Andy Murray says this achievement is harder to obtain than winning a Grand Slam
Andy Murray won three Grand Slams during his distinguished career, yet the tennis great “would argue” there is one achievement that is harder to accomplish than winning a major.
Murray ended Great Britain’s long wait for a men’s Grand Slam winner in the Open Era when he defeated Novak Djokovic in the 2012 US Open final, becoming the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win a major.
His title at the US Open came on the back of finishing on the losing side in four finals and, after another runners-up trophy at the 2013 Australian Open, Murray again followed in Perry’s footsteps as he ended the 77-year drought for a home champion at Wimbledon, beating Milos Raonic in the final.
He went on to win a second title at Wimbledon in 2016 and admits it would have been a case of “what could have been” if he failed to win at the All England Club.
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“If I hadn’t won Wimbledon, certainly from a British sporting public perspective, my career would have been a failure,” he said on the latest ATP Tour’s Aces No 1 Club feature.
“The main feeling at the time was just relief. I wouldn’t have to spend the rest of my life thinking about, you know, what if, what could have been.”
Murray, of course, played in an era that was dominated by Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer with the Big Three hogging the No 1 spot in the ATP Rankings.
Yet, Murray went on to become world No 1 after winning four titles in a row at the back-end of the 2016 with his crowning moment coming at the Paris Masters as he became the only the 26th man to top the rankings.
He went one better as he also won the ATP Finals to secure the year-end No 1 ranking.
And it is the No 1 achievement that he feels is harder than winning a Grand Slam.
“To get to No 1 in the world when you’re surrounded by, you know, the greatest players of all time, that’s 52 weeks of really, really hard work and top performances to get there.
“And I would argue it is a lot harder to achieve than winning a Grand Slam.”
Murray won Wimbledon, the ATP Finals, the Shanghai Masters, the Paris Masters, Queen’s Club Championship, China Open and Vienna Open during his all-conquering 2016 season while he also won singles gold at the Rio Games, but no ranking points are on offer at the Olympics.
The British star – who retired after the 2024 Paris Olympics – also finished runner-up at the Australian Open, French Open, Madrid Open, Italian Open and Cincinnati Open that year.
