So, it is finally over.
The career of one of the greatest tennis players in history has now ended following Andy Murray’s exploits at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where he was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles.
With his retirement now confirmed, we look back on five of the most incredible moments from Murray’s career.
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Ending the Wimbledon Wait
The only logical place to start, really. In 2013, it had been 77 years since a British tennis player had won Wimbledon, even longer than the current wait for the England men’s football team to win another trophy!
Murray had the weight of the world on his shoulders as he looked to emulate Fred Perry’s success way back in 1936.
The Scotsman battled his way to the Wimbledon final, where serial winner and then World No1 Novak Djokovic awaited him.
Murray had also lost the 2012 final to Roger Federer but he did not let that faze him on a quite amazing afternoon in the London sunshine.
He won three straight sets, 6-4, 7-5 and 6-4, to claim victory over Djokovic and the biggest success of his glittering career.
So Nice, He Had to Do it Twice
Murray’s maiden Wimbledon triumph was a ground-breaking moment for British tennis and secured his status as a legend of the game.
Three years later, he rocked up to the All England Club and repeated the feat in front of a home crowd.
Djokovic’s shock third-round exit to Sam Querry made Murray the favourite for the tournament – and he certainly coped with the pressure.
He even repeated the feat of winning the final in straight sets, another stat to remind people of just how formidable he was in his prime.
Murray beat Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6 and 7-6, producing arguably the standout performance in a year in which he finally achieved World No1 status.
Olympic Icon
As we previously mentioned, 2016 was the year in which Murray was almost unstoppable.
He arrived at the 2016 Rio Olympics as the defending champion having claimed the gold medal at London 2012, famously beating Roger Federer on grass in the men’s singles final.
Murray had the chance to make history by making it consecutive victories, albeit on the hard surfaces in Brazil this time around.
And guess what? He did just that.
Murray beat Juan Martin del Porto 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 and 7-5 in a thrilling finale to earn himself a second gold medal and cement his legacy as a great Olympian.
Davis Cup glory
A year before his 2016 heroics, Murray helped Great Britain end their long, long wait for success in the Davis Cup.
Great Britain had not won the famous tournament since 1936 – ironically the same year as Perry’s last Wimbledon triumph – but that finally all changed in 2015.
Part of a team including brother Jamie, Murray was instrumental in the final success over Belgium after helping his side overcome the USA, France and Australia in the previous rounds.
After Belgium claimed victory in the opening game of the five-match final, Murray took control.
He beat Ruben Bemelmans in straight sets before joining forces with his sibling to defeat Steve Darcis and David Goffin in the key doubles match.
And Murray then sealed a historic 3-1 victory for Great Britain by beating Goffin in straight sets, creating a truly iconic moment in the process.
First Grand Slam
We finish with Murray’s first Grand Slam victory, a fitting final entry in our eyes.
Murray’s success at the 2012 US Open caught the attention of the world and arguably acted as the springboard for the aforementioned moments on this list.
He arrived at the tournament full of confidence having won gold at the 2012 London Olympics but still had to cope with growing expectation and also had to get the job done against some formidable opponents.
Murray, the World No3 at the time, locked horns with Djokovic in the final and after going two sets ahead, he was pegged back by his adversary and seemingly lost all momentum.
However, the Scotsman kept going and eventually won the fifth and final set in what is still the longest US Open final in history (4 hours and 54 minutes!).
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