He was ranked as the world No. He began his professional career around the time Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal established themselves as the two dominant players in men's tennis. Murray had immediate success on the ATP Tour, making his top 10 debut in at age By , Murray and Novak Djokovic had joined Federer and Nadal in the Big Four , the group of players who dominated men's tennis for most of the s.
Murray initially struggled against the rest of the Big Four, losing his first four major finals three to Federer and one to Djokovic. He made his breakthrough in by defeating Federer to win the London Olympics and defeating Djokovic to win the US Open, becoming the first British major singles champion since Virginia Wade in He then beat Djokovic to win Wimbledon in , the first home champion at the men's event since Fred Perry in Murray had his career-best season in , when he made three major finals, winning Wimbledon.
He defended his title at the Rio Olympics to become the only player, male or female, to win two Olympic gold medals in singles. Murray also became world No. After , he struggled with a hip injury that required major surgery, and fell out of the top in Upon his return, Murray won a tour title at the European Open and rose back to the top He retired from the sport after the Paris Olympics.
Murray was an all-court player who excelled in particular at defence, returning serve and constructing points. He was generally regarded as possessing one of the most consistent two-handed backhands on the ATP Tour. Murray is credited with re-establishing the United Kingdom as a leading force in men's tennis for the first time since the early 20th century. He and his brother led the Great Britain Davis Cup team to a title in Shortly following his playing career, Murray took up a coaching partnership with his former rival Djokovic for the Australian Open.
Murray grew up in Dunblane and attended Dunblane Primary School. Both he and his brother were present during the Dunblane school massacre , [ 23 ] when Thomas Hamilton killed 16 children and a teacher before shooting himself; Murray took cover in a classroom.
