With prodigious talent on the court and a disdain for public relations off it, Andy Murray is quickly making it clear that he’s not Tim Henman!!
After a brief but significant hiatus following Murray's pledge to support “whoever are playing against England”, the 21-year-old has triumphed over the Wimbledon crowds using his mix of passion, aggression and natural skill.
The strawberry munching masses of SW19 swiftly re-adjusted their expectations and started to see Murray as a player with real potential. A winner, who could go all the way and bring back trophies to the UK.
As part of a talented sporting family, Murray was an early starter, picking up a tennis racket from the age of 2. Murray's tennis coach from 11 to 17 said he'd never seen a five-year-old like Murray, describing him as unbelievably competitive." But tennis was not Andy’s only talent. A keen player of the beautiful game, Glasgow Rangers were interested in his skill, but Andy preferred the one-on-one battles of the tennis court.
At age 15, the lack of players to train with led Murray to move to Barcelona to gain experience at the distinguished Sanchez Casal academy. For the ambitious youngster it was a chance to push himself even harder and take the next step in fulfilling his ambition to become a champion. His gruelling training paid off and the player began to gain recognition and trophies. In 2004, Murray won the US Open boys title and BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year. The 17-year-old was becoming a sportsman known to all and a force to be reckoned with on court. Murray’s breakthrough year came a year later in March when he was called up to the Davis Cup team for the second time. He made history as the youngest ever British player in a cup match and he won.
Turning pro the same year, Murray was knocked out in the first round of the ATP Open in Barcelona by Jan Hernych. Wildcards at the Stella Artois Championship at Queens and Wimbledon followed and Murray’s arrival in world tennis was duly noted.
At Queen’s, the precursor to Wimbledon, Murray made the 3 rd round before retiring due to muscle cramp. Murray’s first senior foray at Wimbledon was to be even more spectacular. Ranked 374th in the world, he beat 14th seed Radek Stepanek in straight sets, going on to be the only remaining Brit in the singles as well as the first Scot in the Open to reach the third round. In the next round Murray stormed to a two-set lead over former finalist David Nalbandian before succumbing to exhaustion and losing the final three sets. The scruffy, sometimes surly teenager had screamed and huffed his way into the British psyche, in the process offering a glimpse of his truly awesome potential. His raw ambition was an exciting counter to the smiling good manners of UK No. 1 – and Murray’s idol - Tim Henman.
The player was soon in action again, reaching the second round of the US Open and eventually seeding in the ATP top 100 in September 2006 after beating Robin Soderling in the Thailand Open before losing the final to world No. 1 Roger Federer. His ranking rose to 72. After a brief injury spell Murray returned in the Davidoff Swiss Indoors where he went on to beat the flailing Henman. He shot through the ranks and soon secured his first ATP Tour win with a win over Lleyton Hewitt in the final of the SAP Open in San Jose, California, in February 2006. Murray was the fourth youngest player ever to win on the tour.
Back at Wimbledon in the summer of 2006, the young sportsman reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time before being beaten by Marcos Bagdhatis. Another final followed in August, when he lost to Arnaud Clement in the Legg Mason Classic in Washington DC. At the Cincinnati Masters Murray defeated Federer to reach the quarters. He and Rafael Nadal were the only players to defeat the world’s best player that year. Murray finished 2007 ranked 17th in the world.
Despite his achievements, it was a year of mixed fortunes. He recorded the largest ever victory at the Australian Open, 6-0, 6-0, 6-1 en route to face Rafael Nadal in the fourth round. Nadal won in five sets in what Murray said was the best performance of his career to date. In recognition of his growing success, he was shortlisted for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year alongside Formula One golden boy Lewis Hamilton and marathon-running supremo Paula Radcliffe. However, he was beaten by boxer of the moment Joe Calzaghe. Following this minor disappointment, Murray was set to make history. He shot through the ranks and soon secured his first ATP Tour win with a win over Lleyton Hewitt in the final of the SAP Open in San Jose in February 2006. Murray was the fourth youngest player ever to win on the tour. Winning the SAP Open for the second year, he and brother Jamie became the first siblings ever to take the singles and doubles titles.
Murray’s matches so far had been peppered with inconsistency, and the Indian Wells Masters proved to be a turning point. Forcing past fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko into the quarters, he injured himself in a fall during a tough match against Tommy Haas. The injury hampered his appearance in the semis, and after sustaining another injury in training he struggled in the Miami Masters before missing the Davis Cup. Despite this, Murray broke into the ATP top ten for the first time in April 2007. An injured wrist saw the player abandon a match in the Hamburg Masters before withdrawing from the French Open and announcing his absence from Queen’s, the precursor to Wimbledon.
A great deal of media speculation over his recovery followed, but ultimately Murray was forced to abstain, much to the chagrin of the SW19 crowds. They would have to put their faith in Henman. Coming back from his injury, Murray reached the third round of the US Open and again competed for Great Britain in the Davis Cup but still showed inconsistent form: he reached the final of the Metz International, stuttered in the Kremlin Cup and reached the third round of the Madrid Masters before winning another tour title in St Petersburg. In the 2007 Paris Masters, he was knocked out in the quarter finals by Richard Gasquet, a result which denied Murray a place in the 2007 Tennis Masters.
Splitting with £750,000-a-year coach Brad Gilbert late in 2007, Murray set about taking control of his future.
He also got together a new training team, hoping this would lead him to the top of his game in the New Year.
It included strength and conditioning coach Matt Little, who introduced the sportsman to Bikram yoga in a bid to improve his flexibility. Known as “hot yoga”, this involves practicing the exercise in a room heated to 40C. A second coach, Jez Green, was also drafted in. His goal was to up Murray’s serve to more than 140mph and drastically improve his upper body strength. Lastly, physiotherapist Andy Ireland joined Team Murray to soothe any aches or pains after a hard day on the court. Any doubters after his split with Gilbert were proved wrong by the stronger, more disciplined player Murray has became under the guidance of the new team.
Winning the 2008 Qatar Open in his first tournament come back, Murray’s performance was promising, but after a first round loss in the Australian Open he withdrew from the Davis Cup team in a mini-storm of controversy.
It was a decision which was justified when he won his fifth career title at his next tournament in Marseille.
Another win over world No.1 Federer came in Dubai, followed by a fourth round exit from the Indian Wells Masters and a second round loss to Mario Ancic at the Miami Masters. Seeded 10th at the French Open, Murray produced some masterful tennis to reach the third round before falling to clay specialist Nicolas Almagro.
As the 12th seed at Wimbledon, Murray inched ever nearer to joining the true elite of the game. After a stunning comeback to beat Richard Gasquet over five sets in the fourth round he could not muster the energy to effectively challenge eventual winner Rafael Nadal. Despite defeat, his development as a player was evident to fans. The self-control and strength he displayed on the grass courts proved Murray had a new, matured approach to his game. For the first time the British crowds were truly behind the player. Any initial nostalgia for Henman was banished by his playing and new effort to engage with Centre Court. Praising the fans for their support following his game with Gasquet, Murray said he “couldn’t thank them enough” for getting behind him.
After the Wimbledon defeat, there wasn’t long to wait before the player achieved greater success at the US Masters. After reaching the semi-finals of the Toronto Masters, Murray finally won his first Masters Series title with a second stunning victory over world No. 3 Djokovic in Cincinnati. The win moved Murray to a career high of sixth in the world.
At the time of writing Murray has moved to number four in the worlds tennis rankings and closing in on the Serbian number one Djokovic.
