Andy Murray won last night's Sports Personality Of The Year.
Today we take a look at Andy Murray's Fact File & History.
Andrew Barron "Andy" Murray OBE is a Scottish professional tennis player,
currently ranked World No. 2. He started playing tennis at the age of three,
entered his first competitive tournament at age five and was playing league
tennis by the time he was eight. He is known to be one of the most consistent
players on the tour, reaching at least the quarter-finals of all Grand Slam
tournaments he has participated in since 2011, with the exception of the 2015
US Open. When he was 15 he moved to Barcelona to train at the Sánchez-Casal
Academy. He won the junior US Open in 2004 and turned professional the
following year. Murray has been ranked as British No. 1 since 27 February 2006.
He achieved a top-10 ranking by the ATP for the first time on 16 April 2007,
and reached a career peak of World No. 2 on 17 August 2009.
Murray is the reigning Olympic champion, having defeated
Roger Federer at the 2012 Olympic Games in straight sets to win the gold medal
in the men's singles final, becoming the first British singles champion in over
100 years. He also won a silver medal in the mixed doubles, playing with Laura
Robson.
At the 2012 US Open, Murray became the first British player
since 1977, and the first British man since 1936, to win a Grand Slam singles
tournament, when he defeated Novak Djokovic in the final in five sets. This title
made him the only British male to become a Grand Slam singles champion during
the Open Era. On 7 July 2013, Murray won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships,
becoming the first British player to win a Wimbledon senior singles title since
Virginia Wade in 1977, and the first British man to win the Men's Singles
Championship since Fred Perry, 77 years previously. He again beat Djokovic in
the final, this time in straight sets. Murray is the only man in history to
have won Olympic Gold and the US Open in the same calendar year, as well as
only the third man to hold the Gold Medal and two majors on different surfaces
. Subsequent to his success at the Olympics and Wimbledon, Murray was voted the
2013 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
He has been the runner-up in six other singles Grand Slam
finals: the 2008 US Open, the 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2015 Australian Opens, and
the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, losing three each to Roger Federer and Novak
Djokovic. He is the first man in the open era to achieve four runner-up
finishes at the Australian Open, after losing to Djokovic in the final of the
2015 Australian Open. In 2011, Murray became only the seventh player in the
Open Era to reach the semifinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments in one
year. During the 2015 season he became the fifth man in tennis history to have
won over $40 million in career prize money. After reaching the French Open
semifinal in 2014 he became the tenth man to reach two or more semifinals at
each of the four Majors. Murray won 11 matches
to enable the UK to win the 2015 Davis Cup.
Early and personal life
Murray was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of Judith and William Murray. Murray's elder brother,
Jamie, is also a professional tennis player, playing on the doubles circuit.
Murray was born with a bipartite patella, where the kneecap remains as two
separate bones instead of fusing together in early childhood, but was not
diagnosed until the age of 16. He is seen frequently to hold his knee due to
the pain caused by the condition and has pulled out of events because of it.
Murray began playing tennis at the age of three when his mother Judy took him
to play on the local courts. He played in his first competitive tournament at
age five and by the time he was eight he was competing with adults in the
Central District Tennis League.
Murray grew up in Dunblane and attended Dunblane Primary
School. He and his brother were present during the 1996 Dunblane school
massacre, when Thomas Hamilton killed 16 children and a teacher before shooting
himself; Murray took cover in a classroom. Murray says he was too young to
understand what was happening and is reluctant to talk about it in interviews,
but in his autobiography Hitting Back he states that he attended a youth group
run by Hamilton, and that his mother gave Hamilton lifts in her car. Murray
later attended Dunblane High School.
Murray's parents split up when he was only 10. He believes
the impact this had on him could be the reason behind his competitive spirit.
At 15, he was asked to train with Rangers Football Club at their School of
Excellence, but declined, opting to focus on his tennis career instead. He then
decided to move to Barcelona, Spain. There he studied at the Schiller
International School and trained on the clay courts of the Sánchez-Casal
Academy. Murray described this time as "a big sacrifice". Later that
month Murray was awarded Freedom of Stirling and became a Doctor of the
University of Stirling in recognition of his services to tennis.
Murray began dating Kim Sears, daughter of
player-turned-coach Nigel Sears, in 2005. Their engagement was announced in
November 2014, In August 2015, Murray announced that he and Sears are expecting
their first child, due in February 2016.
Career
Junior tennis
Leon Smith, Murray's tennis coach from 11 to 17, described
Murray as "unbelievably competitive", while Murray attributes his
abilities to the motivation gained from losing to his older brother Jamie. At
the age of 12, Murray won his age group at the Orange Bowl, a prestigious event
for junior players.
In July 2003, Murray started out on the Challenger and
Futures circuit. In his first tournament, he reached the quarterfinals of the
Manchester challenger. In September, Murray won his first senior title by
taking the Glasgow Futures event. He also reached the semi-finals of the
Edinburgh Futures event. In July 2004 Murray played a Challenger event in
Nottingham, where he lost to future Grand Slam finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in
the second round. Murray then went on to win events in Xàtiva and Rome.
In September 2004, he won the Junior US Open and was
selected for the Davis Cup match against Austria later that month; however, he
was not selected to play. Later that year, he won BBC Young Sports Personality
of the Year.
As a junior, Murray reached as high as No. 6 in the world in
2003 . In the 2004-instated combined rankings, Murray reached No. 2 in the
world.
Junior Slam results:
Australian Open: -
French Open: SF
US Open: W
2005–2007: Reaching the top 15
Murray began 2005 ranked world No. 407, and in March, he
became the youngest Briton to play in the Davis Cup. Murray turned professional
in April and was given a wild card entry to a clay-court tournament in
Barcelona, the Open SEAT, where he lost in three sets to Jan Hernych. Murray
then reached the semi-finals of the boys' French Open where he lost in straight
sets to Marin Čilić. Given a wild card to Queen's, Murray progressed past
Santiago Ventura in straight sets for his first ATP match win. After a second
round win against Taylor Dent, he played former Australian Open champion Thomas
Johansson in the third round, losing in three sets. Following his performance
at Queen's, Murray received a wild card for Wimbledon. Ranked 312, Murray
became the first Scot in the Open Era to reach the third round of the men's
singles tournament at Wimbledon. In the third round, Murray lost to 2002
Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian, despite having led by two sets to love.
Following Wimbledon, Murray won Challengers events on the
hard courts of Aptos and Binghamton, New York. He then experienced his first
Masters event at Cincinnati, where he beat Taylor Dent, before losing in three
sets to world No. 4, Marat Safin. With a wild card entry, Murray played Andrei
Pavel in the opening round of the US Open, where he recovered from being down
two sets to one to win his first five-set match. However, he lost in the second
round to Arnaud Clément in another five set contest. Murray was again selected
for the Davis Cup match against Switzerland. He was picked for the opening
singles rubbers, losing in straight sets to Stanislas Wawrinka. Murray then
made his first ATP final at the Thailand Open where he faced world No. 1 Roger
Federer. Murray lost in straight sets. He completed the year ranked 64 and was named
the 2005 BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year.
