Watch as Australia’s Matthew Ebden jokingly offers a spectator a chance to take over during his 6-0 6-1 thrashing against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the first round of the men’s singles of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Serbian Novak Djokovic and Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz made fast starts Saturday at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Djokovic raced to a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Australian Matthew Ebden, needing just 53 minutes to reach the second round. The 37-year-old, who is the top seed in Paris, won 63 per cent of his return points and struck 24 winners in front of a packed crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
A 24-time major champion who has spent 428 weeks as World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Djokovic could next play longtime rival Rafael Nadal in a blockbuster second-round clash. Nadal faces Marton Fucsovics in the first round. The 98-time tour-level titlist Djokovic leads Nadal 30-29 in their Lexus ATP Head2Headseries. Djokovic is 5-0 against Fucsovics.
[ATP APP]The Belgrade native is making his fifth Olympics appearance, with his best result being a bronze medal in Beijing in 2008.
Second seed Alcaraz defeated Lebanon’s Hady Habib 6-3, 6-1 in the first round. Making his Olympics debut this fortnight, the 21-year-old looks to add to his standout young career, having won 15 tour-level trophies, by becoming the second player to win the Roland Garros men’s singles title and the Olympic men’s singles gold medal in the same year (Rafael Nadal, 2008). The World No. 3 also won in Indian Wells and at Wimbledon this year.
Up next for Alcaraz is Cameron Norrie or Tallon Griekspoor. The Murcia native will return to court later Saturday as he partners Nadal in doubles (Not before 7 p.m. local time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time).
[NEWSLETTER FORM]👀 @hardpicstennis #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/q171zUXO5j
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 27, 2024
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz win in men’s doubles after Novak Djokovic’s bid for an Olympic gold medal begins in style.
Matteo Berrettini captured his second consecutive title Saturday at the Generali Open, where he defeated Frenchman Hugo Gaston 7-5, 6-3 in the final. The Italian, who last week lifted the Gstaad trophy, has not dropped a set in his past 10 matches.
The 28-year-old made the best use of high-altitude conditions in Kitzbühel, relying on his booming serve and heavy hitting to overpower Gaston after one hour, 21 minutes.
“I’m just so happy and so tired,” said a relieved Berrettini in his on-court interview. “It’s been a crazy two weeks, playing I think some of my best level of tennis.”
[ATP APP]Now a 10-time tour-level titlist, Berrettini struck eight aces and won 80 per cent (33/41) of his first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Berrettini earned a crucial break at 5-5 in the opener before gaining a one-set advantage behind his own delivery and racing to a double-break lead in the second. Despite dropping serve when serving for the match at 5-2, Berrettini quickly recovered to capture the clay ATP 250.
“I was happy that I had the double break. In tennis, you never know. A little bit of tension, he played a great game,” Berrettini said. “I was focussed, I kept doing what I was doing well, hitting the ball well, hitting the ball aggressive in important moments.”
Following his third title of the season, Berrettini is up 10 spots to No. 40 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. He is one of three players to win a trio of titles this season, alongside countryman Jannik Sinner (4) and Carlos Alcaraz (3). Berrettini boasts a 21-5 season record.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]File under: Berrettini wholesome moments ☺️📂@MattBerrettini | #GeneraliOpen pic.twitter.com/gZyWwhU21x
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 27, 2024
Gold medal favourite Iga Swiatek begins her Olympic bid with a testing victory over Irina-Camelia Begu in Paris.
Of the 40 countries represented at Paris 2024 Olympics men’s tennis event, Lebanon is the only one with no prior representation in the field.
But last month, Benjamin Hassan was notified that he would have the honour of becoming one of the first tennis players to represent Lebanon in the Olympics, alongside countryman Hady Habib, whom faces four-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz in the first round.
The 29-year-old Hassan is among the field of 64 singles players via a ‘University Place’, which awards one spot, in both men’s and women’s, to nations that are under-represented in the Olympic Games. He will also partner Habib in doubles.
“When I first heard it, I couldn’t believe it. It was unbelievable for me because it was very spontaneous,” Hassan told ATPTour.com. “I heard before that they have some spots for players, but I wasn’t sure what kind of rule it was or if I could use that. I asked my Federation if they can check and they told me, ‘Look Benjamin, we are very late. Probably not going to work out.’
