Andy Murray's top career moments: Olympic gold, Wimbledon wins, US Open victory, reaching world No. 1
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Updated 01/08/2024 at 23:37 GMT
Andy Murray has retired from tennis. The former world No. 1 won three Grand Slam titles - two at Wimbledon and one at the US Open - as well as two Olympic gold medals and the Davis Cup with Great Britain. As he steps away from tennis as one of the greatest to play the game, we look back on the standout moments from Murray's memorable career.
Watch very emotional Murray leave court for final time after doubles defeat in Paris
Andy Murray has retired from tennis.
Murray, 37, played his final match at the Paris Olympic Games and steps away as a former world No. 1, three-time Grand Slam champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist.
He was also a leading member of one of the strongest eras of all time in men’s tennis alongside Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
From Grand Slam wins to reaching the top of the rankings, we look back on Murray’s best career moments…
Back-to-back Olympic golds
He may not have as many Grand Slam titles as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, but Murray has enjoyed more success than any other male player at the Olympics this century.
With his wins in 2012 and 2016, Murray is the only male player to have defended a singles gold medal at the Games.
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Watch emotional final point of Murray's legendary career as Team GB doubles run ends
His London 2012 victory saw him beat Djokovic in a high-quality semi-final, before overcoming Federer in the gold medal match in impressive fashion, avenging his Wimbledon final loss to the Swiss a month earlier.
Speaking this year, Murray described victory in 2012 as “one of the best days of my professional life…definitely one of the happiest I've felt”.
Four years later, his toughest test in Rio came in the final against Juan Martin del Potro. A gruelling four-hour contest eventually went Murray’s way and after an embrace with Del Potro at the net there were tears from the Scot.
Murray, who broke when Del Potro was serving for the fourth set, described the win as "one of the hardest matches I’ve had to play for a big title".
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Andy Murray won Olympic gold in 2012
Image credit: Getty Images
Reaching world No. 1
Murray was at the peak of his powers in 2016.
After losing in the Australian Open and French Open finals, he won Wimbledon, then finished the year by winning 24 matches in a row to get to world No. 1 for the first time.
Anyone doubting just how good Murray was over the last 15 years need only to look at who else reached world No. 1 in the era of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer. Nobody.
"Andy is definitely No. 1 in the world," said Djokovic after losing to Murray in the final of the 2016 ATP Finals. "He is the best player.”
Murray held the world No. 1 position for 41 consecutive weeks.
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Davis Cup success
Murray played an instrumental role in Great Britain winning the Davis Cup in 2015 and lifting the trophy for the first time since 1936.
It wasn’t just in the final where Murray was flawless – he shone from the start.
In March he won two singles matches against the USA, then in July he went 3-0 in singles and doubles in victory over France at Queen’s. Murray repeated that against Australia in the semi-finals, winning both his singles matches and also a key five-set doubles match against Sam Groth and Lleyton Hewitt.
It was fitting that in the final he should wrap it up with victory over David Goffin, joining John McEnroe and Mats Wilander as the only men to have an 8-0 singles record in a Davis Cup year. He also became only the fourth man to win 11 rubbers in a single year.
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Andy Murray celebrates winning the 2015 Davis Cup
Image credit: Getty Images
US Open breakthrough win
How would Murray’s career have panned out if he hadn’t had his Grand Slam breakthrough at the 2012 US Open?
We will never know, but looking back now it appears a significant moment.
Murray had lost in four previous Grand Slam finals and six semi-finals. All his final defeats had been to Djokovic or Federer.
Would he be able to finally get over the line against Djokovic in the US Open final?
Murray started brightly, taking the first two sets as he seemingly closed on victory. But Djokovic fought back, and in a match that included a 54-shot rally, an 87-minute first set, and one of the all-time great tie-breaks, forced a fifth set.
It was Murray who stood tallest in the decider as he became Great Britain’s first male Grand Slam champion since Fred Perry in 1936.
“That was a huge moment for me,” said Murray in 2022 about winning his first Grand Slam title.
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Andy Murray beat Novak Djokovic in the 2012 US Open final
Image credit: Getty Images
“I’d been put under a lot of pressure to try and achieve that. A lot of what I’d achieved in my career up to that point felt, to me anyway, kind of irrelevant because of the questions I’d continued to get asked about winning Slams.
“Am I good enough? Am I fit enough? Am I mentally strong enough? Lots and lots of questions over a period of time. And it was nice to finally be able to move on from that.”
Wimbledon victories
By the summer of 2013 Murray had won an Olympic title and his first Grand Slam title – but a Wimbledon title remained elusive.
In the previous four years, Murray had lost in three straight semi-finals and the final.
He went into 2013 as the second seed and his hopes of victory were done no harm by shock early exits for Federer and Nadal. Murray reached the final – his biggest scare coming in the quarters where he lost the first two sets against Fernando Verdasco – and was pitted against Djokovic.
Just as he did in New York a year earlier, Murray came out on top, winning 6-4 7-5 6-4 to end Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s champion.
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Andy Murray celebrates winning Wimbledon in 2013
Image credit: Getty Images
Murray played superbly and held his nerve in a dramatic final game that saw him pass up three match points from 40-0 and then fend off three break points before eventually sealing victory.
"I remember it being unbelievably stressful and then at the end of it huge relief," Murray later said of the win.
Three years later, Murray won Wimbledon for a second time, showcasing his brilliant defensive skills to beat big-serving Milos Raonic in the final.
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