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|playername= Andy Murray
|playername= Andy Murray
|image=[[Image:Andy murray cincy 2008.jpg|240px]]
|image=[[Image:Andy murray cincy 2008.jpg|240px]]
|country= United Kingdom
|country= Great Britain<ref>[http://news.stv.tv/sport/68807-a-brief-history-of-andy-murray/ "2005 - March - Becomes the youngest player ever to represent Great Britain in the Davis Cup."], [[STV]], 22 January 2009</ref><br>Scotland<ref>[http://www.aecc.co.uk/aberdeencuptennis.aspx Aberdeen Cup 2006]: "The Scotland vs England team challenge... will see Murray lead his country against an England team led by Rusedski", accessed 27 January 2009</ref>
|residence= [[London]]<ref name="biography" />
|residence= [[London]]<ref name="biography" />
|datebirth= {{birth date and age|1987|5|15|df=y}}
|datebirth= {{birth date and age|1987|5|15|df=y}}
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'''Andrew "Andy" Murray''' (born 15 May 1987) is a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[tennis]] player who is currently the highest-ranked [[Great Britain|British]] player.<ref name="telegraphnat">[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2008/06/23/stmurr123.xml Wimbledon: Andy Murray promises to focus], ''[[Daily Telegraph]]''.</ref><ref name="mirrornat">[http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/2008/06/23/wimbledon-more-mature-andy-murray-ready-to-shine-89520-20618073/ "I am Scottish. I am also British. I am patriotic and proud to be Scottish"], ''[[Daily Mirror]]''.</ref> Murray broke into the official [[Association of Tennis Professionals|ATP]] Top 10 for the first time on 16 April 2007, and reached a career-high of No. 4 after the [[2008 U.S. Open (tennis)|2008 U.S. Open]], in which he reached the final, losing to [[Roger Federer]].<ref>{{cite news| first = Karen | last = Crouse | authorlink = | author = | coauthors = | title = The Arthur Ashe Crowd Has Fallen Out of Love With an Achy Djokovic | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/06/sports/tennis/06men.html?em | format = | work = | publisher = [[New York Times]]| location = | id = | pages = | page = | date = 2008-09-05 | accessdate = 2008-09-08 | language = | quote = | archiveurl = | archivedate = }}</ref>
'''Andrew "Andy" Murray''' (born 15 May 1987) is a British [[tennis]] player who is currently the highest-ranked [[Great Britain|British]] player.<ref name="telegraphnat">[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2008/06/23/stmurr123.xml Wimbledon: Andy Murray promises to focus], ''[[Daily Telegraph]]''.</ref><ref name="mirrornat">[http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/2008/06/23/wimbledon-more-mature-andy-murray-ready-to-shine-89520-20618073/ "I am Scottish. I am also British. I am patriotic and proud to be Scottish"], ''[[Daily Mirror]]''.</ref> Murray broke into the official [[Association of Tennis Professionals|ATP]] Top 10 for the first time on 16 April 2007, and reached a career-high of No. 4 after the [[2008 U.S. Open (tennis)|2008 U.S. Open]], in which he reached the final, losing to [[Roger Federer]].<ref>{{cite news| first = Karen | last = Crouse | authorlink = | author = | coauthors = | title = The Arthur Ashe Crowd Has Fallen Out of Love With an Achy Djokovic | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/06/sports/tennis/06men.html?em | format = | work = | publisher = [[New York Times]]| location = | id = | pages = | page = | date = 2008-09-05 | accessdate = 2008-09-08 | language = | quote = | archiveurl = | archivedate = }}</ref>


In December 2005, Murray won the [[BBC Scotland]] [[Scottish Sports Personality of the Year|Sports Personality of the Year]] Award and the sport section of the Top Scot awards. His elder brother [[Jamie Murray (tennis)|Jamie]] is Great Britain's highest ranked doubles player. Murray is most proficient on a fast surface (such as hard courts or grass), although he has worked hard recently on improving his clay court game.<ref>{{cite news|author=BBC Sport|title=Corretja to help Murray on clay | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7331593.stm|date =2008-04-04| accessdate =2008-07-01 | language =English}}</ref> Murray works with a team of fitness experts,<ref name = "Belfast Telegraph">[http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/other-sports/article3826890.ece Andy Murray: A nation expects], ''[[Belfast Telegraph]]'', 23 June 2008.</ref> with [[Miles Maclagan]] currently acting as his main coach.<ref name = "Belfast Telegraph"/> He was previously coached by American [[Brad Gilbert]].
In December 2005, Murray won the [[BBC Scotland]] [[Scottish Sports Personality of the Year|Sports Personality of the Year]] Award and the sport section of the Top Scot awards. His elder brother [[Jamie Murray (tennis)|Jamie]] is Great Britain's highest ranked doubles player. Murray is most proficient on a fast surface (such as hard courts or grass), although he has worked hard recently on improving his clay court game.<ref>{{cite news|author=BBC Sport|title=Corretja to help Murray on clay | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7331593.stm|date =2008-04-04| accessdate =2008-07-01 | language =English}}</ref> Murray works with a team of fitness experts,<ref name = "Belfast Telegraph">[http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/other-sports/article3826890.ece Andy Murray: A nation expects], ''[[Belfast Telegraph]]'', 23 June 2008.</ref> with [[Miles Maclagan]] currently acting as his main coach.<ref name = "Belfast Telegraph"/> He was previously coached by American [[Brad Gilbert]].

