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Will Andy Murray Back Up His Desire To Take the No. 1 Ranking?
- Updated: October 7, 2016
Andy Murray has spent a decade chasing after three of the biggest legends in tennis history. They were the exclusive triumvirate, winning gluts of Grand Slam titles and keeping special guard over their rights to the No. 1 ranking.
Ten years ago, young Murray and everyone else in the world outside of Mallorca was in awe of Roger Federer’s explosive all-courts game, his fluid forehand and attacking style. Murray was never going to develop these offensive gifts and go on to 17 major titles.
Then it was Rafael Nadal’s turn to hammer the tour into submission with heavy topspin, defensive aggression and the most commanding clay-court dominance of all time. Murray didn’t win a single title on clay until 2015.
Four months ago, Murray was being overwhelmed in the Age of King Novak. Djokovic was about 8,000 points ahead in the ATP rankings, and it might as well have been eight million. While the Serb held the Grand Slam with all four major titles, Murray had not won a major in nearly three years.
To suggest Murray could challenge Djokovic for No. 1 would be like placing bets that the Black Knight in Monty Python could defeat King Arthur in a rematch.
But the landscape has shifted overnight. While Djokovic has struggled to stay healthy and win big matches, Murray swooped in for the Wimbledon title, Olympics singles gold medal and a redoubtable spirit that has him believing he can track down that No. 1 ranking.
Rising Quotable Confidence
When Murray defeated Djokovic for the 2013 Wimbledon title, he all but dismissed any chance at No. 1, as archived in Fox Sports: “I’m nowhere near being No. 1. I would rather not get to No. 1 and win more Grand Slams than never win another Grand Slam and get to No. 1. I’d rather try to win more Slams.”
Three years …