“I thought, ‘Okay, there’s no chance, but at least I tried.’ I think a few days before the Stuttgart [ATP 250] tournament, I got the information. I was really happy.”
[ATP APP]To understand how Hassan has reached this point takes revisiting his past. Hassan’s father, Zaki, fled the Lebanon War in the early 1980s and emigrated to Germany, where he later met his wife, Fadia, who also is from Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon.
Though Benjamin was born and raised in Germany, he also holds Lebanese citizenship. He has proudly represented Lebanon in Davis Cup action since 2018.
“Lebanon is a very beautiful country. Very small. You have the mountains where you can ski, you have the beach, you can do it all in one day, a two hour drive. You have perfect nightlife, amazing food. I enjoy it every time I go there,” said Hassan, who faces Christopher Eubanks in the opening round of the Olympics.
One of 10 Lebanese athletes in the Paris Olympic Games, Hassan developed a passion for tennis alongside his father, a former Davis Cup player from the Middle Eastern country. Despite Hassan’s early dreams of a professional tennis career, he faced challenges as a teenager, finding it difficult to dedicate himself fully to the sport.
“I think from 13 to 22, it was not in my mind anymore. I was studying in Germany, I really didn’t have it in my mind. I was a hobby player who played once a week just for fun,” Hassan said. “When I was a teenager, I was not interested in becoming a professional tennis player. It just didn’t catch me. I don’t know what it was, but I was really not into it.
“I was playing for fun with friends. I didn’t practise, didn’t do fitness, this kind of stuff. For that amount of practice, I was still really good, but far away from competing in professional tennis. Then I came back at 22.”
The one-time ‘hobby player’ can now officially call himself an Olympian. One month removed from hitting his career-high No. 143 in the PIF ATP Rankings, the three-time ATP Challenger Tour finalist credits that minor-league-esque level as a key stepping stone to where he is today.
“End of 2017, 2018, I started with Futures. I played very well from the beginning, two finals, won a title. And I had the ranking around 400, 500. I wanted to go directly to Challengers. It took me a lot of years to adapt to that level because the level was so good. I had tough matches there,” Hassan said.
“I just remember struggling for a long time because the level was too good for me, even though I won Futures. You can see so many good guys in the Top 100 now who played a lot of Challengers and are still playing Challengers. The level is not that far from what we see on television.”
This month’s trip to Paris will already be memorable for Hassan, who hopes his parents and some of his four siblings can make the trip from Germany. And should a chance come to train with one of the sport’s superstars, it would only add to this exclusive trip of a lifetime.
“I’ve never in my career practised with the big names like Alcaraz, Nadal, Djokovic, Zverev,” said Hassan. “I’ve seen them a lot at tournaments, but I’ve never practised with them. I would like to this time.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]During the second rain delay of Shang Juncheng’s Atlanta Open quarter-final against Max Purcell Friday evening, the #NextGenATP star was not stressing over where Purcell would serve when play resumed. Something else was on the 19-year-old’s mind: ice cream!
“We try to keep a fun environment, but keeping myself focused. We talked about eating ice cream after the tournament,” Shang said during his on-court interview, cracking a laugh. “There’s a shop right over there. After the tournament if I do really good, and I feel good, I might go so maybe see you guys there!”
Shang leaps into victory ✨⏭️🌈
The wins continue for Shang taking the win against Purcell 7-6(3) 6-4 @ATLOpenTennis | #AtlantaOpen pic.twitter.com/i4CQU2TETN
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 27, 2024
Shang is performing plenty well this week to earn it. The teen defeated Purcell 7-6(3), 6-4 despite two rain delays to reach the second ATP Tour semi-final of his budding career. Earlier this season, he made the last four in Hong Kong.
The Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF contender led 5/2 in the first-set tie-break when play was suspended due to rain. The weather struck again at 4-4, deuce in the second set.
Purcell had breezed through his service games for most of the second set. But upon resumption, Shang attacked his opponent’s forehand to earn the pivotal break and then held before rain could wreak any more havoc.
“I think [there were] tough conditions. It rained twice and especially the first time in the tie-break was crucial and I think I kept my mind together, played really good tennis,” Shang said. “Max has been playing good on the grass lately. [It was] just a super good match and happy to be through.”