Revision as of 09:05, 27 January 2009

For other people named Andrew Murray (disambiguation), see Andrew Murray (disambiguation) (disambiguation).
Andy Murray
Country (sports)United Kingdom
ResidenceLondon[1]
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) [2]
Turned pro2005
PlaysRight-handed; two-handed backhand
Prize moneyUS$5,932,434
Singles
Career record160–65
Career titles9
Highest rankingNo. 4 (8 September 2008)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open4R (2007, 2009)
French Open3R (2008)
WimbledonQF (2008)
US OpenF (2008)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsSF (2008)
Doubles
Career record20–32
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 89 (2 April 2007)
Last updated on: 12 January 2009.

Andrew "Andy" Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British tennis player who is currently the highest-ranked British player.[3][4] Murray broke into the official ATP Top 10 for the first time on 16 April 2007, and reached a career-high of No. 4 after the 2008 U.S. Open, in which he reached the final, losing to Roger Federer.[5]

In December 2005, Murray won the BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year Award and the sport section of the Top Scot awards. His elder brother Jamie is Great Britain's highest ranked doubles player. Murray is most proficient on a fast surface (such as hard courts or grass), although he has worked hard recently on improving his clay court game.[6] Murray works with a team of fitness experts,[7] with Miles Maclagan currently acting as his main coach.[7] He was previously coached by American Brad Gilbert.

Early life

Andy Murray was born to Willie and Judy in Glasgow, Scotland.[8][1] His maternal grandfather was a professional footballer who played reserve team matches for Hibernian and senior football for Stirling Albion;[9] as a result, Murray is a Hibs fan.[10] Murray has a bipartite patella, where the kneecap remains as two separate bones instead of fusing together in early childhood.[11][12] Murray attended Dunblane Primary School, where he experienced the Dunblane Massacre of 1996.[13] Thomas Hamilton killed 17 people, mostly children who were in a younger age group than Murray, before turning one of his four guns on himself. Murray himself took cover in a classroom.[14] Murray says he was too young to understand what was happening and is reluctant to talk about it in interviews, but in his autobiography Hitting Back he says that he attended a youth group run by Hamilton, and that his mother gave him rides in her car.[15] Murray went on to attend Dunblane High School.[16][17]

Murray first picked up a tennis racquet when he was two years old, and was soon playing with his older brother Jamie. Leon Smith, Murray's tennis coach from 11 to 17, said he'd never seen a five-year-old like Murray, describing him as "unbelievably competitive." Murray attributes his abilities to the motivation gained from losing to Jamie, who had been the second-best junior player in the world. He first beat Jamie in an under-12s final in Solihull, afterwards teasing Jamie until his brother hit him hard enough to lose a nail on his left hand. At 12, Murray won the Orange Bowl, a prestigious event for under-12s. [18] He briefly moved away from tennis, turning towards football instead, but soon reverted.[19]

When playing against Rafael Nadal, who was a year older than Murray, he found out Nadal was training with Carlos Moyà, the world number one.[16][17] Murray was angry that he had only his brother to practice with, so when he was 15 he moved to Barcelona, Spain, where he attended the Schiller International School[20] and trained on the clay courts of the Sánchez-Casal Academy. Murray described this as "a big sacrifice to move away from your family, and spend money training over there when you're not making any back".[17] His schoolwork was also sacrificed during this period; despite being bright, he left without qualifications. While in Spain he trained with Emilio Sánchez, formerly the world number one doubles player.[17] In September 2004, he won the junior US Open and was selected for the Davis Cup match against Austria later that month.[21] Later that year, he won BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.[22]

Career

2005

In 2005, Murray began to make an impact on the main ATP Tour. He came to public attention after reaching the third round at both the Stella Artois championship at Queens and at Wimbledon. Almost all of his ATP tour wins came on hard and grass courts, though he has claimed to prefer clay courts, a liking tied to his training in Barcelona as a junior.[23]

In March 2005, he was called up to play doubles for the Great Britain's Davis Cup team against Israel, and became the youngest ever Briton to play in the Davis Cup.[24] Murray and David Sherwood produced a surprise win over the Israeli doubles team, who at the time were the world number eight pairing and had reached the Wimbledon semi-final in 2003.[24] This helped the Great Britain team to a 3–2 victory.