The 2006 season saw Murray compete on the full circuit for
the first time and split with his coach Mark Petchey and team up with Brad
Gilbert. Murray suffered a straight sets defeat at the Australian Open, to
Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela in the first round and to Gaël Monfils at the
French Open, in five sets. Murray however reached the fourth round for the
first time at both Wimbledon and the US Open. Murray played in Davis Cup ties
against Serbia, Israel and Ukraine. Murray missed the opening singles matches
before losing the doubles as Britain lost their tie against Serbia. During the
tie with Israel, Murray won his rubber and lost the doubles before pulling out
with a neck injury before the reverse singles, as Britain lost the tie. Against
the Ukraine, Murray won both his singles rubbers, but lost the doubles, as
Britain won the tie. At the Masters, Murray lost in the first round in Miami,
Monte Carlo and Rome. Murray went out of the tournaments in Indian Wells and
Hamburg in the second round. Murray reached his first Masters semifinal in
Toronto at the Rogers Cup losing to Richard Gasquet.
At Cincinnati, Murray became only one of two players,
alongside Rafael Nadal, to defeat Roger Federer in 2006, breaking the Swiss
star's 55 match winning streak on hard courts. He lost two rounds later to Andy
Roddick, but broke into the top 20 for the first time. In the final two Masters
events in Madrid and Paris, Murray exited both tournaments at the last-16 stage
ending his season, with losses to Novak Djokovic and Dominik Hrbatý. When the
tour reached San Jose, California; Murray defeated a top ten player for the
first time in the shape of Andy Roddick. Murray went on to claim the SAP Open
title defeating world No. 11 Lleyton Hewitt. Murray was also a finalist at the
Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Playing doubles with his brother in Bangkok the pair
reached the final. After the French Open, where Murray was injured again, he
revealed that his bones hadn't fully grown, causing him to suffer from cramps
and back problems.
In November of the 2007 season, Murray split with his coach
Brad Gilbert and added a team of experts along with Miles Maclagan, his main
coach. Murray reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, where he lost a
five-set match against world No. 2, Rafael Nadal. Murray however suffered a
third round loss at the US Open. At the Masters tournaments, Murray reached the
semifinals of Indian Wells and Miami. At Rome and Cincinnati, Murray exited in
the first round whilst going out in the second in Canada. In the final two
masters tournaments, Murray exited in the third round in Madrid and he went out
in the quarter finals of Paris. In his first match in Hamburg, Murray was up
5–1 when he hit a forehand from the back of the court and snapped the tendons
in his wrist. Murray won titles in San Jose and St. Petersburg. He also reached
the final of tournaments in Doha and Metz finishing the season ranked 11th in
the world.
2008: First major final and first Masters titles
In 2008, Murray suffered a first round loss at the
Australian Open to eventual runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and a third round
loss at the French Open to Nicolás Almagro. Murray then made his first Grand
Slam quarter final at Wimbledon before making his first final at the US Open.
During the tournament in New York, Murray claimed his first win over Nadal.
That victory meant that he'd become the first player from Britain since Greg
Rusedski in 1997 to reach a major final. In his first Grand Slam final Murray
suffered a straight sets loss to Federer. At the Beijing Olympics, Murray
suffered one of the worst defeats of his career, losing his first round singles
match to world No. 77 Yen-hsun Lu of Taiwan in straight sets. That abject
defeat was still on his mind in a BBC interview five years later – despite an
intervening Olympic gold medal and a head-to-head win – when he met the same
player in the 2nd round of Wimbledon
2013.
In the Masters tournaments Murray went out in round four in
Indian Wells and the first round of Miami. In the clay Masters Murray made the
third round of Monte Carlo and Hamburg and the second of Rome. On the American
hard court swing Murray made the semi finals of Toronto before winning his
first Masters shield in Cincinnati. He added another shield to his collection
in Madrid; before losing in the quarter finals of Paris. Now at No. 4 in the
world, Murray qualified for the first time for the Masters Cup. He played well
in defeating an injured Federer but lost to Davydenko in the semi-finals.
Murray ended 2008 ranked fourth in the world. Murray also won tournaments in
Doha, Marseille and St Petersburg.
2009: Reaching world rank No. 2
Murray opened the 2009 season with a successful defence of
his title at the Qatar Open in Doha, defeating Andy Roddick in straight sets.
At the Australian Open, Murray made it to the fourth round, losing to Fernando
Verdasco. Murray won his eleventh career title in Rotterdam, defeating No. 1,
Nadal in the three sets. Murray next went to Dubai but withdrew before the
quarterfinals with a re-occurrence of a virus that had affected him at the
Australian Open. The virus caused Murray to miss a Davis Cup tie in Glasgow.
Murray then lost in the finals to Nadal at Indian Wells, but won a week later
in Miami over Novak Djokovic for another masters title.
In the lead-up to the French Open, Murray lost to Nadal in
the semis at the Monte Carlo Masters, he was upset in round two of the Rome
Masters by qualifier Juan Mónaco, and he reached the quarterfinals of the
Madrid Masters, losing to Del Potro. During this time Murray achieved the
highest ever ranking of a British male in the Open Era when he became world No.
3 on 11 May 2009. Murray reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 French Open, but
was defeated by Fernando González in four sets.
Murray won for the first time on grass at Queen's and became
the first British winner of the tournament since 1938. In the final Murray
defeated American James Blake. At Wimbledon, against Stanislas Wawrinka,
Murray's fourth round match was the first match to be played entirely under
Wimbledon's retractable roof, also enabling it to be the latest finishing match
ever at Wimbledon. However Murray lost a tight semifinal to Andy Roddick.
Murray returned to action in Montreal, defeating del Potro
in three sets to take the title. After this victory, he overtook Nadal in the
rankings and held the number two position until the start of the US Open.
Murray followed the Masters win playing at the Cincinnati Masters, where he
lost to Federer. At the US Open, Murray was hampered by a wrist injury and
suffered a straight-sets loss to Čilić. Murray won both his singles matches,
and lost at doubles in the Davis Cup against Poland, but was then forced to
miss six weeks with a wrist injury.
In November, Murray won at Valencia, but bowed out in round
two of the Paris Masters. To end the season, Murray did not make it out of the
round robin at the World Tour Finals in London.
2010: Australian Open runner-up and two Masters titles
Murray and Laura Robson represented Britain at the Hopman
Cup. The pair progressed to the final, where they were beaten by Spain. At the
Australian Open Murray beat Nadal and Cilic before losing in the final to world
No. 1 Roger Federer. At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Murray reached
the quarterfinals, losing to Robin Söderling in straight sets. Murray next
played at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, but lost his first match of the
tournament to Mardy Fish, afterwards saying that his mind hadn't been fully on
tennis. At the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Murray suffered another first match
loss, this time to Philipp Kohlschreiber. He also entered the doubles
competition with Ross Hutchins, but they lost to the Bryan Brothers on a
champions tie-breaker. Murray reached the third round in the Rome Masters, and
the quarterfinals at the Madrid Masters, losing both times to David Ferrer.
