Andy Murray has experienced the triumphs and the sufferings of professional tennis. This is his roller-coaster ride through the ATP Tour.
Andy Murray raised his fist in the air in triumph, a look of delight and relief crossing his otherwise deadpanned face. A straight-sets defeat of World #2 Novak Djokovic left him as the ATP World Tour Finals Champion and the year-end World #1. This feat left him as just the 17th man to accomplish the feat and the first from the United Kingdom.
This capped off the best year of his career. Alongside the Tour Finals title, he captured his third major title and second at Wimbledon in a straight-sets victory over Milos Raonic. He won his second gold medal in a row at the Rio Olympics and tacked on three Masters 1000 titles. It was one of the greatest seasons by a men’s tennis player in the Open Era and it seemed like just the beginning.
After years of living in the shadow of the Big 3, he finally broke through and turned the formidable trio into a foursome.
Unfortunately for Murray, the downhill slide would start soon after. Injuries sprang up more often than wins and relegated him to the sidelines after an uninspiring 2017 campaign ended during the Wimbledon quarterfinals. An emotional Murray took himself out of tennis following a first-round defeat at the 2018 Australian Open in hopes of his end to his pain.
When all of the cards were stacked against him, he, instead of folding, went all-in. It worked; after years of rehab and preparation, Murray finally returned to the winner’s circle at the 2019 European Open.
To truly understand how his roller coaster ride of a career, we need to go back to the beginning.
2005-2007: A star in the making
Andy Murray turned pro in 2005 and quickly aimed his sights at the game’s very best. He moved up 347 spots in the ATP rankings, going from 411th to 64th in that year alone.
The young Brit continued his rise the following year. After only a year on tour, he won his first title at the SAP Open in February, defeating Robin Soderling, defending champion Andy Roddick, and Lleyton Hewitt in consecutive matches to take the title. After reaching the finals of the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, Murray broke into the top 20 for the first time in his career and ended 2006 as World #17.
2007 was another step up for Murray as he won two titles and reached the finals of two more. After reaching the finals in Doha to start the year and defended his title shortly after in San Jose. Murray took home the St. Petersburg title in October with a straight-sets victory over Fernando Verdasco. April marked the first time Murray appeared in the top ten and despite a slip-up prior to October, he finished 11th in the world rankings by the end of the year.
2008-2011: Grand Slam breakthroughs and Top 5
2008 was Murrays breakout year. Following three years of potential as one of the game’s best, he took his game to the next level and captured two Masters 1000 titles in Madrid and Cincinnati. In Cincinnati, he captured his third title of the year and first Masters title with a win over Novak Djokovic.
He carried his momentum into the US Open three weeks later, reaching the finals after wins over Stan Wawrinka, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Rafael Nadal before losing in 3 sets to Roger Federer in the championship match. The Brit moved into the top five for the first time following the tournament and finished the year in the same spot.
In 2009, Murray reached a then career-high ranked of 2nd after winning three titles, including the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells. After struggling to get back to the final day in a major, Murray suffered a wrist injury at the US Open and lost in straight sets during week one. He finished the year ranked 4th for the second year in a row.
2010 began very well for Murray; he reached the Australian Open final with wins over Nadal and Marin Cilic before losing to Federer in the finals. He captured two titles, both being Masters 1000 Series’ in Shanghai and Canada. He remained a stalwart in the top five and finished 4th in the world for the third year in a row.
Murray’s most consistent year came in 2011. While he didn’t have the title success that he had in previous seasons, he had a consistent and successful Grand Slam season. He reached the Australian Open finals, this time losing to Djokovic. Murray had his best result in Paris, reaching his first semifinals at the event before bowing out to Nadal.
At Wimbledon, he faced Nadal again in the semifinals and lost in four sets, despite taking the first set. Nadal, for the third time, got the upper hand over Murray in New York, taking him down in the semifinals in four sets. Murray finally took down Nadal in Tokyo to win his 4th title of the year. His last win of the year came in Shanghai, where he defended his Masters title over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and won his second 1000 Series of the year.
Murray finished 4th behind the Big 3 for the 4th consecutive year.