Prior to the junior French Open in April, Murray turned professional and played his first senior tournament when he was given a wild card to the ATP Open SEAT clay-court event in Barcelona, his adopted home town. He lost in the first round to Jan Hernych. After this, he reached the semi-finals of the Boys' tournament at the French Open. The Barcelona tournament gave Murray his first senior ranking point, and he was soon handed a second wild card for the main tour, this time at Stella Artois championship at Queen's, London. He progressed to the third-round but retired due to a cramp.[25]

Murray was awarded a wildcard for Wimbledon. He went into his first senior Grand Slam ranked 374th in the world, but managed to produce a major upset by defeating fourteenth seed Radek Štěpánek in straight sets. He was the first Scottish person in the Open era to reach round three at Wimbledon, and was the only Briton remaining in the men's or ladies' singles championship. Murray's run in Wimbledon 2005 came to an end when he was beaten by David Nalbandian after leading by two sets to love.

During the tournament his performances saw Henman Hill re-christened as Mount Murray / Murray Mound / Murrayfield (a reference to Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh),[26] and Henmania became 'Andymonium'.

Mark Petchey, who had been coaching Murray through the early part of that grass court season was then confirmed as the player's full time coach, Murray stating:

I'm so pleased to have Mark as my coach, I respect him a great deal. He has helped me massively over the last few weeks and I am excited to work with him moving forward.[27]

He began the U.S. hardcourt season by winning his first title at the Aptos Challenger Series hardcourt event without dropping a set. A wildcard afforded him entry to the Cincinnati Masters event where he played his first match against a top-ten player, Marat Safin, in the second-round. Murray lost the match, 6–4, 1–6, 6–1.

Murray was ranked No. 122 in the world and had to qualify for the U.S. Open. He was able to reach the second-round, playing two five-set matches. On 29 September he finally reached the top 100, when he beat Robin Söderling in the Thailand Open. He reached the final by beating home favourite Paradorn Srichaphan, but lost to World No. 1 Roger Federer once there. Federer was on a 30-match winning streak coming into the match, whilst Murray was playing in his first senior final. His world ranking rose to inside the top 70 after the event.[28]

Murray returned from a short injury layoff to play at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in October. He was drawn in the first-round against British number one Tim Henman, with this tie being first time the two had met in professional competition. Murray defeated Henman, 6–2, 5–7, 7–6(4).[29] He defeated Tomas Berdych in three sets before losing in the quarter finals to world number 10 Fernando González 6–4, 3–6, 6–1. Murray's season ended after this tournament. His performances throughout the year drew praise from John McEnroe amongst others, who suggested that Murray would overtake Henman as the British number one in 2007, and said that, "With Murray the sky's the limit".[30] Murray had risen from being outside the world's top 400 at the start of the year to a high of 65 after the Swiss Indoors.[31]

In December Murray won the BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year 2005.

2006

Murray began the 2006 season with second round exits in two tournaments, followed by a first round loss to Juan Ignacio Chela in his first Australian Open appearance. After winning a match against Kenneth Carlsen at the Heineken Open in Auckland, Murray told an on-court reporter that he thought "we both played like women in the first set".[32] He later explained that he had recently watched a match between two women which featured nine breaks of serve in a set, and he was comparing that to his match against Carlsen.[32][33][dead link]

Murray then won his first ATP title, the SAP Open in San Jose, California, by beating two former world number one players in the form of Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt. He reached the quarter-finals in his next tournament in Memphis. He lost in the first round of six of the next nine tournaments he played in, including first round exits at the French Open and at Queen's Club. During this run, Murray unsuccessfully partnered Greg Rusedski in the UK's Davis Cup tie, after missing the singles through injury.

As he climbed into the top 100 players, Murray gained a reputation of being "petulant" with the media.[34][35] When playing in Davis Cup doubles with Greg Rusedski, against Nenad Zimonjić and Ilija Bozoljac, Murray incurred a $2,500 fine for swearing at the umpire. His words were over a line call which was caught on microphone and televised live. Later he admitted swearing, saying "We got an absolute shocker and I told the umpire how bad he was".[36]

Murray's cramping problems contributed to his defeat in the first round of the 2006 Monte Carlo Masters,[37] and he was hampered by a back problem in his defeat to Gaël Monfils at the 2006 French Open. Murray put his fitness problems down to the fact that he was still growing, saying "I had an X-ray and it showed the bones aren't fully grown. That's why my back gets sore and that's why I get cramp."[38]

At Wimbledon, Murray reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time, after defeating third seed Roddick in the third round. His run was then ended with a straight-sets loss to Marcos Baghdatis. He reached the semi-final and final of the next two tournaments he entered (the Hall of Fame Championships in Newport and the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, respectively). In between, he won a singles match against Andy Ram in the Davis Cup tie with Israel.

