Andy Murray’s candid confession as he is asked about Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic
Andy Murray has insisted he does not regret being born in an era when he faces the biggest challenge imaginable in tennis, with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic blocking his path to glory.
Murray was the primary rival to Federer, Nadal and Djokovic when he was at the peak of his powers, but injuries hampered his ambitions at the back end of his career.
The Scot finished his career with three Grand Slam titles, two Olympic gold medals in singles and the distinction of being world No 1 at a time when he was up against the three greatest male players of all-time.
Murray’s two moments came as he ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a Wimbledon champion in 2013 and he also won an Olympic gold medal when he beat Federer on Wimbledon’s Centre Court the year before that maiden Wimbledon title.
Now Murray is content in retirement and speaking at an IBM event at Wimbledon, Murray told Tennis365 that he looks back on his career without any regrets, as he suggested the chance to compete against three players who won a remarkable 66 Grand Slam titles between them was the ultimate challenge.
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“Could I have won more if Roger, Rafa and Novak were not around? Probably, but I don’t look at it like that,” stated Murray.
“I believe I would have won more if there had been one less of them or, even better, two less of them!
“Coming back here now, I do see this event differently. When I was playing, it was all about the pressure building and every year that I didn’t get over the line, there were more questions over whether I would ever do it.
“I wasn’t sure if I would ever get over the line at Wimbledon. Federer won seven, Djokovic has won seven, Nadal won a couple, so there were not too many chances for me to win around that.
“There were definitely times when I probably wished they were not playing at the same time as them, but the other way to look at this is I was fortunate to play these three great champions on the biggest stages of tennis and try to beat them.
“I may be biased, but for me, that was the best era we have ever seen in men’s tennis. To have three players like that winning 20-plus Grand Slams each. I’m not sure we will see that again in my lifetime.
“The way I look back on it is I was fortunate to play against and beat Djokovic on Centre Court at Wimbledon. I was fortunate to take on Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros, at a time when he was virtually unbeatable on clay. I was fortunate to beat Roger Federer in an Olympic final.
“I didn’t always get the results I wanted against them, but I have incredible experiences and memories from my career and I’m not sitting here now thinking about what might have been.
“I’m proud of what I achieved in that time. I put so much into it, I pushed my body as far as it could go and the achievements I have are pretty amazing given where I came from and how hard it is to make it in this sport.”
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Serena Williams staged an improbable comeback at the age of 44 at this year’s Wimbledon Championships, but Murray has insisted his ageing body ensures he will not be considering any return to the tennis court.
“A comeback? Oh my God, not a chance,” he added. “As much as I would love to have kept playing, my body was in bits and I now play golf. That is a lot easier on the body.
“It’s interesting to come back to Wimbledon now. I always associated this tournament with pressure and expectation when I was playing, but it’s not to come back now and remember the good times I had here.”
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