[ATP APP]Shang, who ousted top seed Ben Shelton Thursday, will next play Jordan Thompson, who earned a historic victory earlier Friday.
The fourth seed eliminated the fifth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 in three hours and three minutes, making their Atlanta Open quarter-final the longest match in tournament history.
“I feel like I’ve played the longest match in tournament history. It was brutally hot. There wasn’t much cloud cover today,” Thompson said. “So if you’re playing at two o’clock, middle of the day, not much cloud cover, it was pretty, pretty tough.”
Davidovich Fokina saved 12 of the 14 break points he faced according to Infosys ATP Stats, but his toughness under pressure was not enough. Thompson was persistent to reach his fourth ATP Tour semi-final of the season.
Entering the year, the Australian had reached four tour-level semi-finals. He has doubled his count in 2024 and is now two wins from claiming his second title of the year (Los Cabos).
“Jerry is just a really, really good player, left-hander, young fella, and he’s coming up,” Thompson said. “He feels like he’s got nothing to lose, and he’s playing that way.”
Did You Know?
If Shang defeats Thompson in the semi-finals, he will climb to second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah.
Dive into the adventure drama film directed by Danny Boyle and starring Leonardo DiCaprio
Tennis gets underway at the Paris 2024 Olympics this Saturday and all eyes will be on the doubles pairing of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, dubbed ‘Nadalcaraz’, playing in Spanish colours.
“It’s an iconic image that could define an era,” explained Carlos Moyà, Nadal’s coach. “I watched the two training sessions they’ve had from the courtside and I had a great time. You see Rafa with his experience and charisma. And then you see Carlos, kind of like Rafa was aged 20 or 21, very expressive and effusive… Hopefully they can keep going because it’s a partnership that tennis fans can fall in love with.”
[ATP APP]Nadal and Alcaraz go into their first-round match against the Argentines Máximo González and Andrés Molteni after completing two doubles training sessions together: on Wednesday they won 6-4, 3-0 against Marcel Granollers and Pablo Carreño Busta and on Friday they were victorious again against the other Spanish pair by 6-3.
“It’s not just about understanding each other,” Nadal stressed. “We need to play doubles well individually. We’ve played very little doubles: Carlos hasn’t played for a long time and I played for two days last week, in Bastad. We have to make the doubles movements automatic, they’re completely different to those of a singles match,” the two-time Olympic medallist added.
“We have to know where to return, select the right shot in each situation… With each game, we’ve felt better and better, more comfortable all-round. We’ll make mistakes from time to time. I doubt our opponents will: they know their roles, and we’ll have to face that from the start. We’re very excited and very focused on giving ourselves the best chance.”
From Centre Court to Centre Stage 💫
In a city that has been so special to him, all eyes are on you Rafa… what a moment ❤️
@RafaelNadal | @olympics pic.twitter.com/erAnKzpVP6— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 26, 2024
Nadal knows what it means to win a gold medal solo (Beijing 2008) and also in company, which he did with Marc López at the Rio 2016 Olympics. The challenge now is to do it again with a 21-year-old partner who has taken the circuit by storm, winning four Grand Slam titles and becoming the youngest No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
“Carlos is a brilliant player all-round,” Nadal said in praise of him. “His fitness sets him apart: when you reach the ball in good time and with power, because you move quickly, it allows the talent in your hand to shine much more. Right now, because of his youth and physical power, he has the time to do it in situations in which I can’t get there anymore, and that sets him apart.
“It doesn’t surprise me at all because I know him and I’ve seen him play,” Nadal continued. “I think he’s a player destined to be one of the all-time greats. That’s what I sense when I see him play. You don’t know what will happen in life, but in terms of tennis and talent he has everything he needs to stay at the top.”
The time has come: ‘Nadalcaraz’ is set for its much-anticipated debut in Paris.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]ATPTour.com continues it series paying tribute to Andy Murray as the former World No. 1 readies for his final tournament, the Olympic Tennis Event.
There was rarely a dull moment when Andy Murray stepped onto a tennis court.
The Briton will be remembered as one of the most resilient and defiant fighters the ATP Tour has ever seen. A natural competitor who also possessed one of the most effective counter-punching games in the world, the emotions Murray conveyed as he played encouraged millions of fans to live every shot, every rally, and every match with him.
To celebrate the end of his esteemed career, ATPTour.com looks back on 10 of Murray’s most memorable on-court moments.