Murray reached the semi-final of the Canada Masters, losing to Richard Gasquet. In the next tournament, the Cincinnati Masters, he lost to Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals after earlier defeating the then world number 1, Roger Federer. Murray was one of only two players to beat Federer in 2006, the other being Rafael Nadal. The final grand slam of the year, the U.S. Open, saw Murray reach the fourth round, before losing to the seeded Nikolay Davydenko in four sets. This was followed by his final Davis Cup appearance for the year, in which he won both singles rubbers in straight sets and lost the doubles en route to a British victory over the Ukraine, which ensured the team's continued presence in group 1 of the Europe/Africa zone for 2007.

In the final set of tournaments in 2006 he lost to Tim Henman in the first round of the Thailand Open (where he had reached the final the year before) He reached the final of the doubles, partnered by his brother. At the Madrid Masters, he defeated number 3 seed Ivan Ljubičić before losing to Novak Đoković in the round of 16. In his final tournament of the year, the Paris Masters, Murray beat Chela, and lost in the next round to Dominik Hrbatý. At the end of the year, Murray was ranked 17th in the world.

2007

At the Australian Open, Murray's first Grand Slam of the calendar year, he was seeded 15th. In his first round match he beat Alberto Martín of Spain 6–0, 6–0, 6–1, which equalled the largest-ever victory at the Australian Open, in the Open Era, which began in 1968. In the fourth round Murray faced Rafael Nadal for the first time in his career. After leading by 2 sets to 1, Murray lost in 5 sets to Nadal, 6–7(3), 6–4, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1. After the match Murray stated that it was the best performance of his career.[39]

Andy Murray successfully defended his San Jose title, beating Ivo Karlović 6–7(3), 6–4, 7–6(2) in a closely fought final. His brother also won the doubles title. They became the first pair of brothers to win singles and doubles titles at the same event since Emilio and Javier Sánchez at Kitzbühel in 1989.[40]

At the Indian Wells Masters event Murray made his way into the quarter finals after a 7–6(5), 6–4 victory over number four seed Nikolay Davydenko. He then proceeded to save two match points and recover from a serious fall, in which he injured his ankle and hip, and bounce back to beat German Tommy Haas to progress to the semi-finals, winning 3–6, 6–3, 7–6(8). He could not make it to the final though, hampered by the injury he sustained in the quarter final against Haas, he lost 6–2, 6–3 to Novak Djokovic. Despite the loss, he rose to a career high ranking of 12th in the world.[41] At the Miami Masters he faced Djokovic again, and lost heavily 6–1, 6–0. It was reported that Murray had been injured in training the day before and was a doubt for the Davis Cup tie the following week.[42] However, he did rise to a career high ranking of 11th in the world. On 13 April, Murray clinched a place in the top 10 after the former No. 10 Tommy Haas failed to reach the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships semi-finals in Houston.[43]

After the Hamburg Masters, where Murray was forced to abandon in the first set of his first round match against Italian Filippo Volandri due to a wrist injury, he announced that he was forced to withdraw his participation to the 2007 French Open. Shortly after this, he announced that he would not be able to take part in the tournament of Queen's, the preparatory tournament to The Championships, Wimbledon. He announced that he could not take part in Wimbledon either.[44] Murray rose to No. 8 in the world even though he was inactive, because other players failed to defend points. After missing Wimbledon and several other tournaments, he dropped to 14th in the rankings.

Murray returned to play at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, three months after sustaining the wrist injury and lost in the second round to world number 139 Fabio Fognini 6–2, 6–2. The following week at Cincinnati Murray lost in the opening round to Marcos Baghdatis 6–1, 6–2 and his ranking fell to number 19. He reached the third round of the U.S. Open. After an opening straight sets victory over against Pablo Cuevas, he needed five sets to defeat Jonas Björkman. Then he fell to Lee Hyung-taik in four sets, 6–3, 6–2, 2–6, 7–5.

Murray then won a £50,000 exhibition event; the Betfair Turbo Tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London. He defeated former Wimbledon Champion Goran Ivanišević 7–4 in the final. Murray commented afterwards, "I really enjoyed myself, and the crowd were unbelievable. It was a lot of fun playing a tennis match like this. For me to play against two Wimbledon champions in one day was great."[45][dead link]

Murray went on to compete for Great Britain in the Davis Cup tie against Croatia played at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. He defeated Marin Čilić in a close five set match to take Britain to a 1–0 lead. Tim Henman won the second rubber and partnered with Jamie Murray to win the doubles title. Murray played the fourth rubber defeating Roku Karanusić 6–4, 7–6(4).