After playing an exhibition match, Murray started the French
Open with three tough wins, before losing in straight sets to Tomáš Berdych in
the fourth round. In London, Murray progressed to the third round, where he
faced Mardy Fish. At 3–3 in the final set with momentum going Murray's way, the
match was called off for bad light, leaving Murray fuming. Coming back the next
day, Murray was edged out by the eventual finalist in a tie-breaker for his
second defeat by him in the year. At Wimbledon, Murray progressed to the
semi-finals, losing to Rafael Nadal in straight sets. On 27 July 2010, Andy
Murray and his coach Maclagan split, and Murray replaced him with Àlex
Corretja.
Starting the US hard-court season with the 2010 Farmers
Classic, Murray reached the final but lost against Sam Querrey in three sets.
This was his first loss to Querrey in five career meetings. In Canada, Murray
became the first player since Andre Agassi in 1995 to defend the Canadian
Masters. Murray defeated Nadal and then Federer in straight sets, ending his
eight-month title drought. At the Cincinnati Masters, Murray first complained
about the speed of the court, and then in a quarterfinal match with Fish,
Murray complained that the organisers refused to put the match on later in the
day With temperatures reaching 33 °C in the shade, Murray won the first set in
a tie-breaker but began to feel ill. The doctor was called on court to actively
cool Murray down. Murray admitted after the match that he had considered
retiring. He lost the second set, but forced a final-set tie-breaker, before
Fish won. After losing to Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round of the US Open,
questions about Murray's conditioning arose, as he called the trainer out twice
during the match.
His next event was the China Open in Beijing, where Murray
reached the quarterfinals, losing to Ivan Ljubičić. Murray then won the
Shanghai Rolex Masters dismissing Roger Federer in straight sets. He did not
drop a single set throughout the event. Murray returned to Spain to defend his
title at the Valencia Open 500 but lost in the second round to Juan Mónaco.
However, in doubles, Murray partnered his brother Jamie Murray to the final,
where they defeated Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi. The victory was Murray's
first doubles title and the second time he had reached a final with his
brother.
Murray reached the quarter finals at the BNP Paribas Masters
losing to Gaël Monfils in three sets. Combined with his exit and Söderling's
taking the title, Murray found himself pushed down a spot in the rankings, to
No. 5 from No. 4. At the Tour finals in London, Murray went 2–1 in round robin
play before facing Nadal in the semifinal. They battled for over three hours,
before Murray fell to the Spaniard in a final-set tie-breaker, bringing an end
to his season.
2011: Second Australian Open final and two Masters
titles
Murray and Laura Robson lost in the round-robin stage 2011
Hopman Cup, losing all three ties even though Murray won all of his singles
matches. Then Murray, along with other stars such as Roger Federer, Rafael
Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, participated in the Rally for Relief event to help
raise money for the flood victims in Queensland.
Seeded fifth in the 2011 Australian Open, Murray met former
champion Novak Djokovic in the final and was defeated in straight sets. In
Rotterdam, he was defeated by Marcos Baghdatis in the first round. Murray
reached the semifinals of the doubles tournament with his brother Jamie. Murray
lost to qualifiers in the first rounds at the Masters Series events in Indian
Wells and Miami, after which he split with coach Àlex Corretja.
Murray returned to form at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters,
but lost to Nadal in the semifinals. Murray sustained an elbow injury before
the match and subsequently withdrew from the 2011 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell
due to the injury. Murray lost in the third round at the Mutua Madrileña Madrid
Open, but made it to the semifinals of the Rome Masters, where he lost to Novak
Djokovic. At the French Open, Murray won two tough early matches, before losing
in his first semifinal at Roland Garros, against Rafael Nadal.
Murray defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win his second Queen's
Club title. At Wimbledon, Murray lost in the semifinal to Nadal, despite taking
the first set. At the Davis Cup tie between Great Britain and Luxembourg,
Murray led the British team to victory. Murray was the two-time defending 2011
Rogers Cup champion, but lost in the second round to South African Kevin
Anderson. However, the following week, he won the 2011 Western & Southern
Open, beating Novak Djokovic, after Djokovic retired due to injury. At the 2011
US Open, Murray battled from two sets down to win a five-set second-round
encounter with Robin Haase, but lost in the semifinals to Rafael Nadal in four
sets.
Murray easily won the small 250-class Thailand Open, and the
following week he won his third title in four tournaments at the Rakuten Japan
Open Tennis Championships. His opponent in the final was Rafael Nadal, whom he
beat for the first time in the year in three sets. Murray then won the doubles
with his brother Jamie Murray, becoming the first person in the 2011 season to
capture both singles and doubles titles at the same tournament. Murray then
successfully defended his Shanghai Masters crown with a straight-sets victory
over David Ferrer in the final. At the ATP World Tour Finals, Murray lost to
David Ferrer in straight sets and withdrew from the tournament after the loss
with a groin pull. Murray ended the year as No. 4 in the world behind Novak
Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.
2012: US Open champion, Wimbledon runner-up and Olympic
gold
With Ivan Lendl as his new full-time coach, Murray began the
season by playing in the 2012 Brisbane International. He overcame a slow start
in his first two matches to win his 22nd title by beating Alexandr Dolgopolov
in the final. In doubles, he lost in the quarterfinals against second seeds Jürgen
Melzer and Philipp Petzschner in a tight match. After an exhibition tournament,
Murray made it to the semifinals of the 2012 Australian Open, where he was
defeated by Djokovic in a four-hour-and 50-minute match.
At the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Murray defeated
Djokovic in the semifinals, but lost in the final to Roger Federer. After an
early defeat at the BNP Paribas Open, Murray made the finals of the Miami
Masters, losing to Djokovic. Murray then had quarterfinal losses at the Monte
Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open, and a third round loss at the Italian Open.
Murray lost in the opening round of the Queen's Club
Championships to world No. 65 Nicolas Mahut. At Wimbledon, Murray set the
record for the latest finish at the championships when he completed a four-set
victory over Marcos Baghdatis at 23:02 BST. Murray beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in
the semifinal in four sets to become the first male British player to reach the
final of Wimbledon since Bunny Austin in 1938. In the final, he faced Federer,
but after taking the first set, he lost the match in four sets.
Murray next competed at the London 2012 Summer Olympics in
singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. He partnered his brother Jamie Murray in
doubles and suffered a first-round exit to Austria in three sets. In the mixed doubles, Murray
was partnered by Laura Robson. They made it all the way to the finals where
they lost to the Belarusian top seeds in
three sets, settling for the silver medal. In singles, Murray lost only one set
on his way to the finals where he met Federer, defeating him in straight sets,
for the loss of just 7 games.
Murray retired early in the Rogers Cup due to a knee injury,
and was beaten by unseeded Jérémy Chardy at the Cincinnati Masters in straight
sets. He next competed in the final major of the season at the US Open. He
cruised through his opening two rounds in straight sets against Alex Bogomolov
and Ivan Dodig, before facing a tough four-set battle with Feliciano López,
where Murray had to win three tie-breakers. In the fourth round, he defeated
the Canadian Milos Raonic in straight sets, and then in the quarterfinals, had
to come from a set and two breaks down against Marin Čilić to prevail in four.