[ATP APP] 1. San Jose, 2006: Teenage Murray beats former No. 1s for first Tour title
Murray announced himself as one of the world’s most promising teenagers in 2005. He reached the third round at both the Queen’s Club and Wimbledon, his second and third tour-level events, respectively, before reaching his first ATP Tour final later that year in Bangkok, where he fell to World No. 1 Roger Federer.
Despite starting 2006, his first full season on the ATP Tour, with just two wins in his first six matches, Murray soon gave a reminder of his potential with a milestone performance in February at an indoor ATP 250 event in San Jose, California. The then-18-year-old beat Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt, both Grand Slam champions and former World No. 1s, back-to-back to clinch his maiden ATP Tour trophy.
“Obviously I was pretty happy,” said Murray, who remains the youngest Briton to win a tour-level singles title, when asked about his reaction on championship point. “I was probably in a bit more shock when I won against Roddick, to be honest, because it was my first win against somebody of that standard. Then I had a little bit more confidence going into the final.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/09/11/19/murray-san-jose-2006-forehand.jpg” style=”width: 100%;” alt=”Andy Murray” />
A teenage Murray in action against Andy Roddick during his 2006 San Jose title run. Photo Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
2. Cincinnati, 2008: Masters 1000 breakthrough
Murray had reached four ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals but was made to wait until August 2008 for his first championship-match appearance at that level. After beating Ivo Karlovic in the last four at the Cincinnati Open, the Scot did not let his chance go to waste as he overcame his rival Novak Djokovic in a pair of tie-breaks to claim the biggest title of his career at that point.
“It’s huge to win your first sort of major tournament, and to do it in a match like today makes it more special,” reflected Murray after his 7-6(4), 7-6(5) triumph. “I’ve been in semi-finals four times before this week and lost every time against tough players. This week I played well the whole week… I put in a lot of work off the court to be able to win these sorts of tournaments, and it makes it all worthwhile.”
It was the first of 14 Masters 1000 titles for Murray, a tally which places him fifth on the all-time list behind only Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Federer and Andre Agassi. He won the title at seven of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments, with only the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters missing from his resume.
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/09/11/23/murray-cincinnati-2008-celebration.jpg” style=”width: 100%;” alt=”Andy Murray” />
Murray celebrates after winning his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati in 2008. Photo Credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
3. London Olympics, 2012: Mastering Federer on grass
London 2012 offered Murray the rarest of opportunities — to compete at a home Olympics in the prime of his career — and the then-World No. 4 grabbed it with both hands on the lawns of the All England Club. The 25-year-old dropped just two sets across six matches as he charged to the Olympic title in style.
The scenes were in stark contrast to those at the same venue just over a month earlier, when Murray had fallen agonisingly short of Wimbledon glory with a four-set final defeat to Federer. Murray’s tears during his runner’s up speech that day only endeared him further to a British public desperate for an end to its 35-year wait for a Grand Slam singles champion.
Murray appeared to have all-but-forgotten that disappointment by the time the Olympics came around. In the best-of-five-sets gold medal match, Murray dismantled Federer, by then already a seven-time Wimbledon champion, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4. He hammered an ace down the T on match point to complete a remarkable victory and send the Centre Court crowd into raptures.
“You see how much it means to all of the athletes when they do it, how much work goes into it,” said Murray, who later defended his title in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 to become the only player with two men’s singles Olympic gold medals, after his emotional win in London. “The atmosphere in all of the stadiums, when everyone’s won gold medals in all of the sports, everyone’s just been so happy and pumped. I’m just glad I’ve been able to contribute to that.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/09/11/25/murray-london-olympics-2012-medal-shot.jpg” style=”width: 100%;” alt=”Andy Murray” />
Murray wins the first of his two Olympic gold medals men’s singles at London 2012. Photo Credit: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images
4. US Open, 2012: Murray’s maiden major
The US Open was the setting for Murray’s first Grand Slam final appearance. He fell to Federer in the 2008 final, a loss that began four years of heartache that included three championship-match losses and six semi-final defeats at the majors.
It was also at Flushing Meadows where Murray, a man long dubbed by many as ‘too good not to win a major’, finally got over the line on the biggest stage. The addition of ATP Tour great Ivan Lendl to his team at the start of 2012 appeared to have installed an extra mental edge in the Briton, and that was on full display as he outlasted Djokovic for an epic 7-6(10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 victory across four hours and 54 minutes in New York.