Murray started the Autumn indoor season with a strong showing at the Metz International in France. Wins over Janko Tipsarević, Michaël Llodra, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Guillermo Cañas saw him reach the final of the tournament. In the final Murray took on top seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo and lost 0–6, 6–2, 6–3; showing inconsistent form. Murray then headed to the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, where he had a solid opening-round win over young Russian hopeful Evgeny Korolev, before falling to Janko Tipsarević—the man who he beat in Metz the previous week—in the second round. Murray also spoke out in the British press claiming that "everyone is aware" of the match fixing problems that exist in tennis.[46]

Murray reached the third round of the Madrid Masters, where he defeated Juan Ignacio Chela in the second round. He met Rafael Nadal in the third round, and both players traded breaks of serve throughout the match, but Murray eventually lost 7–6(5) 6–4. Following this Murray competed in St Petersburg taking out Dmitry Tursunov in a tight match 3–6, 7–6(2), 6–4 to reach a semi-final against Mikhail Youzhny. Murray reached his 7th career final in St Petersburg with a 6–2, 5–7, 7–6(1) win. He faced Fernando Verdasco in the final, winning 6–2, 6–3.

Murray then played in the 2007 Paris Masters, and defeated Fabrice Santoro in the third round 6–4, 6–2 before falling to home favorite Richard Gasquet 6–3, 0–6, 6–4 in the quarterfinals. This defeat ended his chances of qualification for the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup, while Gasquet received the last available place. After the tournament, Murray stood at number 12.[47]

In late November, Murray split from coach Brad Gilbert, replacing him with a "team of coaches".[7]

2008

Murray playing a backhand at the 2008 Pacific Life Open.

Murray trained hard in the off-season, working with fitness experts Jez Green, Matt Little and Miles Maclagan in Miami, leading Murray to say he had never been better prepared for a season.[48] Murray's hard work paid off immediately as he sealed his fourth career title at the 2008 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, defeating top seed and world number four Nikolay Davydenko 6–4, 6–3 in the semifinals, before defeating up-and-coming Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 in a tight final, which assured Murray rose back into the Top 10.

Murray was seeded ninth at the 2008 Australian Open, his first time in the Top 10 seeds at a Grand Slam, but lost to eventual runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round. Murray withdrew from Great Britain's Davis Cup tie against Argentina, a decision that provoked controversy; his brother Jamie commented, "It's not that Andy doesn't enjoy the Davis Cup, it's just that he obviously felt that it was more important for him to concentrate on Marseille and play well there rather than come here."[49]

Murray won his fifth career title at his next tournament in Marseille, defeating Mario Ančić in the final. In Murray's opening match in Dubai, he defeated world number one Roger Federer but exited in the quarter-finals; Murray posted early losses at the subsequent Masters Series events in Indian Wells and Miami.

Onside Law, the legal firm representing Andy Murray's official website, made an official legal request to fan site murraysworld.com to cease and desist all use of photographs and images of Andy Murray unless given explicit permission from the copyright holders in April 2008. [50] The lawyers claimed the use of such material constituted copyright infringement; the fan site claimed the legal request was an attempt to "suppress a website that is often critical, and in some cases damaging to Murray's image due to its journalistic principles". [51]

In a bid to improve his results on clay, which had been thus far his least successful surface, Murray began working with former French Open runner-up Alex Corretja. However, Murray failed to go beyond the third round of any of his pre-French Open clay court tournaments. Murray reached the third round of the Open, and completed a convincing second-round win over clay specialist José Acasuso 6–4, 6–0, 6–4, which BBC Sport described as "his best ever performance on clay".[52]

At Queen's, Murray reached the quarterfinals, but withdrew from his quarterfinal match against Andy Roddick owing to a thumb injury. As the twelfth seed at Wimbledon, Murray defeated his first two opponents, Fabrice Santoro and Xavier Malisse, before defeating Tommy Haas 6–4, 6–7(4), 6–3, 6–2 in the third round. In the fourth round, he defeated Richard Gasquet 5–7, 3–6, 7–6(3), 6–2, 6–4, even though Gasquet had served for the match in the third set. In his first career Grand Slam quarterfinal however, Murray was defeated by eventual champion Rafael Nadal, 6–3, 6–2, 6–4.

Murray playing a shot at Cincinnati in August on course to his first ATP Masters Series title.

