Andy Murray: Gritty fighter on tennis court

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, to Williams Murray and Judy Murray, Andy took up tennis at the age of 3. Growing up with elder brother Jamie, who also played the game, Andy had attended the Dunblane Primary School in Scotland.

Formative Years

Murray played his first tennis tournament at the age of 5. By 8, he was already competing with seniors. When he was 10, his parents separated and though the brothers lived with their father, their mother, who was a tennis coach, continued to guide them in the sport. He won the US Open Junior Boys’ singles title in 2004. Next year, he made it to the semi-finals of French Open boys’ section but lost to Croatian Marin Cilic.

Moving Up The Ladder

In 2005, Murray made his first appearance at Wimbledon as a wildcard and progressed till the third round, in which he went down to Argentine David Nalbandian. He also received a wildcard entry in the US Open, where he lost to Australian Arnaud Clement in the second round. The same year, he made it to the final of the Thailand Open and faced Roger Federer. Despite a loss against the Swiss master, Murray broke into the ATP’s top 100 with the 64th rank. In 2006, Murray became the top-ranked British player for six weeks. In the Cincinnati Masters, he pulled off a shock win over Roger Federer to enter the top 20 rankings for the first time. The next year, Murray lost to Federer in the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Into The Elite League

On April 10, 2007, Murray was ranked 10th in the world. In 2008, he lost the Wimbledon quarterfinals but entered the US Open final but lost to Federer. Murray defeated then world number one Rafael Nadal in the ABN-AMRO tournament in Rotterdam to win his overall 11th career title. He lost the French Open semi-final to Nadal and attained the world number 2 rank, which was the highest achieved by a Briton. In 2011, Murray again reached the final round of Australian Open but lost to Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.

First Grand Slam Title

In 2012, Murray reached the Wimbledon finals but once again lost to Federer. He, however, got the better of Federer to win the 2012 Summer Olympics singles’ gold medal in London. The same year, he wrested the US Open titled, beating Djokovic in the final to become the first British player to win a Grand Slam title since 1977.

Recent Years

In 2013, Murray made it to the Wimbledon final, in which he overcame Djokovic after a marathon match. The win made Murray the first British player to win the Wimbledon title since 1936. Over the next two years, Murray’s performances were badly hit by injuries and a surgery that he underwent to correct his back problem. The year 2016 witnessed him win his second Wimbledon title, taking his Grand Slam tally to 3 and giving him the 38th career title. The same year, he also won his second gold medal at the Rio Olympics. Murray was knighted in the 2017. Over the last three years, Murray struggled with a series of injuries and his rank has now dropped sharply.

INTERESTING FACTS

1. Murray at the age of 15, was on the verge of joining the Rangers Football Club in Scotland but he opted for tennis. He supported the Edinburgh-based Hibernian Football Club as his maternal grandfather had played it.

2. Murray is the co-founder of Malaria No More UK, an organization whose objective is to combat the deadly disease. He had commented,“It costs less than a pack of tennis balls to treat and help save a life.”

3. After winning the 2012 US Open title, Murray was considered among the four big stars of tennis. The others are Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The final lasted for 4 hours and 54 minutes.

4. Murray was born with bipartite patella – a condition where the bones of knee remain two separate bones instead of one complete joint. He has often been pulled out of events because of the pain.

5. In 2004, Murray was chosen by the BBC as young sportsman of the year at the Sports Personality of the Year Show. Just before he received the award he accidentally locked himself in the hotel’s toilet.

Sources: Tennis World, Association of Tennis ,Professionals and Wikipedia