‘Never even liked tennis anyway’. A look at Andy Murray's greatest moments

Former Wimbledon and US Open champion Andy Murray has put down his racket for the final time, officially retiring after a quarter-final exit in the men’s doubles at the Paris Olympics.

Here, Sports News Blitz’s Sam Condy takes a look at some of the British great's defining moments throughout his long and illustrious career.

Opening Grand Slam

By 2012, Murray had made a name for himself as the best of the rest, though he was still unable to topple Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer when it came to winning his first Grand Slam.

In the run-up to the 2012 US Open, the Brit had tasted defeat in six Grand Slam semi-finals and four finals, all at the hands of either Federer or Djokovic.

Reaching the final, Murray was faced with an on-form Djokovic, who was crowned Australian Open champion earlier that year for the third time.

The final started well for Murray, winning the opening two sets, with a legendary tie-breaker to claim the first, placing himself within touching distance of a Grand Slam victory.

However, Djokovic fought back, taking the match to a fifth-set decider.

Fate stood with Murray's side that day, and he won the fifth set to become Britain's first male Grand Slam champion since Fred Perry in 1936.

Looking back, Murray relayed the importance of his US Open win in an interview in 2022.

“That was a huge moment for me,” recalled. “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.”

Defending his Olympic gold

The only player to defend the Olympic singles title, Murray is a Team GB Olympic legend.

In 2012, Murray had a route to the final very few expected him to come through unscathed.

He faced Djokovic in the semi-finals, before being pitted against reigning Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in the final.

Despite losing to the Swiss in that year's Wimbledon decider, Murray battled on in impressive fashion, crowning himself King of the Olympic courts.

Four years later, Murray returned to the Olympic stage, now held in Rio de Janeiro, where he faced Juan Martin del Potro in a tough four-hour final.

Scraping through and becoming a two-time Olympic champion, Murray stated that his victory against del Potro was “one of the hardest matches I’ve had to play for a big title".

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Wimbledon winner

Widely regarded as the greatest tennis achievement, every tour player dreams of one day being able to call themselves a Wimbledon champion.

In 2013, Murray had an easy route to the final, helped by early exits for both Federer and Nadal.

Having struggled with a hip injury in the weeks leading up to the tournament - something that would continue to plague him throughout his career - it was a relief to see the Scot back in full swing.

Once again Djokovic stood across from Murray, however having already beaten him once in a final, Murray's confidence was sky-high.

In even more emphatic fashion than a year earlier in the States, Murray defeated his rival in straight sets, becoming the first men's Wimbledon champion in 77 years.

It took Murray three years to find himself in a Wimbledon final once again - this time facing Canadian Milos Raonic, who was fuelled by the opportunity to win his first Grand Slam.

Unfortunately for Raonic, Murray was now well-established as one of the finest players on the planet.

He battled through two tie-breaks to grab a second Wimbledon singles win, once again achieving the accolade in straight sets.

Wimbledon defeat

Prior to his maiden Wimbledon win in 2013, Murray came agonisingly close to winning a year earlier.

Facing Federer in the final, Murray fought valiantly, winning the first set, but was unable to keep the ‘king of grass’ at bay.

He went on to lose the subsequent three sets, handing the Swiss player his seventh Wimbledon title.

Following his defeat Murray took to the microphone, tearfully delivering a heart-wrenching speech to fans all around the world.

"All right, I'm going to try this, but it's not going to be easy,” he said.

"OK, firstly I'd like to congratulate Roger. I was getting asked the other day after I won my semi-finals, 'Oh is this your best chance?'

"Roger is 30 now, and he's not bad for a 30-year-old, he played a great tournament, I know he had some struggles early on with his back.

"He showed what fight he still has in him, so congratulations, you deserve it.

"I'm going to try and not look at them [his family], because I'll start crying again.

"But everyone that's in the corner over there that's supported me through this tournament, it's always tough and we did a great job, so thank you."

Turning to the fans, Murray - still fighting back tears - expressed his gratitude to everyone supporting him through the years.

"And last of all to you guys.

"Everybody always talks about the pressure of playing at Wimbledon, how tough it is.

"But it's not the people watching, they make it so much easier to play, the support has been incredible, so thank you."

This moment forged a connection with tennis fans that stood the test of time - previously he had not really let himself go, but this raw show of emotion endeared him to fans all over the globe.

Davis Cup legend

Tennis is mostly an individual sport; however Murray has always stated that his most proud achievements are those which have come in team events.

In 2015, Murray's best moment came for Great Britain in the Davis Cup, one of the few team events in the tennis calendar.

Despite winning the event nine times, Great Britain had been without a win since 1936.

Throughout 2015 Murray was flawless in his Davis Cup matches.

Beating France and Australia, both 3-0, in singles and doubles, he proved instrumental in leading his country to the 2015 final.

Murray capped off his Davis Cup run, beating David Goffin in the final, and helping Britain to a Davis Cup triumph for the first time in almost 80 years.

World’s greatest

In the second half of 2016, Murray looked unbeatable. Crowned Wimbledon and Olympic champion, the Scot enjoyed a 24-week unbeaten streak to reach number one in the world rankings for the first time.

In a decade dominated by the ‘big three’, Murray became the only player to topple Federer Nadal and Djokovic in the world rankings.

Murray went on to defend his ranking for 41 weeks before eventually losing his spot at the top to Nadal.

Final goodbye

Struggling with injuries through 2024, Murray retired from this year's Wimbledon, revealing he would make his final appearances on the court in the Paris Olympics.

Murray teamed up with fellow Brit Dan Evans to represent Team GB in the men's doubles.

Fighting through the opening two rounds, the duo found themselves facing US representatives Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.

Murray and Evans struggled to keep the pace set by the Americans, losing in two straight sets, and seeing Murray walk off the court for a final time.

Shortly after defeat, Murray took to X, posting an update: “Never even liked tennis anyway.”

This one sentence perfectly sums up why the British Centre-Court king captivated the hearts of tennis fans for so many years.

Despite trailing behind the ‘big three’ in championship wins, Murray's tongue-in-cheek sense of humour and dare-to-dream spirit made him the fan favourite and tennis legend that fans will reminisce about for years to come.

Thank you Andy.

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