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The Rise, Fall, and Second Wind: The roller coaster ride of Andy Murray

By Brandon Daniels

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 03: Andy Murray of Great Britain acknowledges the crowd as he celebrates victory after the Gentlemen's Singles first round match against Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan on day one of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 3, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 03: Andy Murray of Great Britain acknowledges the crowd as he celebrates victory after the Gentlemen's Singles first round match against Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan on day one of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 3, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) /
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 18: Andy Murray of Great Britain speaks with the physio at the change of ends after injuring his ankle after he fell over in his second round match against Andrey Rublev of Russiaon day three of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 18, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 18: Andy Murray of Great Britain speaks with the physio at the change of ends after injuring his ankle after he fell over in his second round match against Andrey Rublev of Russiaon day three of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 18, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /

2017-2019: Injuries, a hiatus, the top 800, and a triumphant return

Murray was set to embark on a terrible two years. After struggling to make any noise in the first half of 2017 due to an elbow injury, Murray returned to Wimbledon as the defending champion but lost in the quarterfinals to Sam Querrey. Murray missed much of the following few weeks due to a hip injury that had followed him throughout his career. It would be the last tournament he would play during the current season

He withdrew from the US Open and the Asian hard court swing after his hip injury worsened, subsequentially falling to 16th in the world by the end of the year (his lowest rankings in 9 years).

2018 got even worse for the former World #1. He underwent hip surgery and January and didn’t return to action until the 2018 Queen’s Club Championships in June, where he lost to Nick Kyrgios in the first round. He withdrew from Wimbledon shortly thereafter and dropped all the way to 839th in the world, his career-low ranking.

Murray returned to Grand Slam action at the US Open, where he lost to Fernando Verdasco in the second round.

2019 was a huge year in tennis for Andy Murray. He admitted that the constant pain in his hip had put a huge strain on his daily life and said that the Australian Open could be his last tournament of his career. After losing to Roberto Bautista-Agut in a 4-hour marathon match, support and tributes dedicated to the Brit swarmed the tennis world in the form of videos and news clips. He was universally loved and the last thing anyone wanted was to see him go.

Murray underwent a second hip surgery, improving his quality of life drastically. After years of struggle, he finally returned to the winners circle, defeating three-time Grand Slam Champion Stan Wawrinka in the finals of the European Open.

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