In the semifinals, he defeated Tomáš Berdych in a long-fought match that lasted
almost four hours, to reach his second consecutive Grand Slam final. Murray
defeated Djokovic in five sets, becoming the first British man to win a Grand
Slam final since Fred Perry in 1936, and the first Scottish-born player to win
a Grand Slam final since Harold Mahony in 1896. The win would also set several
records for Murray: it involved the longest tiebreak in US Open final history
at 12–10 in the first set, it made Murray the first man ever to win an Olympic
gold medal and the US Open in the same year, and it tied with the 1988 US Open
final as the longest final in the
tournament's history. By defeating Djokovic in the final, Murray achieved his
100th Grand Slam match win of his career. The victory made Murray part of the
"Big Four" according to many pundits, including Novak Djokovic.
In his first tournament after the US Open, Murray reached
the semifinals of the Rakuten Japan Open after entering as defending champion.
He was beaten by Milos Raonic in a close three-set match. He was also defending
champion in the doubles with his brother Jamie. However, they were knocked out
in the quarterfinals by top seeds Leander Paes and Radek Štěpánek. At the
penultimate Masters 1000 tournament of the year in Shanghai, after receiving a
bye into round two, Murray's first match was due to be played against Florian
Mayer. However, Mayer had to pull out due to injury, giving Murray a walkover
into round three. After beating Alexandr Dolgopolov in the third round, he then
overcame Radek Štěpánek in a three-set quarterfinal. Murray next faced Roger
Federer in the semifinals, whom he defeated in straight sets to set up a second
consecutive final against Novak Djokovic, and his third consecutive Shanghai
final. After failing to capitalise on five match points, Murray eventually lost
in three sets, bringing to an end his 12–0 winning streak at the competition.
When Rafael Nadal pulled out of both the Paris Masters and
the Year-End Championships, Murray finished the year at No. 3 in the world,
after four years at No. 4. This was the first time Murray had finished the year
higher than No. 4 in the world. At the BBC Sports Personality of the Year
Murray found himself voted third overall, ahead of Mo Farah. Murray won the
World Breakthrough of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards.
Murray was appointed Officer of the Order of the British
Empire in the 2013 New Year Honours for
services to tennis.
2013: Wimbledon champion and third Australian Open
final
Murray began his 2013 season by retaining his Brisbane International
title, defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the final in straight sets. Trying to win
his second Major in a row, he began the 2013 Australian Open well with a
straight sets victory over Dutchman Robin Haase. He followed this up with
straight set victories over João Sousa, practice partner Ričardas Berankis and
French No. 14 seed Gilles Simon. In the quarterfinals he cruised past Jérémy
Chardy in straight sets to set up a semi final clash with Roger Federer. After
exchanging sets, Murray eventually prevailed in 5 sets, recording his first
Grand Slam tournament triumph over Federer. With this victory, each member of
the ATP's most dominant quartet of the previous four years had beaten the other three at the Majors. This
victory set up Murray's third consecutive Major final appearance, and second in
a row against Novak Djokovic. After taking the first set in a tiebreak, Murray
was eventually defeated in four sets. His defeat in this final meant that
Murray became only the second man in the Open Era to achieve three runner-up
finishes at the Australian Open, the other being Stefan Edberg.
At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Murray lost at the
quarter-final stage to Juan Martín del Potro in three sets. At the Miami
Masters, Murray made it through his first four matches without dropping a set,
and after overcoming Richard Gasquet in the semifinals, faced David Ferrer in
the final. After losing the first set, and facing match point in the decider at
5–6, Murray eventually took the match in a third set tiebreaker to win his
second Miami Masters title, and leapfrog Roger Federer into second place in the
rankings, ending a near-decade long time period in which neither Federer or
Rafael Nadal were ranked in the top two. Murray briefly fell back to No. 3 in
the world, following a third round defeat by Stanislas Wawrinka in Monte-Carlo,
but reclaimed the No. 2 ranking as a result of Federer failing to defend his
title at the Mutua Madrid Open. Later, Murray lost at the quarter-final stage
to Tomáš Berdych in straight sets. At the Rome Masters, Murray retired due to a
hip injury during his second round match against Marcel Granollers on his 26th
birthday. Murray had just battled back to tie the match at one set all after
winning the second set on a tiebreak. This left Murray with only eleven days to
be fit for the start of the French Open.
Speaking at a press conference after the match, Murray said,
"As it is, I'd be very surprised if I was playing in Paris. I need to make
a plan as to what I do. I'll chat with the guys tonight and make a plan for the
next few days then make a decision on Paris after the next five days." He
would go on to withdraw from Roland Garros later, citing a back injury. After a
four-week break due to injury, Murray made his comeback at the 2013 Aegon
Championships, where he was the top seed. After a rain delayed first day,
Murray had to complete his second round match against Nicolas Mahut, and his
subsequent match against Marinko Matosevic on the same day, both of which he
won in straight sets. After beating Benjamin Becker in the quarterfinals,
Murray next faced his first top ten opponent since losing to Tomas Berdych in
Madrid, taking on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semifinals. After dropping the
first set against the Frenchman, Murray eventually raised his level and won in
three to set up a final against Marin Čilić of Croatia, his third consecutive
final on grass courts. He came from behind again to beat Čilić in three sets to
claim his third title at Queen's Club.
Going into Wimbledon, Murray hadn't lost a match on grass
since the previous year's final, and was on a winning streak of 11 matches on
grass. In the first two rounds, Murray faced Benjamin Becker and Yen-hsun Lu
respectively, defeating both in straight sets. His third round match was against
32nd seed Tommy Robredo, and despite a tour comeback over the past year, Murray
overcame the Spaniard in straight sets to set up a clash with Mikhail Youzhny,
the highest seed left in Murray's half following the unexpectedly early exits
of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Despite facing a fightback in the second
set, Murray won in straight sets to make it through to his tenth consecutive
Grand Slam quarterfinal, in which he was to play Fernando Verdasco, the first
left-handed player Murray had faced since the 2012 US Open. For the seventh
time in his career, Murray had to come back from a deficit of two sets to
ultimately come through in five, setting up a semifinal clash with 24th seed
Jerzy Janowicz, the Polish player who beat Murray in their previous encounter.
After Murray failed to break Janowicz's serve, the Pole took the opening set in
the tiebreak, following a double fault from Murray. However Murray managed to
up his level of play, and won the next three sets, making it through to his
second consecutive Wimbledon final, and third consecutive major final against
Novak Djokovic
.
Despite the Serb being the favourite to win the title
throughout the Championships, Murray overcame Djokovic in a straight sets match
that lasted over three hours, to become the first British winner of the men's
singles title since Fred Perry in 1936, the first Scot of either sex to win a
Wimbledon singles title since Harold Mahoney in 1896, and to extend his winning
streak on grass to 18 matches.
With the win, he also became only the second man in the open
era after Rafael Nadal to hold the Olympic singles gold medal and Wimbledon
title simultaneously.
