Monday, December 23, 2024

Andy Murray: How the British legend has fared at Wimbledon down the years

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We look back at the Wimbledon career of Andy Murray.

2005 – Wimbledon bow

An 18-year-old Murray made his senior Wimbledon bow and there were high hopes for the teenager after his victory at the US Open juniors the previous year. Wins over George Bastl and 14th seed Radek Stepanek only added to the hype.

He faced David Nalbandian in the third round and had the former finalist on the ropes – winning the first two sets – and almost on the canvas until cramp set in and Murray eventually lost in five thrilling sets 6-7 (4-7) 1-6 6-0 6-4 6-1.

The teenage wildcard proved his world-class potential on Centre Court and walked off to a standing ovation.

2006 – Below-par performance

Murray returned to Wimbledon the following year as Britain’s No 1. With an ATP Tour title under his belt, he set up a meeting with ever-popular American Andy Roddick in round three.

The home crowd roared the teenager on and he responded in style to comfortably defeat Roddick in straight sets.

Andy Murray looks frustrated in his match against Marcos Baghdatis at Wimbledon

He was unable to repeat the feat in the next round, however, as he succumbed to flamboyant Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-2) in rather subdued fashion on Centre Court.

2008 – The Gasquet grind

A wrist injury forced Murray to miss the 2007 championships, but the home favourite was back in 2008 and eager to make his mark. Having coasted through his first three encounters, the flying Scotsman went up against Richard Gasquet and his beautiful backhand in round four.

The match turned out to be a classic with Murray fighting back from two sets down to win 5-7 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 6-4 and reach his first Wimbledon quarter-final.

Andy Murray celebrates winning the third set during the men's singles round four match against Richard Gasquet at Wimbledon 2008

A certain Rafael Nadal lay in wait and, despite high hopes, the Spaniard dominated the match as he stormed towards his maiden Wimbledon title.

2009 – Under the lights

With his conqueror from the previous year absent through injury, Murray was the top seed in his half of the draw. He survived a scare in the fourth round against Stan Wawrinka in another dramatic five-set win.

It was the first full match played under the Centre Court roof and it became a classic. The Scot had to dig deep to win it as the match ended at 10.38pm BST – it was the latest finish in Wimbledon history.

Aerial view of Wimbledon during Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka's match in 2008
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Under the lights on Centre Court. It didn’t disappoint!

Following that epic victory, he beat Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets to reach the semi-finals.

Roddick was Murray’s opponent in his first Wimbledon semi-final and the British No 1 was widely expected to see off the American. However, Roddick took advantage of Murray’s cautious approach to win in four sets.

2010 – Semi-final sorrow

The Queen was present to see the highlight of Murray’s 2010 campaign at the All England Club – a crushing straight-sets win over Frenchman Gilles Simon. A quarter-final with another French star, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, provided Murray’s first real test, with the Scot winning in four sets.

Andy Murray in action during the Men's Semi-Final against Rafa Nadal at Wimbledon 2010

The world No 4 faced the daunting task of overcoming Nadal if he wanted to reach his first Wimbledon final. But Nadal proved too strong again, winning in straight sets, 6-4 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.

2011 – Ruthless Rafa

Rafa Nadal reacts after beating Andy Murray during the men's single semi-final at Wimbledon

Another year, another semi-final defeat for Britain’s finest. Nadal was once more the opponent on the opposite side of the net. Murray started well and took the first set 7-5. But things started to unravel from there, and it was the Spaniard who romped to a four-set victory.

2012 – Runner-up

Murray made harder work than in previous years of making the latter stages of the tournament. He required four sets to beat Ivo Karlovic, Baghdatis and David Ferrer to reach the semi-finals, where he dropped another set but comfortably beat Tsonga to reach his first Wimbledon final.

Roger Federer (L) poses with the trophy with loser Andy Murray (R) after his men's singles final at Wimbledon 2012

Six-time champion Roger Federer stood in the way of Murray winning his first Grand Slam title. A fantastic start saw Murray take the first set 6-4, but the Swiss ace hit back to win the next three and claim the title.

Murray’s revenge came just weeks later as he crushed Federer in the Olympic final, which was also held at the All England Club.

Gold medalist Andy Murray celebrates during the medal ceremony at the 2012 Olympic Games in London
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Olympic gold

2013 – The dream comes true

Murray finally realised his lifelong dream in 2013 when he became Britain’s first Wimbledon men’s singles champion for 77 years after beating Novak Djokovic in an historic final.

Andy Murray of Great Britain reacts following his victory in the Gentlemen's Singles Final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day thirteen of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 7, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
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The wait is finally over for Murray

He was in ice-cool form in the searing heat of Centre Court to grind down the 2011 champion, 6-4 7-5 6-4.

The US Open champion’s second Grand Slam triumph saw him become the first Briton since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the men’s crown at the All England Club.