Murray returned to action on the US Open Series, where he has so far encountered success. In the Toronto Masters he reached the semi-finals, defeating Novak Djokovic for the first time on his route there, before defeating Djokovic again, in the final of the Cincinnati Masters, to win his first Master Series shield. This ensured that Murray reached a career high of No. 6 in the world.[53]

After winning in Cincinnati, Murray went into the men's singles at the 2008 Summer Olympics as one of the favourites for gold,[54] but he suffered a shock defeat to Lu Yen-Hsun of Taiwan in the first round.[55] Murray also entered the men's doubles, where he was paired with his brother Jamie. Andy and Jamie won 4–6 6–3 6–4 in the first round against Canada's Daniel Nestor and Frederic Niemeyer,[55] but were beaten in the second round by the French duo of Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra in straight sets, 6–1 6–3.

In the U.S. Open, Murray progressed from the third round by coming back from being two sets down against Jürgen Melzer. He then beat 10th seed Stanislas Wawrinka 6–1, 6–3, 6–3 to reach the quarter-final. In that match he stopped 17th seed Juan Martín del Potro's 23 match winning streak by winning 7–6, 7–6, 4–6, 7–5, coming back from a break down in both the first and fourth sets. Murray was assured of a world ranking high of No. 4 by reaching the semi-final, benefitting from the losses of David Ferrer, Andy Roddick and Nikolay Davydenko.

Murray at the US Open

Murray played top seed Rafael Nadal in the semi-final, which was moved forward and on to the Louis Armstrong Stadium court owing to rain expected to be caused by Hurricane Hanna. Murray won the first two sets, 6–2, 7–6(5), but Nadal however, was up a break in the third set as the play was suspended owing to the rain's arrival. The match continued on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court the following day, with Murray triumphing 6–2, 7–6(5), 4–6, 6–4.[56] Murray became the first British man since Greg Rusedski in 1997 to reach the final of a Grand Slam, and only the third in the open era (John Lloyd being the first, in 1977).[57] Rusedski said, "There's no doubt Murray's playing the best tennis of the two players. He's been so impressive."[58] Describing the semi-final result as "awesome", Murray was asked about his prospects in the final, saying, "Roger's played better in his last couple of matches after struggling earlier in the tournament. I'm going to have to play great to have a chance of winning that."[59] He called it an "honour" to play against "probably the greatest player ever" in a Slam final. "I've played well against him in the past. Hopefully I can do the same again."[60] Murray lost the final to Roger Federer in straight sets, 6–2, 7–5, 6–2.

At the 2008 Madrid Masters, Murray received a bye in the first round as the No. 4 seed and faced Italian Simone Bolelli. Murray completely dominated the first set, 6–0, dropping only one point, before Bolelli retired in the second owing to injury.[61] He then overcame a tough test against Marin Cilic, winning 7–5, 7–6(2) to progress to the quarterfinals, where he defeated Gaël Monfils 6–2, 6–2. In the semifinals, he defeated World No. 2, Roger Federer in a rematch of their US Open final. Murray won in three sets, 3–6, 6–3, 7–5 to bring their overall head-to-head record to 3–2 in Murray's favour. In the tournament final, he defeated Gilles Simon 6–4, 7–6(6) to win his fourth title of the year as well as securing back-to-back Masters Series titles. He became the first Briton to win multiple Masters Series titles, and the first to win four titles in a single season.[62] He won the St. Petersburg Open on 26 October with a 6–1, 6–1 victory over Andrey Golubev[63], which was his 23rd victory in 25 matches.[64] His defense of the title made him the first British player to win back-to-back titles since Mark Cox in March 1975 when Cox won at London and Washington.[65]

Murray then competed in the end of season Masters Cup, a tournament that only the top eight players in the world qualify for. He won all of his round robin matches, against Andy Roddick, Gilles Simon and Roger Federer. His win against Federer eliminated his opponent from the competition. Murray then lost 7–5, 6–2 to Nikolay Davydenko in the semi final.

2009

Murray started 2009 by beating world number ten James Blake, world number two Roger Federer, and world number one Rafael Nadal, to win the 2009 Capitala World Tennis Championship, an exhibition championship in Abu Dhabi. Following this he headed to Doha for the Qatar Open, in the start of the 2009 ATP Tour, where he beat Spain's Albert Montanes, Germany's Philipp Petzschner, Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky, Switzerland's Roger Federer, and America's Andy Roddick, on the way to retaining his title.[66]

Murray was seeded fourth for the Australian Open, with Rafael Nadal first seed, Roger Federer second seed, and Novak Djokovic third seed. [67] He progressed through the first round when his opponent, Romania's Andrei Pavel, retired with a back injury while Murray was leading 6-2, 3-1, setting up a second round match against Spain's Marcel Granollers. He defeated Granollers 6-4 6-2 6-2, in straight sets. Murray won his third round match against Jurgen Melzer 7-5, 6-0, 6-3. He went out in the fourth round, losing to Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 3-6, 4-6.