2012: First Grand Slam title and Gold Medal in London
Murray’s 2012 season was his true breakout form. He had consistently finished in the “second-tier” of players and had trouble defeating the Big 3, especially in Grand Slam events. After failing to reach the Australian Open finals to begin the year, he became the first British man to reach the Wimbledon finals since Bunny Austin in 1938.
He played a fantastic match against Federer and started off hot. After taking the first set 6-4, Murray failed to convert on four break-point chances early in the second set and eventually lost the set 7-5. It took the wind out of his sails and he lost the match in four sets.
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His Wimbledon revenge didn’t need to wait until the next year; The London Olympics were being held mere weeks later and Murray was set to represent the host country for the event. In singles, he lost only one set on his way to a straight-sets victory over Federer and became the first Brit to win the Gold since 1908.
Murray reached his second consecutive Grand Slam final and faced Novak Djokovic. It was a grueling 4-hour, 54-minute slugfest that saw the two players combine to break serve 17 times (Murray 8 times, Djokovic 9).
Murray looked to be in control after taking the first two sets 7-6, 7-5 but Djokovic battled back and sent the match into a fifth set. Murray stopped his skid and comfortably took the match, dropping his racket in disbelief and crouching to the ground as Djokovic ripped a forehand long. It was the first time a British male had won a Grand Slam in 76 years and put Murray on the map as one of the newly-dubbed “Big 4”.
He finished the year ranked third, marking the first time he finished a season with a ranking above 4th in the world.
2013: Murray’s triumph at the All-England Club
Murray placed a beautiful wide serve to Djokovic’s backhand, giving enough power that all the Serbian could do was deflect it back with an outstretched arm. The return barely landed in and Murray placed a crosscourt forehand in the same spot as his serve. Djokovic’s succeeding backhand went into the net. Andy Murray was the 2013 Wimbledon Champion.
The All-England Club burst with screams of happiness louder than anything it had ever experienced before. It was a deafening roar, all for their hometown man. Murray raised two fists in the air, pumping them at his box and quickly went to the ground in tears.
He became the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the title. The reign of new World #2 Andy Murray was beginning.
2016: Wimbledon title #2 and ascent to World #1
Murray struggled with injuries after 2013 and fell out of the top ten by 2014. He was back to 2nd in the world in 2015 after winning two Masters 1000 titles and reaching the final of two more, as well as his fourth Australian Open finals appearance. Despite losing to Djokovic, Murray got back into the top four for the first time in 12 months.
The summer of 2016 could possibly be regarded as one of his best stretches of tennis in his career, ranking right up next to his summer four years prior. This time, he won three straight events, beginning with his 5th win at the Queen’s Club Championship. He immediately won his second Wimbledon title, defeating Milos Raonic in straight sets. A gold medal win in Rio De Janiero gave Murray his 3rd consecutive win, becoming the first man to have two gold medals in a singles event.
Murray’s 2016 World Tour Finals victory over Novak Djokovic ensured his place as ATP World #1 for the end of the year. He was the first British man to finish the year at the top since the practice began in 1973. He also became the first player in history to have won a Grand Slam, Olympic Gold Medal, Masters 1000 Series, and the ATP World Tour Finals in the same calendar year.
Murray was on top of the world. However, his roller-coaster ride was about to take an unexpected turn.
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.
2 years and 6 months – The story of Andy Murray
From 1st to 839th and back to 129th, Murray’s career has been a tale of a homegrown champion. He’s become a folk hero in Britain and one of the most loved players of all time.
His career has also been a dark, never-ending tunnel. In the 2 years and 6 months between his 2017 title and his return to glory in 2019, he endured pain and struggle that not even a person’s worst enemy should have to deal with. His life had become overwhelmed with pain and yet, Murray got through all of it.
He fought through every single day of suffering, working harder every day to do what he truly loved. From holding up the Wimbledon trophy for the roar of the British crowd to the holding up of his sanity throughout the years of constant pain, Andy Murray has done it all.
After finally emerging victorious in 2019, he’s completed the roller coaster ride. As sweet as his two Wimbledon titles were, he might just say that his win at the tiny European Open might just have been sweeter.