At the US Open, Murray entered a Grand Slam tournament as
defending champion for the first time, and started strongly with a straight
sets win against Michael Llodra. He backed this up with wins over Leonardo
Mayer, Florian Mayer and Denis Istomin to reach the quarterfinals at a major
for the 11th straight tournament. In the last 8, Murray faced Stanislas
Wawrinka of Switzerland, but lost in straight sets, ending Murray's streak of
four consecutive major finals. Following his disappointing run of form on hard
courts, Murray next joined the Great Britain Davis Cup team in their World
Group Play-off tie on clay against Croatia, where he played in two singles and
the doubles rubbers. After defeating 16-year-old Borna Ćorić in straight sets,
Murray teamed up with Colin Fleming to defeat Croatian number 1 Ivan Dodig and
Mate Pavić in the doubles, and take a 2–1 lead in the tie. Murray then sealed
Britain's return to the World Group by defeating Dodig in straight sets.
Following the Davis Cup, Murray's season was cut short by
his decision to undergo surgery, in order to sort out the lower back problems
that had caused him problems since the early stages of the previous season.
After being forced to withdraw from the French Open in May, the injury flared
up again during the US Open and later during the Davis Cup World Group
Play-offs, Murray made the decision that surgery was the best way to sort the
problem out for the long-term. Following the conclusion of the 2013 season,
Murray was voted the 2013 BBC Sport Personality of the Year, after having been
heavy favourite since the nominees were announced.
2014: Recovery from surgery and 30th career title
Murray started his season at the Qatar Open in Doha. In the
first round, he defeated Mousa Shanan Zayed in straight sets in 37 minutes
without dropping a single game, but was defeated in three sets by world No. 40
Florian Mayer in the second round, despite being a set and a break up three
games into the second set. He then played a warm-up match at the 2014 AAMI
Classic in Kooyong against world No. 43 Lleyton Hewitt, losing in two close
tiebreaks. Murray next headed to Melbourne for the 2014 Australian Open, where
he drew the world No. 112, Go Soeda of Japan. Despite worries that he was not
match-fit, Murray got off to a strong start, dispatching the Japanese number 2
in under 90 minutes, losing just 5 games in the process. He next went on to
defeat Vincent Millot and Feliciano Lopez respectively in straight sets. In the
fourth round, Murray dropped his first set of the tournament on his way to
beating Stephane Robert in four sets to set up a meeting with long-standing
rival Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. Despite saving two match points to
take the third set, he ultimately went out in four, ending his streak of four
consecutive Australian Open semifinals. As a result of losing before the final,
Murray fell to No. 6 in the world, falling out of the top 5 for the first time
since 2008.
He next headed to the United States to compete in the Davis
Cup World Group first round with Great Britain, who went into the tie as
outsiders. Murray won both of his ties against Donald Young and Sam Querrey respectively,
helping Britain to their first Davis Cup quarterfinal since 1986. Murray's next
tournament was the Rotterdam Open after receiving a late wild card, however he
lost to Marin Cilic in straight sets in the quarterfinals. His following
competition, the Mexican Open in Acapulco, ended in a semifinal defeat by
Grigor Dimitrov in a thrilling three-setter that required two tiebreakers to
decide the final two sets.
At Indian Wells, Murray struggled in his first two matches
against Lukáš Rosol and Jiří Veselý respectively, overcoming both in close
three-set encounters to set up a fourth round clash with Canadian Milos Raonic,
which he lost in three sets. Murray offered to play with 2012 Wimbledon Doubles
champion Jonathan Marray, because Marray was unable to convince anyone to join
him on court. It was standing room only for Murray and Marray's first
competitive match together, as they won a thrilling doubles clash against Gael
Monfils and Juan Monaco only to lose in the second round to the No 2 seeds Alexander
Peya and Bruno Soares.
In March, Murray split with coach Ivan Lendl, who had been
widely praised for helping Murray achieve his goal of winning Grand Slam
titles. At the 2014 Miami Masters, Murray defeated Matthew Ebden, Feliciano
Lopez and Jo Wilfried Tsonga but lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
In the Davis Cup quarterfinals against Italy, he beat
Andreas Seppi in his first rubber, then teamed up with Colin Fleming to win the
doubles rubber. Murray had never beaten a top ten clay court player on clay,
and so in his final singles match, was stunned by Fabio Fognini in straight
sets, which took Great Britain to the deciding final rubber. However, in this
match his compatriot, James Ward was defeated by Andreas Seppi, also in
straight sets, knocking Murray and Great Britain out of the Davis Cup.
Murray next competed at the Madrid Open and following his
opening win, over Nicolas Almagro, he dedicated the victory to former player
Elena Baltacha. He then lost to qualifier Santiago Giraldo in the following
round. Murray then reached the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters where he lost
to world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in a tight match in which he had been up a break in
the final set. At the French Open, Murray defeated Andrey Golubev and Marinko
Matosevic before edging out 28th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber 12–10 in the final
set. This was the first time Murray had ever gone beyond 7–5 in a deciding set.
He followed this up with a straight sets win over Fernando Verdasco and then
recorded a five set victory over Frenchman Gaël Monfils in the quarter-final,
which saw Murray rise to world No. 5 and equal his best ever French Open by
reaching the semi-finals. However, he subsequently lost to Rafael Nadal in
straight sets, winning only 6 games in the match. After losing the 2014 French
Open semi-finals to Nadal, Murray appointed former women's world No. 1, and
two-times slam titlist, Amelie Mauresmo as his coach in a 'historic move' which
made Mauresmo the first woman to coach a top male tennis player.
After strong grass court seasons in 2012 and 2013, Murray
was seeded third for the 2014 Wimbledon Championship, behind Novak Djokovic and
Rafael Nadal, who were seeded first and second respectively. He began his title
defence with straight sets wins over David Goffin and Blaž Rola, defeating the
latter for the loss of just two games. Murray continued his good form,
defeating Roberto Bautista Agut and Kevin Anderson, the 27th and 20th seeds,
again in straight sets to reach his seventh consecutive Wimbledon quarterfinal.
Murray's defence then came to a halt as Grigor Dimitrov ended his 17 match
winning-streak on the grass of Wimbledon
with a straight sets win, meaning Murray failed to reach the semi-finals
for the first time since 2008. After his defeat at the Championships, Murray
dropped to 10th in the world, his lowest ranking since 2008.
Prior to the North American hard court swing, Murray
announced he was extending his partnership with Amélie Mauresmo until the end
of the US Open, but was ideally looking for a long-term deal. He also revealed
he had only just returned to a full training schedule following his back
surgery last September. Murray reached back-to-back quarter-finals at the
Canadian Open and Cincinnati Masters, losing to eventual champions Jo Wilfried
Tsonga, after being a break up in the decider, and Roger Federer, after being
two breaks up in the second set, respectively. He then made it to the
quarterfinals of the 2014 US Open, losing to Novak Djokovic, after earning his
first top ten win of the year in the previous round against Jo Wilfried Tsonga.
This was the first season since 2009 where Murray failed to reach a grand slam
final. As a consequence Murray fell outside of the top 10 ranking places for
the first time since June 2008.