“I was obviously very emotional. I cried a little bit on the court,” said Murray when asked what winning a Grand Slam had felt like. “You’re not sad, you’re incredibly happy. You’re in a little bit of disbelief, because when I have been in that position many times before and not won, you do think, is it ever going to happen? Then when it finally does, you’re obviously very, very excited. [I’m] mainly relieved to have got over that, that last hurdle.”
Murray was the first British major winner since Virigina Wade at Wimbledon in 1977 and the first men’s singles winner from his country since Fred Perry won the US Open 76 years earlier in 1936. The Scot never made the championship match in New York again but remained a consistent performer at the Slams — his 11 finals were spread across all four majors, including five at the Australian Open.
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/09/12/22/murray-us-open-2012-trophy.jpg” style=”width: 100%;” alt=”Andy Murray” />
Murray became the first British major singles champion in 35 years at the 2012 US Open. Photo Credit: Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images
5. Wimbledon, 2013: Breaking Britain’s duck
An entire nation was glued to its TV screens on a sunny July afternoon in 2013 as Murray finally ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a Wimbledon men’s singles champion. He did it with a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory against World No. 1 Djokovic, although what was ultimately a commanding straight-sets win may have felt more like a trademark Murray nailbiter for many home fans.
Djokovic reeled off four games in a row from 0-2 in the third set, before Murray responded with a four-game streak of his own to close out his win. Djokovic netted a backhand on the Briton’s fourth championship point to send Centre Court into ecstasy and immediately etch Murray’s name into British sporting folklore. Some of Murray’s post-match words reflected the sheer scale of expectation he had met by becoming a home champion at the grass-court Grand Slam.
“For the past four or five years, it’s been very, very tough, very stressful, a lot of pressure,” said Murray. “ It’s just kind of everywhere you go. It’s so hard to avoid everything because of how big this event is, but also because of the history and no Brit having won. I think now it will become easier.”
Three years later, Murray certainly made it appear so. He dropped just two sets the entire fortnight as he overcame Milos Raonic for the 2016 title at the All England Club, where he ultimately finished his career with a 61-13 singles record.
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/09/12/25/murray-wimbledon-2013-celebration.jpg” style=”width: 100%;” alt=”Andy Murray” />
Murray reacts to ending Britain’s 77-year wait for a WImbledon men’s singles champion in 2013. Photo Credit: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
6. Davis Cup, 2015: Guiding GB to glory
Murray also helped Britain break another of its sporting ducks in 2015, when he spearheaded the country’s charge to its first Davis Cup crown in 79 years. The 28-year-old won all three rubbers he played in the final against Belgium in Ghent, including a doubles victory alongside his brother Jamie Murray.
“I’ve been pretty upset having lost matches before, but I’d say that’s probably the most emotional I’ve been after a win,” said Murray after dispatching David Goffin in straight sets to seal Britain’s 3-1 final win. “It’s incredible that we managed to win this competition. I didn’t know that would ever be possible. It’s great.”
Murray went a perfect 8-0 across his Davis Cup singles matches in 2015, the most in a single year by any player in competition history alongside John McEnroe (the American was 8-0 in 1983). He finished his Davis Cup career with a 33-3 singles record, the third-most wins for any Briton behind only 1930s stars Bunny Austin and Fred Perry, while he was 9-7 in doubles rubbers.
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/09/12/34/murray-murray-davis-cup-final-2015.jpg” style=”width: 100%;” alt=”Jamie Murray/Andy Murray” />
Murray in doubles action alongside his brother Jamie during the 2015 Davis Cup final. Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images
7. Nitto ATP Finals, 2016: Murray tops the tennis mountain
The years of hard work and battling to keep up with the ‘Big 3’ of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic came to fruition in 2016 for Murray, who put together a stunning late-season charge to rise to World No. 1 for the first time and finish as ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF.
As it turned out, Murray needed every single one of the 24 consecutive wins with which he concluded his season to deny Djokovic top spot before 2016 was done. Murray won five of his nine titles for the year back-to-back across October and November, with his victories in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna and Paris ensuring he rose to World No. 1 for the first time ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals.
