March 22, 2018

Player Feature: Tennis Star Andy Murray and His Return to Court

Andy Murray: Former Britain’s No. 1 is set to make comeback

Full Name: Andrew Barron Murray

Birthdate: May 15, 1987
Country (represents): Great Britain
Playing years: 2004 to Present (Turned Pro: 2005)
Plays: Right
Major Titles: 3 (2013 Wimbledon; 2012 US Open)
Championships: Davis Cup Champion
Three-time Grand Slam Champion
ATP World Tour Finals Champion
Two-time Olympic Champion

Formative years

Andy Murray first started playing tennis at the tender age of three when his mother Judy would take him on the local courts. He would grow to become an unbelievably competitive player, training alongside his brother Jamie. By 2004, he won the Junior US Open and BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year. He reached as high as No. 2 in the combined rankings that year. He began playing professional tennis in 2005 and competed in the Open SEAT against Jan Hernych.

Notable Playing Style and Techniques

– Two-handed backhands
– Strong forehand volley
– Finesse drop shots
– Solid slice shots
– Swift transition from defense to offense
– All-court with intense baseline play
– Groundstrokes with low error rate

Court Rivals

Murray versus Nadal
Since 2007, Andy Murray has met with Rafael Nadal 24 times, nine of which are in the Grand Slam level. In 2011, Murray lost three Grand Slam semifinals to Nadal from the French Open to the US Open. Murray proves to be a fierce rival, however, as he beat Nadal on clay to win the Madrid Masters in 2015.

Murray versus Federer
Andy Murray and Roger Federer are long-standing rivals having played 25 times. Federer is on the lead at 14-11 and has beaten Murray in each Grand Slam Final Meeting at the 2008 US Open and 2010 Australian Open. In the 2012 London Olympics though, Murray won straight sets and denied Federer his Golden Slam.

Murray versus Wawrinka
Murray leads at 10-8 against Stan Wawrinka, their most notable match being the 2009 Wimbledon fourth round where Murray won in five sets. He also beat defending champion Wawrinka in the 2016 French Open. This was the first time Murray has reached the French Open final and he became the first British man to achieve the feat since 1937.

Olympics and Wimbledon

He has made historical firsts since then, winning the Olympic gold medal in 2012 and again in 2016 for a back-to-back Olympic singles titles. He went on to claim his third major crown at Wimbledon and win the world No.1 spot at the ATP World Tour Finals in London. He became the first to win a Grand Slam, the ATP World Tour Finals, a Master 1000 titles, and the Olympic games all in the same year.

Post Surgery and Return

The tennis star has been sidelined since last Wimbledon following health complications. After failing to recover from hip surgery last January, he missed playing in the Australian Open. This caused him to slip from the world rankings, losing the British No. 1 title to Kyle Edmund. Fans have feared this would be the end of Murray’s career. But the Olympic champion says the game isn’t over for him and he should be back in court in no time. He’s looking to return to action in two new Challenger Tour. According to Murray, if he can get to his 95 percent best, he should be able to compete at the highest level again.

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