Murray took a wildcard into the inaugural Shenzhen Open in
China, entering as the number 2 seed. Victories over Somdev Devvarman, Lukáš
Lacko and Juan Mónaco saw Murray reach his first final of the season, breaking
a drought of 14 months following his title at Wimbledon. In the final he faced
Tommy Robredo of Spain, the second final between the two. After saving five
championship points in the second set tie break, Murray went on to win the
title in three sets, Robredo's drop in fitness ultimately proving decisive. He
then took his good form into Beijing, where he reached the semifinals before
losing to Djokovic in straight sets, however he lost in the third round at the
Shanghai Masters to David Ferrer despite being a set up. Following his early
exit in Shanghai, Murray took a wildcard into the Vienna Open in an attempt to
claim a place at the ATP World Tour Finals. He reached the final, where he once
again faced Ferrer, and triumphed in three sets for his second title of the
season, and the 30th of his career. Murray defeated Ferrer again in the
semi-finals of the Valencia Open to move into his third final in five weeks,
and further strengthen his bid for a place at the season finale in London. In a
repeat of the Shenzhen Open final, Murray again saved five championship points
as he overcame Tommy Robredo in three sets. Murray then went on to reach the
quarter-finals of the Paris Masters, where he was eliminated by Djokovic in
what was his 23rd match in the space of only 37 days. However, his win over
Dimitrov in the third round had already guaranteed him a spot at the ATP World
Tour Finals.
At the ATP World Tour Finals, Murray lost his opening round
robin match to Kei Nishikori but won his second match against Milos Raonic.
However, he lost his final group match against Federer in straight sets and
only managed to win one game against him, marking his worst defeat since losing
to Djokovic in the 2007 Miami Masters, eliminating him from the tournament.
Despite the loss, his late-season run had already propelled him back up the rankings
to No. 6 in the world, his best ranking since June.
Following the conclusion of the season, Murray mutually
agreed a split with long-term backroom staff, training partner Dani Vallverdu
and fitness coach Jez Green. They had been with him for five and seven years
respectively but were both reported to have been unhappy at the lack of
consultation they had been given about the appointment of Mauresmo. Murray also
took part in the inaugural season of the International Premier Tennis League,
representing the Manila Mavericks, who had drafted him as an icon player in
February. Murray took part in the first three matches of the tournament which
were all played in Manila.
2015: Year-end No. 2 and Davis Cup win
Murray began his year by winning an exhibition event in Abu
Dhabi. He then played the Hopman Cup with Heather Watson and, despite winning
all his singles matches in straight sets, they finished second in their group
behind Poland. His first competitive tournament of the year was the Australian
Open. He won his opening three matches in straight sets before defeating 11th
seed Grigor Dimitrov to reach the quarter-final. Wins over Nick Kyrgios and
Tomáš Berdych followed as Murray reached his fourth final at the tournament and the eighth grand slam final of his
career. He lost the final to Novak Djokovic in four sets, however his run to
the final saw his return to the top four in the world rankings for the first
time in 12 months.
Murray next participated in the Rotterdam Open as the top
seed, but he lost in the quarterfinals to Gilles Simon who ended a 12 match
losing streak against Murray. Murray then played in the Dubai Championships but
suffered another quarterfinal defeat to 18-year-old Borna Ćorić and as a
result, Murray slipped to No. 5 in the world rankings behind Rafael Nadal and
Kei Nishikori. Afterwards, Murray played the Davis Cup World Group in Glasgow
against the United States. He won both his matches against Donald Young and
John Isner, allowing Great Britain to progress to the quarterfinals for the
second consecutive time with a 3–2 lead over the United States.
Murray then reached the semifinals of the 2015 Indian Wells,
overtaking Tim Henman's record of 496 career wins to have the most career wins
for a British man in the Open Era. However, he suffered a 6th consecutive
defeat to Djokovic in straight sets. Murray then reached the final of the 2015
Miami Open, recording his 500th career win along the way to become the first
British player to have 500 or more wins in the Open Era. He went on to lose the
final to Djokovic, this time in three sets. Murray added Jonas Björkman to his
coaching staff in March initially on a five-week trail to help out in periods
when Mauresmo was unavailable as she only agreed to work with him for 25 weeks.
However, at the end of the Australian Open, Mauresmo had informed Murray that
she was pregnant and he announced at the end of April, that Björkman would be
his main coach for all of the grass court season and all of the US hard court
swing, while Mauresmo would only be with the team for Wimbledon.
Murray won his first ATP clay court title at the 2015 BMW
Open. He defeated German Philipp Kohlschreiber in three close sets to become
the first Briton since Buster Mottram in 1976 to win a tour level clay court
event. The following week he reached his second final on clay, at the Madrid
Open after recording only his second and third victories over top 10 opposition
on clay, against Raonic and Nishikori. In the final, he defeated Rafael Nadal
in straight sets for his first Madrid title on clay, and first ever clay court
Masters 1000 title. The win was Murray's first over Nadal, Federer or Djokovic
since Wimbledon 2013, and his first over Nadal on a clay court.
Murray continued his winning streak at the Italian Open,
beating Jeremy Chardy in straight sets in his opening match, but then withdrew
due to fatigue after having played nine matches in the space of 10 days. Murray
then reached his third semifinal at the French Open, but lost to Djokovic in
five sets after threatening a comeback from two sets to love down, ending his
15 match winning streak on clay. To start his grass court campaign, Murray went
on to win a record tying fourth Queen's Club title, defeating the big serving
South African Kevin Anderson in straight sets in the final. At the third grand
slam of the year, the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, Murray dropped only two
sets on his way to setting up a semifinal clash with Roger Federer. Many people
saw Murray as the favourite due to his recent form, however he lost to the
Swiss veteran in straight sets, gaining only one break point in the entire
match.
After Wimbledon, Murray returned to Queen's Club, to play
for Great Britain against France in their Davis Cup quarterfinal tie. Great
Britain went 1–0 down when James Ward lost to Gilles Simon in straight sets,
however Murray levelled the tie with a victory against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Murray then teamed up with his brother Jamie to win the doubles rubber, coming
back from a set down to defeat Tsonga and Nicolas Mahut in four sets, giving
Britain a crucial 2–1 lead going into the final day. He then faced Simon in the
fourth rubber and after initially being a set and a break down, he suddenly
found his form again towards the end of the second set and eventually won in four
sets, winning 12 of the last 15 games in the process . With a 3–1 lead over
France, this resulted in Great Britain reaching their first Davis Cup semifinal
since 1981.
Murray next participated at the Citi Open, as the top seed
and favourite to win the tournament. However, he suffered a defeat in his first
match, losing to world No. 53 Teymuraz Gabashvili in a final set tiebreak,
despite serving for the match. Despite the loss, Murray said that it was his
first hard court match in over four months and he was happy with how he moved
and did certain things on the court. In doubles, he partnered Daniel Nestor,
however they lost in the first round to the fourth seeds, Rohan Bopanna and
Florin Mergea, also in three sets. He bounced back from this defeat by winning
the Rogers Cup, defeating Tsonga and Nishikori in the quarter-finals and
semifinals respectively. He then prevailed in the final against Djokovic in
three sets. This broke his eight-match, two-year losing streak against
Djokovic, his last win against him being in the finals of Wimbledon in 2013.