Murray knew he had to lift the trophy with a perfect 5-0 record at the prestigious season finale in London to prevent Djokovic from reclaiming World No. 1 status. He did just that, defeating Djokovic with a dazzling performance in a championship match that marked the first time in ATP Tour history that the year-end No. 1 honour was on the line in the last match of the season.
Djokovic had been bidding for his fifth straight Nitto ATP Finals title but proved no match for Murray, who delivered a near-flawless display in his 6-3, 6-4 victory to finish the year as the world’s top player. The Briton went on to hold the World No. 1 spot for 41 consecutive weeks.
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/09/12/59/murrayyearendno12016trophy.jpg” style=”width: 100%;” alt=”Andy Murray” />
Andy Murray ends 2016 as No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images
8. Australian Open, 2019: A false farewell
Murray’s time as World No. 1 was cut cruelly short by a hip injury, and the Briton did not compete for nearly a year after Wimbledon in 2017. After undergoing surgery on the problem, he played six tournaments in 2018, but he was still playing through pain by the time he arrived in Melbourne for the 2019 Australian Open.
The three-time major winner stunned fans in an emotional pre-tournament press conference, where he suggested he could be about to play the final event of his career. With uncertainty surrounding whether it could be his last tour-level match, or at the very least his final appearance in Australia, Murray took to John Cain Arena for a first-round clash with Roberto Bautista Agut.
If this was to be the end, Murray ensured it would be a memorable finish. Despite being visibly hindered in his movement, he rallied from two sets down to force Bautista Agut into a deciding set, a valiant reminder of the Briton’s resilience and desire to compete. The in-form Spaniard ultimately proved too strong and prevailed 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-2 but, as ever, Murray had left everything he had on the court.
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A tearful Murray reveals he is contemplating retirement at the 2019 Australian Open. Photo Credit: Scott Barbour/Getty Images
9. Antwerp, 2019: Another Murray miracle
Just 10 months after that sombre press conference in Melbourne, Murray was remarkably back in the winners’ circle on the ATP Tour after he beat Stan Wawrinka to win an indoor ATP 250 in Antwerp. The Briton was competing in just his sixth tour-level event since undergoing hip resurfacing surgery, an operation that had enabled him to return to competing at the top level.
“This is one of the biggest wins I’ve had, after everything,” said Murray after his battling 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 final win in Belgium. “[The] last few years have been extremely difficult. Me and Stan have had a lot of injury problems in the last couple of years. Amazing to be back playing against him in a final like that.”
It was Murray’s 46th and final tour-level singles title, a tally that places the Briton in 15th on the all-time list (in the Open Era). He won the most trophies at the Queen’s Club, where he is a record five-time champion and where he also lifted one of his three ATP Tour doubles crowns.
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/09/13/03/murray-wawrinka-antwerp-2019-trophy.jpg” style=”width: 100%;” alt=”Andy Murray/Stan Wawrinka” />
Murray with Stan Wawrinka in 2019 after claiming his 46th and final tour-level title in Antwerp. Photo Credit: John Thys/Belga/AFP via Getty Images
10. Australian Open, 2023: Comeback king
Has the ATP Tour ever seen a more determined competitor, no matter the situation, than Murray? Renowned for his ability to dig deep and forge victories from the most unlikely of positions, the Briton seemed determined to consistently keep fans on the edge of their seats.
His penchant for a comeback on the big stage is reflected in one of Murray’s most impressive records. He came back from two-sets-to-love down to win a record 11 times during his career — 10 of those victories came at Grand Slams, and one in the Davis Cup.
He saved arguably the most miraculous recovery of all for last. At the 2023 Australian Open, Murray trailed home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis by two sets and 3-5 before pulling off a 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-5 win at 4:05 a.m. in Melbourne. At five hours and 45 minutes it was his longest professional match and was made all the more remarkable by the fact he had also outlasted Matteo Berrettini in five sets just two days earlier.
“I have done it before. I have experience of it. I just rely on that experience and drive,” said Murray, who finished his career with a 28-14 record in five-set matches, after beating Kokkinakis. “That fight and love for the game and competing, and my respect for this event and the competition, that is why I kept going.”
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Murray pumps himself up during his epic 2023 Australian Open win against Thansi Kokkinakis. Photo Credit: William West/AFP via Getty Images