It has been clear for some time now that Andy Murray’s career is entering its final acts. After some positive performances at the Miami Open saw him reach the last 32, there was some very bad news. He revealed that he had suffered a very serious ankle injury during his tense and hugely exciting three-set loss to Tomas Machac and that he would be out for “an extended period”.
He joked that, “I’ll be back with one hip and no ankle ligaments when the time is right.” But many are now concerned that this injury could spell the end of his career. He had already hinted that he could retire in summer 2024, with many feeling that one last outing at Wimbledon and then a crack at the Olympics was how he would have ideally chosen to end his time in the sport.
Whilst there was little real chance of him landing another major, he would have liked to have competed at the French Open, Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics before hanging up his racket. Following this injury, merely making it to SW19 would be a triumph and winning a few matches along the way might be the best he can hope for. But has the Scot won Wimbledon before and, indeed, how many Grand Slams has he won in total?
How Many Majors for Murray?
Murray, or Sir Andy, following his knighthood in 2017, has won three Grand Slam titles. In some ways that may not seem like all that many, but it has to be remembered that he was unfortunate enough to be playing alongside three of the greatest players of all time. Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer’s careers overlapped the Scot’s and each of those three has 20 slams to their name, six more than any other man in history.
Murray’s three career Grand Slams mean he is the fifth most successful British man, but the four men above him, and two who are level on three titles, all won theirs in the game’s amateur era. As such, the man from Dunblane is the most successful male British tennis player of the open era.
The competition Murray faced from the “big three”, plus his standing compared to other Brits, makes his three Grand Slams seem a little more impressive. What’s more, he made the final of one of tennis’s biggest four events 11 times in total. That means eight heartbreaking losses in Grand Slam finals, with five of those coming against Djokovic and three to Federer!
It would be easy for Murray and his legion of loyal fans to wonder “what if…” but rather than imagine how many Grand Slams he might have won had he been born 10 years later or 10 years earlier, let us instead cherish what he did achieve.
Murray’s 1st Grand Slam – 2012 US Open
As is almost inevitable for any British player, Murray has become linked to the grass courts of Wimbledon. However, it was long clear that his best surface was hard court, and he made his first Grand Slam final at the 2008 US Open. Defeat in straight sets followed, as it would at the final of the 2010 and 2011 Australian Open. He made it through to a fourth Grand Slam final in 2012, this time on grass at Wimbledon, and whilst defeat ensued, he did at least manage to claim a set against Federer.
However, later that same year, and after a glorious gold at the London 2012 Olympics, where he beat Federer on grass, Murray finally won his first Grand Slam title. As many had predicted it would, it came in New York. The son of Judy and brother of Jamie beat Djokovic in a thrilling US final, winning in five sets having survived a Djokovic fightback from two sets to love down.
Having made a Slam final in 2010, 2011, then two in 2012, winning one and also claiming the Olympic singles title that year, Murray was really pressing his claim to be included as part of a new “big four”. In 2013 he did enough for that call to be heeded.
2013: Wimbledon Glory at Last
Brits had cheered on Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski at Wimbledon more in hope than expectation but they knew in Murray they had a player who really could end British tennis’s long, long wait for a male Wimbledon champion. 2013 was the year it finally happened, as the Olympic champ once again won at SW19, beating Djokovic with surprising ease, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.
With the Serb still going strong and Murray’s struggles having seemed to have lasted a lifetime, that all seems like a long, long time ago. However, Murray was superb at Wimbledon and gained some measure of revenge against Djokovic, who had beaten him 3-1 in the final at the Australian earlier in the year.
2016: Murray’s Greatest Year Brings Wimbledon Number Two
2014 was the only year between 2010 and 2016 that Murray did not it to a Grand Slam final. This was partly due to back surgery he had in September 2013 and his struggle to come back from that, though he made the last eight or better in all four Slams. 2015 brought another Grand Slam final defeat and two semis but 2016 was probably the greatest year of his whole career.
The Scot made it to a fifth Australian Open final, once again Djokovic defeating him, then it was a case of deja vu in Paris, the Serb claiming his first French Open as Murray made it to his first, and only, final at that tournament. However, summer was to bring much happier times.
Murray claimed the third and final Grand Slam of his career by beating Canadian Milos Raonic in straight sets to win Wimbledon for the second time. Later in the summer, in Rio, he beat Argentine Juan Martin del Potro to defend his Olympic title. His fine form continued and when he won the Paris Masters in November, a fourth straight tournament win, he became the first British male to top the sport’s rankings since the system was introduced in 1973.
Murray then added victory in the ATP World Tour Finals, seeing off Djokovic, to end the year as world number one. Sadly, much of Murray’s time since then has been blighted by injuries, most notably to his hip, and Murray has not made it to another Grand Slam final since his win at Wimbledon. We cannot even dare to dream of him winning a third Wimbledon title but it would be fitting if he could at least enjoy a proper goodbye at the tournament.