Winning the title, he also surpassed Federer in terms of ranking, becoming the
world number 2 for the first time in over two years. In doubles, he partnered
Leander Paes and they won their first match against Chardy and Anderson, but
were then defeated by Murray's brother Jamie and John Peers in two sets.
In the second Master Series tournament of the US Hard Court
season, the Cincinnati Masters, Murray defeated veteran Mardy Fish in the
second round, and then beat both Grigor Dimitrov and Richard Gasquet in
three-set matches, having to come from a set down on both occasions, while
Dimitrov had served for the match in the deciding set. In the semifinal, he
lost to defending champion Roger Federer in straight sets, and after Federer
went on to win the tournament, this result saw Murray return to the No. 3
ranking and seeding for the US Open. At the US Open, Murray beat Nick Kyrgios
in four sets before beating Adrian Mannarino in five sets after being two sets
down, equaling Federer for winning eight matches from two sets to love down. He
then beat Thomaz Bellucci in straight sets but suffered a defeat in the fourth
round to Kevin Anderson in four sets. This ended Murray's five-year run of 18
consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals
since his third round loss to Stan Wawrinka in the 2010 US Open.
Playing against Australia in the semifinals of the Davis Cup
World Group in Glasgow, Murray won both his singles rubbers in straight sets,
against Thanasi Kokkinakis and Bernard Tomic. He also partnered his brother
Jamie, and they won in five sets against the pairing of Sam Groth and Lleyton
Hewitt, the results guiding Great Britain to the Davis Cup final for the first
time since 1978 with a 3–2 lead over Australia.
After losing in the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters to
Djokovic in straight sets, Murray reached the finals of the Paris Masters for
the lost of just one set, with victories against Borna Ćorić, David Goffin and
David Ferrer. After a three set win over Richard Gasquet, he joined Novak
Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the only players to reach the
semi-finals at all nine of the ATP World
Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, and also ensured that he compiled his best match
record in a single season. He then lost the final to Djokovic again in straight
sets.
As the world No. 2, Murray participated in the ATP World
Tour Finals in London, and was drawn into the Ilie Năstase group with David
Ferrer, Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka. He went out in the round-robin stage,
after defeating Ferrer and losing to Nadal and Wawrinka. However, after Federer
failed to win the tournament, he finished a season as world No. 2 for the first
time.
In the Davis Cup final, Murray's victory over Ruben
Bemelmans in straight sets pulled Great Britain level in the final after Kyle
Edmund had lost the first singles rubber, played on indoor clay courts at
Ghent. He then partnered his brother Jamie in a four-set victory over the
pairing of Steve Darcis and David Goffin, before defeating Goffin again in the
reverse singles on Sunday, thus ensuring a 3-1 victory for Great Britain, their
first Davis Cup title since 1936 and their tenth overall. Murray also became
only the third person since the current Davis Cup format was introduced to win
all eight of his singles rubbers in a Davis Cup season, after John McEnroe and
Mats Wilander.
National representation
Davis Cup
Murray made his Davis Cup debut for Great Britain in the
Europe/Africa Zone Group 1 2nd Round against Israel in 2005 at 17 years of age,
the youngest ever player for Great Britain. Murray has played 27 singles and 11
doubles rubbers for Great Britain, with a 25-2 record at singles. In 2015 he
played an important part in leading Great Britain to the final of the World
Group for the first time since 1978, winning both his singles rubbers in the
matches against the USA, France and Australia. In the final, Murray defeated
Belgium's David Goffin to win the Davis Cup for Great Britain, 79 years after
the national team's last win.
Olympics
Murray represented Great Britain at his maiden Olympics in
Beijing 2008. He competed in the singles and doubles competitions. Despite
being seeded sixth in the singles competition, he was eliminated in the first
round by Chinese Taipei's Yen-hsun Lu. Along with his brother Jamie, he
advanced to the second round of the doubles competition with a win over the
Canadian pairing of Daniel Nestor and Frédéric Niemeyer. The Murray brothers
were eliminated in the second round by France's Arnaud Clément and Michael
Llodra.
At the London 2012 Olympics, Murray competed in the singles
and mixed doubles, partnering Laura Robson. In the singles, he won the Gold
Medal, including straight-set victories over Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals
and Roger Federer in the final, four weeks after Federer had beaten him in on
the same court in the Wimbledon final. He also won the silver medal in the
mixed doubles, losing to the Belarusian pairing of Max Mirnyi and Victoria
Azarenka.
Rivalries
Murray vs. Djokovic
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have met 30 times with
Djokovic leading 21–9. Djokovic leads 3–0 on clay, 18–7 on hard courts, and
Murray leads 2–0 on grass. The two are almost exactly the same age, with Murray
being only a week older than Djokovic. They went to training camp together, and
Murray won the first match they ever played as teenagers. The pair have met 13
times in finals, with Djokovic leading 7–6. Eight of the finals were at ATP
Masters 1000 events, and they are tied at 4–4. They have met in five Major
finals: The 2011 Australian Open, the 2012 US Open, the 2013 Australian Open,
the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2015 Australian Open. Djokovic has
won in Australia three times, and Murray emerged as the victor at the US Open
and Wimbledon. The former of Murray's victories was the longest ever final at
the US Open, tying with the 1988 final played between Ivan Lendl and Mats
Wilander at 4 hours and 53 minutes, whilst the latter was notable for being the
first home triumph in men's singles at Wimbledon since 1936.
They also played a nearly five-hour long semifinal match in
the 2012 Australian Open, which Djokovic won 7–5 in the fifth set after Murray
led 2 sets to 1. Murray and Djokovic met again in 2012 at the London 2012
Olympic Games, with Murray winning in straight sets. During the final of the
2012 Shanghai Masters, Murray held five championship point opportunities in the
second set, however Djokovic saved each of them, forcing a deciding set. He
eventually prevailed to win his first Shanghai Masters title, ending Murray's
12–0 winning streak at the event. The three set matches they played in Rome and
Shanghai in 2011 and 2012 respectively were voted the ATP World Tour Match of
the Year for each respective season. Due to the tight competition between 2008
and 2013, many saw this as the emerging rivalry, as the two are both in their
prime years, and are both likely to be playing for at least another five years.
However, Djokovic went on to dominate the rivalry after the 2013 Wimbledon
final, winning 8 matches in a row, until Murray ended the streak in the final
of the 2015 Rogers Cup.
Murray vs. Federer
Andy Murray and Roger Federer have met 25 times with Federer
leading 14–11. Federer leads 12–10 on hard courts, 2–1 on grass, and they have
never met on clay. After Federer won the first professional match they played,
Murray dominated the rivalry from 2006 until 2014 with Federer beating Murray
three straight times to reverse the lead at the 2014 ATP World Tour Finals.
Federer leads 5–3 in finals, having won each of their Grand Slam Final meetings
at the 2008 US Open and Federer coming out victorious in London in 2009, 2010,
2012, and in 2014.
