not compete for nearly a year after Wimbledon in 2017. After undergoing surgery on the problem, he played six tournaments in 2018, but he was still playing through pain by the time he arrived in Melbourne for the 2019 Australian Open.
The three-time major winner stunned fans in an emotional pre-tournament press conference, where he suggested he could be about to play the final event of his career. With uncertainty surrounding whether it could be his last tour-level match, or at the very least his final appearance in Australia, Murray took to John Cain Arena for a first-round clash with Roberto Bautista Agut.
If this was to be the end, Murray ensured it would be a memorable finish. Despite being visibly hindered in his movement, he rallied from two sets down to force Bautista Agut into a deciding set, a valiant reminder of the Briton’s resilience and desire to compete. The in-form Spaniard ultimately proved too strong and prevailed 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-2 but, as ever, Murray had left everything he had on the court.
A tearful Murray reveals he is contemplating retirement at the 2019 Australian Open. Photo Credit: Scott Barbour/Getty Images
9. Antwerp, 2019: Another Murray miracle
Just 10 months after that sombre press conference in Melbourne, Murray was remarkably back in the winners’ circle on the ATP Tour after he beat Stan Wawrinka to win an indoor ATP 250 in Antwerp. The Briton was competing in just his sixth tour-level event since undergoing hip resurfacing surgery, an operation that had enabled him to return to competing at the top level.
“This is one of the biggest wins I’ve had, after everything,” said Murray after his battling 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 final win in Belgium. “[The] last few years have been extremely difficult. Me and Stan have had a lot of injury problems in the last couple of years. Amazing to be back playing against him in a final like that.”
It was Murray’s 46th and final tour-level singles title, a tally that places the Briton in 15th on the all-time list (in the Open Era). He won the most trophies at the Queen’s Club, where he is a record five-time champion and where he also lifted one of his three ATP Tour doubles crowns.
Murray with Stan Wawrinka in 2019 after claiming his 46th and final tour-level title in Antwerp. Photo Credit: John Thys/Belga/AFP via Getty Images
10. Australian Open, 2023: Comeback king
Has the ATP Tour ever seen a more determined competitor, no matter the situation, than Murray? Renowned for his ability to dig deep and forge victories from the most unlikely of positions, the Briton seemed determined to consistently keep fans on the edge of their seats.
His penchant for a comeback on the big stage is reflected in one of Murray’s most impressive records. He came back from two-sets-to-love down to win a record 11 times during his career — 10 of those victories came at Grand Slams, and one in the Davis Cup.
He saved arguably the most miraculous recovery of all for last. At the 2023 Australian Open, Murray trailed home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis by two sets and 3-5 before pulling off a 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-5 win at 4:05 a.m. in Melbourne. At five hours and 45 minutes it was his longest professional match and was made all the more remarkable by the fact he had also outlasted Matteo Berrettini in five sets just two days earlier.
"I have done it before. I have experience of it. I just rely on that experience and drive,” said Murray, who finished his career with a 28-14 record in five-set matches, after beating Kokkinakis. “That fight and love for the game and competing, and my respect for this event and the competition, that is why I kept going.”
Murray pumps himself up during his epic 2023 Australian Open win against Thansi Kokkinakis. Photo Credit: William West/AFP via Getty Images