2014 – Disappointing defence

Murray had a new face in his corner for the grass-court season after appointing former women’s world No 1 Amelie Mauresmo as his coach.

He looked in decent touch in the early rounds as he reached the quarter-finals without dropping a set.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02:  Andy Murray of Great Britain and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria after their Gentlemen's Singles quarter-final match on day nine of

But he surprisingly fell well short as he exited the tournament with a humbling 6-1 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 defeat by Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian’s big serve, variety of shots and athletic defence proved the difference.

2015 – Inspirational Federer

Andy Murray shows his frustration during Semi-Final match against Roger Federer at Wimbledon 2015

Murray dropped just two sets en route to another Wimbledon semi-final and, with realistic hopes of reaching his third final at the All England Club, he came up against Federer, who was a week short of his 34th birthday.

The cerebral Swiss provided a masterclass in serving, so much so that at one point in the match Murray shouted towards his box: “What do you want me to do?”

A policeman reacts as he watches the Wimbledon final  between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer
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The drama on Henman Hill was palpable

Federer went an astonishing 45 minutes without dropping a point behind his ultra-reliable first serve as he romped to a 7-5 7-5 6-4 victory.

2016 – Double champion

Andy Murray lifts the trophy
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Wimbledon champion

With Djokovic the victim of a shock early exit, Milos Raonic dumped Federer out in their semi-final to earn a spot opposite Murray in the final. His 11th Grand Slam final was the first against an opponent other than Djokovic or Federer.

Andy Murray of Great Britain celebrates victory in the Wimbledon final
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He did it again!

But the afternoon was all about the man from Dunblane, who romped to a straight-sets win to become a two-time winner and this time he soaked it all in.

2017 and 2018 – Hip problems

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 12: Andy Murray of Great Britain talks during a press conference on day nine of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All E

Murray was hampered by a hip injury as he was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Sam Querrey in 2017. He pulled out of the 2018 tournament, the day before it was set to begin. He said: “Playing best-of-five-set matches might be a bit too soon in the recovery process.”

2019 – The comeback

Andy Murray (R) and US player Serena Williams (L) speak between points against France's Fabrice Martin and US player Raquel Atawo during their mixed doubles second round match on day eight of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 9, 2019.
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Murray and Williams were the dream team of Wimbledon in 2019

Murray returned to Grand Slam tennis less than six months after having hip resurfacing surgery. He competed with France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the men’s doubles, and the mixed doubles with none other than the great Serena Williams.

The Herbert combination did not quite gel, but the ‘Mur-rena’ dream team fared much better until they fell to top seeds Bruno Soares and Nicole Melicha in the fourth round.

2021 – Return from groin injury

Andy Murray reacts during his third round match against Denis Shapovalov on day five of Wimbledon at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon. Picture date: Friday July 2, 2021.

Having seen Wimbledon cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Murray made his return in 2021 on the back of nursing a groin injury for three months.

He would feature as a wild card at Queen’s where he lost to first seed Matteo Berrettini in the second round, before securing a wild card for Wimbledon. Murray opened with wins over Nikoloz Basilashvili and qualifier Oscar Otte only to suffer defeat to Denis Shapovalov in the third round.

2022 – Back in the top 50

Great Britain's Andy Murray (right) shake hands with USA's John Isner after defeat in the second round match on centre court during day three of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon. Picture date: Wednesday June 29, 2022.

Murray logged impressive victories over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios in Stuttgart before losing to Berrettini in three sets, with his form lifting him back into the top 50 for the first time since 2018 at No 47.

He was later ruled out of Queen’s due to injury, but returned to Wimbledon to overcome James Duckworth over four sets in the opening round followed by a second-round defeat to big-serving John Isner.

2023 – Tsitsipas epic

Andy Murray of the U.K. reacts after earning a point against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece during the gentlemen's singles second-round match in the Championships, Wimbledon at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, the United Kingdom on July 7, 2023. The match was postponed due to the closing time of the tournament on the previous day. ( The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images )

Murray and Tsitsipas treated the Centre Court crowd to a thriller as the pair traded excellence in a back-and-forth classic under the lights.

Murray had arrived ranked 40th in the world and came from a set down to build a 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 advantage only for the second-round match to be halted due to the 11pm curfew at Wimbledon.

The delay would prove a cruel dent to Murray’s momentum, with Tsitsipas returning refreshed the following day to march to a 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (7-2) 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 victory after four hours and 40 minutes.

2024 – Murray’s farewell

Andy Murray and Jamie Murray (right) on the practise courts on day two of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London. Picture date: Tuesday July 2, 2024.
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Jamie and Andy prepare to play doubles at Wimbledon on his farewell appearance

Murray, 37, is playing in his final Wimbledon but pulled out of his singles opener against Czech Tomas Machac on Tuesday due to a back problem.

Murray is competing in the men’s doubles with his brother Jamie, while also teaming up with fellow Briton Emma Raducanu in the mixed doubles.

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