National identity

Murray identifies himself as "Scottish, but also British".[3][4] Prior to Wimbledon 2006, Murray caused some public debate[68] when he was quoted as saying he would "support anyone but England" at the 2006 World Cup. He received large amounts of hate mail on his website as a result.[69] It was also reported that Murray had worn a Paraguay shirt on the day of England's World Cup match with the South American team.[70]

Murray explained that his comments were said in jest during a light-hearted interview with sports columnist Des Kelly,[71] who asked him if he would be supporting Scotland in the World Cup, in the knowledge that Scotland had failed to qualify for the tournament.[72] Murray protested that he is "not anti-English and never was"[3] and he expressed disappointment over England's subsequent elimination by Portugal.[73] In an interview with Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live, Tim Henman confirmed that the remarks had been made in jest and were only in response to Murray being teased by Kelly[71] and Henman.[74] He also stated that the rumour that Murray had worn a Paraguay shirt was untrue.[74]

In an interview with Gabby Logan for the BBC's Inside Sport programme, Andy said that he was both Scottish and British and was comfortable and happy with his British identity.[75] He said he saw no conflict between the two and was equally proud of them. He has also pointed out that he is quarter English with some of his family originating from Newcastle, his coach is Scottish and that his girlfriend, Kim Sears, is English.[76]

Equipment

Shoes: Adidas Barricade V

Racquet: Head MicroGEL Radical Pro

Clothing: Fred Perry

Career statistics

Grand Slam singles finals (1)

Runner up (1)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
2008 US Open Switzerland Roger Federer 2–6, 5–7, 2–6

ATP Masters Series singles finals (2)

Wins (2)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
2008 Cincinnati Serbia Novak Djokovic 7–6(5), 7–6(4)
2008 Madrid Masters France Gilles Simon 6–4, 7–6(6)

Career finals (15)

Singles (14)

Wins (9)
Legend (pre/post 2009)
Grand Slam tournaments (0)
Tennis Masters Cup /
ATP World Tour Finals (0)
ATP Masters Series /
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (2)
ATP International Series Gold /
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0)
ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (7)
Titles by Surface
Hard (8)
Clay (0)
Grass (0)
Carpet (1)
No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. 19 February, 2006 San José, USA Hard (i) Australia Lleyton Hewitt 2–6, 6–1, 7–6(3)
2. 18 February 2007 San José, USA Hard (i) Croatia Ivo Karlović 6–7(3), 6–4, 7–6(2)
3. 28 October 2007 St. Petersburg, Russia Carpet (i) Spain Fernando Verdasco 6–2, 6–3
4. 5 January 2008 Doha, Qatar Hard Switzerland Stanislas Wawrinka 6–4, 4–6, 6–2
5. 17 February 2008 Marseille, France Hard (i) Croatia Mario Ančić 6–3, 6–4
6. 3 August 2008 Cincinnati, USA Hard Serbia Novak Djokovic 7–6(4), 7–6(5)
7. 19 October 2008 Madrid, Spain Hard (i) France Gilles Simon 6–4, 7–6(6)
8. 26 October 2008 St. Petersburg, Russia Hard (i) Kazakhstan Andrey Golubev 6–1, 6–1
9. 10 January 2009 Doha, Qatar Hard United States Andy Roddick 6–4, 6–2

Non ATP

  • 3 January 2009 - 2009 Capitala World Tennis Championship
Runner-ups (5)
Legend (pre/post 2009)
Grand Slam tournaments (1)
Tennis Masters Cup /
ATP World Tour Finals (0)
ATP Masters Series /
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0)
ATP International Series Gold /
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0)
ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (4)
No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. 1 October 2005 Bangkok, Thailand Hard (i) Switzerland Roger Federer 6–3, 7–5
2. 6 August 2006 Washington, USA Hard France Arnaud Clément 7–6(4), 6–2
3. 6 January 2007 Doha, Qatar Hard Croatia Ivan Ljubičić 6–4, 6–4
4. 7 October 2007 Metz, France Hard (i) Spain Tommy Robredo 0–6, 6–2, 6–3
5. 8 September 2008 US Open, New York City, USA Hard Switzerland Roger Federer 6–2, 7–5, 6–2

Doubles (1)

Runner-up (1)
Legend (pre/post 2009)
ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (1)
No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score
1. 1 October 2006 Bangkok, Thailand Hard (i) United Kingdom Jamie Murray Israel Jonathan Erlich
Israel Andy Ram 		2–6 6–2 4–10[77]

Performance timeline

Singles

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup which ended for Murray on 15 November, 2008.

