The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Andy Murray’s 30 best moments as tennis star celebrates his birthday
Three decades of greatness by a remarkable man
Sir Andy Murray is already one of the greatest sportsmen in British history, a feat made all the more incredible given his age.
The proud Scot from Dunblane is the men’s tennis world number one, has won Wimbledon twice and earned two Olympic gold medals.
He achieved all this before the age of 30, a landmark which he reaches today.
To mark the tennis great reaching the landmark birthday, we have complied a list of his 30 biggest moments.
01: In 1990, aged just three, Murray picks up a tennis racket and plays for the first time. His mother, Judy Murray, coaches him and his older brother, Jamie. 02: Murray wins his first tournament as an under-10 at Dunblane Sports Club. 03: In 1999, the young Murray wins his age group in Florida’s Orange Bowl. 04: Aged 15 he enrols in the SánchezCasal Tennis Academy in Barcelona.
05: Aged 16, drinks booze on a night out in Barcelona. He hates it so much that he barely drinks again.
06: In 2004, he becomes world number one junior tennis player after winning the US Open title. He is named the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year.
07: 2005 – Murray turns pro. In March he makes his Davis Cup debut, and is the youngest ever Briton to play in the competition. He makes a breakthrough into the ATP Tour and reaches his first ever ATP Tour level final at the Thailand Open. 08: On February 27 2006, he is named British number one ahead of Tim
Henman. Murray beats tennis heavyweight Roger Federer in round two of the Cincinnati Masters. He then goes on to win the SAP Open.
09: Jokes he’ll be backing “anyone but England” in the 2006 World Cup, prompting a furious backlash south of the border.
10: In 2007, Murray breaks into the top 10 world rankings after coming second in the SAP Open.
11: In 2008, Murray makes his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon. He also beats Rafael Nadal to reach the 2008 US Open, which he loses to Roger Federer. Ends the year ranked fourth in the world.
12: At some point in the late noughties, Murray shears off his famous mop of hair – though it remains the subject of internet memes to this day.
13: In summer 2012, Murray reaches his first Wimbledon final, but is beaten by Federer.
14: Wins a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics in the men’s singles category. Also wins a silver medal for the mixed doubles category of the London Olympics with team-mate Laura Robson.
15: Later in 2012, Murray becomes the first British player since 1977, and the first British man since 1936, to win a Grand Slam singles tournament after beating Novak Djokovic at the US Open.
16: He becomes the first man in history to win an Olympic gold and the US Open in the same year. 17: A post box is painted gold in Dunblane to mark Murray’s Olympic medal win.
18: InJune2013,Murrayintentionally strikescoachIvanLendlinthehipwitha tennisballduringacharityexhibitionmatch atQueens.Hecelebratesitasagreatvictory. Afterwardshesays:“Ihititsocleanly–itwas thebestshotIplayedallweek.”
19: In July 2013, Murray beats Djokovic in phenomenal fashion to be crowned Wimbledon champion. He is the first British player to win the competition since 1977 and the first man
since Fred Perry 77 years before. There are emotional scenes around Wimbledon following the match. 20: Later in 2013, he is named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
21: Murray buys the luxury Cromlix Hotel, near Dunblane, in February 2013 and opens it the following year.
22: In April 2014 Murray is awarded the Freedom of Stirling at a special ceremony held in Dunblane High School.
23: On the morning of the September 18 2014 referendum, he signals his support for Scottish independence.
24: In April 2015, Murray marries longterm girlfriend Kim Sears in Dunblane Cathedral.
25: In the same year, Murray is also part of the victorious Great Britain Davis Cup squad. His decisive performance against Belgium’s David Goffin in Ghent on November 29 was outstanding, winning the match and securing the competition for Great Britain with a backhand lob so incredible Murray’s reaction was to
collapse on the court with his hands over his face. It was the country’s first Davis Cup victory in 79 years. He is again named BBC Sports Personality of the Year. 26: In February 2016, Murray and Sears’ first child, Sophia, is born.
27: In June 2016, Murray claims his second Wimbledon title after beating Milos Raonic in the final.
28: In August 2016 Murray becomes the only man in history to win two golds in the Olympic singles category after defeating Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro at the Rio Olympics. He also claims the Grand Slam and the ATP World Tour Finals. He ends 2016 with an incredible tally of 78 victories and a 24-match winning streak, grabbing nine titles.
29: Murray is named world number one. He is hailed one of the UK’s greatest ever athletes, aged only 29. For an incredible third time, he is named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
30: December 2016: He is knighted in the New Years Honours list by the Queen. Becomes Sir Andy.