In August 2012, Murray met Federer in the final of the
London 2012 Olympics at Wimbledon Centre Court, just four weeks after the 2012
Wimbledon Final, in which Federer had defeated Murray to win his record-tying
7th title at the All-England Club. Murray defeated Federer in straight sets to
win the gold medal, denying Federer a Career Golden Slam. In 2013 Murray beat
Federer for the first time in a Major in the semi-finals of the Australian
Open, prevailing in five sets after Federer had come back twice from a set
down. Their last grand slam meeting was at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships
semifinals, where a dominant Federer defeated Murray in straight sets, earning
a place in his 10th Wimbledon final. Murray is one of only three players to
have recorded 10 or more victories over Federer, the other two being Nadal and
Djokovic. Their most recent meeting took place at the 2015 Cincinnati Masters
semifinals, with Federer winning the match in two close sets, recording his
fifth consecutive victory over Murray.
Murray vs. Nadal
Andy Murray has played against Rafael Nadal on 22 occasions
since 2007, with Nadal leading 16–6. Nadal leads 6–1 on clay, 3–0 on grass and
7–5 on hard courts. The pair regularly meet at Grand Slam level, with nine out
of their twenty-one meetings coming in slams, with Nadal leading 7–2 . Eight of
these nine appearances have been at Quarter-final and Semi-final level. They
have never met in a Slam final, however, Murray leads 3–1 in ATP finals, with
Nadal winning at Indian Wells in 2009 and Murray winning in Rotterdam the same
year, Tokyo in 2011, and at Madrid in 2015.
Murray lost three consecutive Grand Slam semifinals to Nadal
in 2011 from the French Open to the US Open. Of the past 20 Grand Slam
drawsheets, they have been drawn in the same half 16 times. The pair had not
met for three years since the final of the 2011 Japan Open until the quarter
finals of the 2014 Rome Masters, although they were scheduled to meet in the
semi-final of the 2012 Miami Masters before Nadal withdrew with injury. At the
semifinal stage of the 2014 French Open, Nadal triumphed in a dominant straight
sets win for the loss of just 6 games. In their most recent meeting, Murray
beat Nadal for the first time on clay, and the first time in a Masters 1000
final, at the Madrid Open in 2015.
Playing style
Murray is a defensive baseliner, equipped with an all-court
game, and professional tennis coach Paul Annacone stated that Murray "may
be the best counterpuncher on tour today." His strengths include
groundstrokes with low error rate, the ability to anticipate and react, and his
transition from defence to offence with speed, which enables him to hit winners
from defensive positions. His playing style has been likened to that of
Miloslav Mečíř. Murray also has one of the best two-handed backhands on the
tour, with dynamic stroke execution. Tim Henman has stated that Murray may now
have the best lob in the game, succeeding Lleyton Hewitt. In addition to this,
Murray is a good volleyer and executes a fine drop shot, although his drop
shots are sometimes a drawback against faster players like Roger Federer.
Murray's tactics usually involve passive exchanges from the
baseline. He is capable of injecting sudden pace into his groundstrokes to
surprise his opponents who are used to the slow rally. Murray is also one of
the top returners in the game, often able to block back fast serves with his
excellent reach and ability to anticipate. For this reason, Murray is rarely
aced. Murray is known for being one of the most intelligent tacticians on the
court, often constructing points. Murray is most proficient on a fast surface,
ultimately winning his first clay titles during 2015 at Munich and Madrid.
While Murray's first serve is a major weapon for him, reaching speeds of 130
mph or higher on some occasions, along with an inconsistent second serve. Since
his 2011 season and Ivan Lendl's coaching, he has worked to improve his
consistency, second serve, returns and mental game, resulting in a more
offensive game.
Endorsements and equipment
In 2009 German manufacturer Adidas and Murray signed a
five-year-deal worth £30 million. This included wearing their range of tennis
shoes. The contract with Adidas allowed Murray to keep his shirt sleeve
sponsors Shiatzy Chen, Royal Bank of Scotland and Highland Spring. Before he
was signed by Adidas in late 2009, he wore Fred Perry apparel. At the end of
their contract together Adidas decided not to re-sign with Murray, and he began
a 4-year partnership with athletic apparel company Under Armour in December
2014, reportedly worth $25 million. Murray uses Head rackets, and regularly
appears in advertisements for the brand.
In June 2012, the Swiss watch manufacturer Rado announced
that Murray had signed a deal to wear their D-Star 200 model.
Charitable work
Murray is a founding member of the Malaria No More UK
Leadership Council and helped launch the charity in 2009 with David Beckham.
Footage from the launch at Wembley Stadium can be seen on YouTube and . Murray
also made 'Nets Needed', a short public service announcement, for the charity
to help raise awareness and funds to help in the fight against malaria. Murray
has also taken part in several charity tennis events, including the Rally for
Relief events that took place prior to the start of the 2011 Australian Open.
In June 2013, Murray teamed up with former British number 1
Tim Henman for a charity doubles match against Murray's coach and eight-time
grand slam champion Ivan Lendl, and world No. 6 Tomáš Berdych at the Queen's
Club in London. The event named Rally Against Cancer was organised to raise
money for Royal Marsden Cancer Charity after his best friend and fellow British
player Ross Hutchins was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma. The event took place
following the final day of competitive play at the AEGON Championships, on
Sunday 16 June. Subsequently, following his victory at the tournament, Murray
donated his entire prize money pot to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
In June 2014, following the death of Elena Baltacha, Murray
featured in an event known as 'Rally for Bally.' Murray played at Queen's Club
alongside Victoria Azarenka, Martina Hingis, Heather Watson and his brother
Jamie. The event raised money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and the
Elena Baltacha Academy of Tennis. Children from Baltacha's academy took to the
court to play alongside Murray. As a result of his various charitable exploits,
Murray was awarded the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award for 2014.
Image
National identity
Murray identifies himself as Scottish and British. His
national identity has often been commented on by the media. Whilst making a cameo
appearance on comedy show Outnumbered, Murray is asked whether he is British or
Scottish, to which he responds "It depends if I'm winning". Much of
the discussion about Murray's national identity began prior to Wimbledon 2006,
when he was quoted as saying he would "support whoever England is
playing" at the 2006 World Cup. English ex-tennis player Tim Henman
confirmed that the remarks had been made in jest and were only in response to
Murray being teased by journalist Des Kelly and Henman about Scotland's failure
to qualify.
Murray initially refused to endorse either side of the
debate in the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, citing the abuse he had
received after his comments in 2006. Just before the referendum, Murray tweeted
a message that was considered by the media to be supportive of independence.
Other
In 2006, there was uproar after a match with Kenneth
Carlsen. Having been given a warning for racket abuse, he went on in the
post-match interview to state that he and Carlsen had "played like
women" during the first set. Murray was booed for the remark, but
explained later that the comment had been intended as a jocular response to
what Svetlana Kuznetsova had said at the Hopman Cup. A few months later, Murray
was fined for swearing at the umpire during a Davis Cup doubles rubber with
Serbia and Montenegro Davis Cup team. Murray refused to shake hands with the
umpire at the end of the match.
In 2007, Murray suggested that tennis had a match-fixing
problem, stating that everyone knows it goes on, in the wake of the
investigation surrounding Nikolay Davydenko. Both Davydenko and Rafael Nadal
questioned his comments, but Murray responded that his words had been taken out
of context.
Tipster Street.