Tournament 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Career SR Career win-loss
Australian Open A 1R 4R 1R 4R 0 / 4 6–4
French Open A 1R A 3R 0 / 2 2–2
Wimbledon 3R 4R A QF 0 / 3 9–3
U.S. Open 2R 4R 3R F 0 / 4 12–4
Grand Slam SR 0 / 2 0 / 4 0 / 2 0 / 4 0 / 13 N/A
Grand Slam Win-Loss 3–2 6–4 5–2 12–4 3–1 N/A 29–13
ATP World Tour Finals A A A SF 0 / 1 3–1
Indian Wells Masters A 2R SF 4R 0 / 3 7–3
Miami Masters A 1R SF 2R 0 / 3 4–3
Monte Carlo Masters A 1R A 3R 0 / 2 2–2
Rome Masters A 1R 1R 2R 0 / 3 1–3
Hamburg Masters A 2R 1R 3R 0 / 3 3–3
Canada Masters A SF 2R SF 0 / 3 8–3
Cincinnati Masters 2R QF 1R W 1 / 4 10–3
Madrid Masters A 3R 3R W 1 / 3 10–3
Paris Masters A 3R QF QF 0 / 2 3–2
ATP Tournaments Played 10 26 16 19 N/A 66
ATP Final Appearances 1 2 4 6 N/A 13
ATP Titles 0 1 2 5 N/A 8
Hardcourt Win-Loss 7–4 26–14 35–12 36–9 N/A 86–36
Grass Win-Loss 5–3 9–4 0–0 8–1 N/A 22–8
Carpet Win-Loss 2–1 1–2 5–0 5–0 N/A 13–3
Clay Win-Loss 0–2 4–5 0–2 7–5 N/A 11–14
Overall Win-Loss 14–10 40–25 43–14 56–15 N/A 153–64
Year End Ranking 63 17 11 4 N/A N/A

Template:Performance timeline legend

N.B: At the 2007 Monte Carlo Masters, Murray participated in a set of the doubles tournament, however had to pull out because his back was spasming. Murray therefore had to pull out of the singles tournament before it had begun, and he was replaced by a lucky loser.

ATP Tour career earnings

Year Majors ATP wins Total wins Earnings ($) Money list rank
2003 0 0 0 7,609 599
2004 0 0 0 5,380 731
2005 0 0 0 219,490 105
2006 0 1 1 677,802 26
2007 0 2 2 880,905 21
2008 0 5 5 3,705,648 4
2009* 0 1 1 185,470 1
Career 0 9 9 5,499,434** 70
  • As of 19 January 2009.
    • Career prize earnings reflect earnings at the end of 2008.

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  2. ^ Player Profile, ATP.
  3. ^ a b c Wimbledon: Andy Murray promises to focus, Daily Telegraph.
  4. ^ a b "I am Scottish. I am also British. I am patriotic and proud to be Scottish", Daily Mirror.
  5. ^ Crouse, Karen (5 September 2008). "The Arthur Ashe Crowd Has Fallen Out of Love With an Achy Djokovic". New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2008. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ BBC Sport (4 April 2008). "Corretja to help Murray on clay". Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  7. ^ a b c Andy Murray: A nation expects, Belfast Telegraph, 23 June 2008.
  8. ^ Profile, Andy Murray official site.
  9. ^ Dunblane tastes regret along with its new favourite son, The Guardian, 26 June 2006
  10. ^ MURRAY, Andy (GBR), International Tennis Federation profile.
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  12. ^ About Orthopedics - Patella disorders
  13. ^ Faultless young Scot who is all set to take on the tennis world, The Scotsman, 14 September 2004.
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  39. ^ Preston, Eleanor (1 July 2008). ""The quarter-final is a match I can win"". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  40. ^ Wins SAP Open in San Jose, California: SAP Open (18 February 2007)
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  42. ^ Murray in Davis Cup fitness race, BBC Sport, 1 April 2007.
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  45. ^ Lawn Tennis Association Murray takes Turbo jackpot
  46. ^ Murray satisfied with ATP meeting, BBC Sport.
  47. ^ ATP Rankings at 29 October, 2007, ATP.
  48. ^ Clinical Murray blows away Rochus
  49. ^ Jamie and Andy Murray at war over Davis Cup
  50. ^ Murray threat hits fan, The Guardian, 7 May 2008.
  51. ^ Murray net verbals to increase, The Scotsman, 30 June 2008.
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  62. ^ Piers Newbery (19 October 2008). "Murray seals second Masters title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
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  66. ^ "Murray vs Roddick clash". BBC Sport. 10 January 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
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  71. ^ a b Why joke is wearing thin for Andy, Daily Mail, 7 July 2008.
  72. ^ Tim's My Pop Idol, Daily Record, 10 January 2007.
  73. ^ I picked them to win on penalties so I am a bit disappointed, The Scotsman, 3 July 2006.
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  75. ^ Inside Sport, 7 May, 2007
  76. ^ Murray's a winner - but not yet a hero, The Observer, 29 June 2008.
  77. ^ Match tiebreak
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