Andy Murray winning tennis matches is nothing new. The Scottish superstar has 677 singles victories and 46 singles titles to his name since he turned professional in 2005. However, his round of 32 victory over Robin Haase in Rotterdam earlier this month was Murray’s first tour-level win since August 2020.
Rewind five years to 2016 and everything was going swimmingly in Murray’s world. He reached the final of the Australian Open (lost to Novak Djokovic) to kick the year off. Murray won his second Wimbledon title after defeating Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 in the final at the All-England and also triumphed at the ATP Finals to end the year as the No. 1-ranked men’s singles player in the world.
2016 was a standout year for Murray
Murray played 87 singles matches in 2016 and won 78 of them. It is easy to see why his name was always one of the favorites when it came to betting on tennis matches. These days you cannot even find Murray in the futures betting markets because injuries have ravaged his glistening career. Some experts believe that career is effectively over, but Murray has other ideas.
Since 2017, Murray has only featured in 72 competitive singles matches, a figure that is less than the number of matches he won in 2016. He took to the court 35 times in 2017, only 12 times in 2018, and on 18 occasions in 2019. Last year was even worse, with Murray only taking the court only seven times due to ongoing injury issues and also the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hip surgery in January 2018 was the first real sign something was seriously wrong. Withdrawals from several major competitions followed as he recuperated, and those withdrawals saw his ranking plummet to 839th—Murray’s lowest since he entered the ATP rankings in July of 2003.
Hip surgery for the second time
A year later, prior to the Australian Open Murray revealed he was considering retiring from the game due to struggles with his ongoing hip problem. Everyday tasks like putting on shoes and socks were now difficult, painful endeavors. Murray lost his opening match in a gutsy five-set effort against Roberto Bautista Agut and it looked likely his professional tennis career was over.
Murray’s dogged determination would not let him quit, however. He returned in doubles at Queen’s Club that summer (won the title with Feliciano Lopez) and in singles a couple of months later at the Cincinnati Masters. He eventually captured a title that fall on the indoor hard courts of Antwerp.
The pandemic saw more than half of the 2020 tournaments cancelled or at least postponed, delaying Murray’s season. His first ATP tournament of 2020 was at the Western & Southern Open in August, when he entered as a wildcard. Murray defeated Frances Tiafoe 7-6, 3-6, 6-1 before beating world No. 7 Alexander Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 for his first victory over a top 10 ranked player in three years. Murray lost to Milos Raonic in straight sets in the Round of 16.
Murray on the comeback trail
The 2021 Australian Open was a tournament both Murray and tennis fans around the world were looking forward to. He never got to compete, however, because he tested positive for COVID-19. He entered the Biella 1 Challenger tournament in Italy in February, instead, and made it to the final—losing only a single set along the way. Illya Marchenko was too strong for Murray in the title match, winning 6-2, 6-4.
A round of 32 loss in Montpellier followed in late February before Murray beat Haase 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 in Rotterdam. World No. 8 and eventual champion Andrey Rublev proved too good for Murray in the second round, rolling to a 7-5, 6-2 victory.
It is unlikely Murray will reach the dizzying heights of a top 10 ranking any time soon. Playing with a metal hip puts him at a disadvantage, of course. Then there is the fact he turns 34 years old in May; he is not getting any younger. Murray is extremely determined to return to the top of the tennis rankings, but there is a major question mark over his fitness. Any significant injury setback will likely end his professional career. If—and it is a big “if”—he can stay fit for a couple of years, the top 10 certainly is not out of his reach.
nope
More chance of Gulbis becoming a top ten
He is great for the game. 2016 was an incredible year, he took full advantage of the dips in Novak and Nadals games and he was so locked in. Hard to see him and Stanimal decline, but such is life on a dog eat dog tour.