Andy Murray: A career in 10 pictures
- Published
A first taste of the Wimbledon courts in 2002. It wasn't yet a the happy hunting ground for Murray, as he was beaten by Alexander Skrypko of Belarus in the first round of the boys' singles tournament.
Title success wasn't too far away, however, and by 2004, Murray had lifted the US Open junior championship. At the age of 17, he had become the first Britain since James Baily at the Australian Open in 1993 to win a junior Grand Slam.
Aged 21, Murray reached his first Grand Slam final at the US Open in 2008. Standing in the way of his maiden title? Then four-time winner at Flushing Meadows, Roger Federer. The dream ended in one hour 51 minutes as Federer stormed to a 6-2 7-5 6-2 victory. "I came up against, in my opinion, the best player ever to play the game today," said Murray.
With the Olympics Games on home soil in 2012, British success was high on the agenda. Murray came face-to-face with world number one Federer in the gold medal match at Wimbledon. This time around, it was the Swiss star who was beaten, 6-2 6-1 6-4, on a raucous Centre Court. The then 25-year-old Murray became the first British man to win Olympic gold since Josiah Ritchie in 1908.
The year was about to get even better for Murray when he headed to the US Open in September. After a 76-year wait for a male Grand Slam singles champion, Britain could finally celebrate tennis success. In an epic match lasting four hours 54 minutes, Murray overcame Novak Djokovic 7-6 (12-10) 7-5 2-6 3-6 6-2 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
In the heat of Centre Court on 7 July, 2013, 15,000 spectators roared Murray to a straight-sets victory over world number one Novak Djokovic. After a gruelling three hours 10 minutes, Murray had finally followed in the footsteps of Fred Perry's 1936 win at the All England Club.
The Davis Cup had not been a tournament Great Britain could shout about. In fact, the last time Britain clinched the title in 1936, Stanley Baldwin was Prime Minister and King Edward VII was on the throne. Enter: Andy Murray. In a cacophony of whistles, shouts and camera flashes, Murray beat Belgium's David Goffin 6-3 7-5 6-3 in Ghent to give the visitors an unassailable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five tie.
Winning two Grand Slam titles is never enough. By 2016, Murray was once again in a men's Wimbledon final, Milos Raonic his opponent this time around. The Canadian's big serve was dismantled in a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) victory. "This is the most important tournament for me every year," the Scot said in an emotional Centre Court interview.
Five weeks after clinching his second Wimbledon title, the 2016 Olympic Games landed in Brazil, with another gold medal there for the taking. In a thrilling 7-5 4-6 6-2 7-5 victory over Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, Murray became the first male tennis player to win two Olympic singles titles.
On the comeback trail in early January, Murray could only reach the second round of the Brisbane International after he was outplayed by Russia's Daniil Medvedev. Following his 7-5 6-2 defeat, the former world number one looked upset as he waved to all sides of the stadium before leaving the court to a standing ovation.
Murray a huge role model for me - Muir
- Published11 January 2019
- Published11 January 2019
- Published11 January 2019
