Andy Murray

Infobox Tennis player
playername= Andy Murray


country= United Kingdom
residence= London, UK [http://www.andymurray.com/about_andy/profile Profile] , Andy Murray official site.]
datebirth= birth date and age|1987|5|15|df=y
placebirth= Glasgow , Scotland
height= height|m=1.90 [ [http://www.atptennis.com/3/en/players/playerprofiles/?playersearch=Murray%2C+Andy Player Profile] , ATP.]
weight= convert|79.5|kg|lb st|abbr=on
turnedpro= 2005
plays= Right-handed; two-handed backhand
careerprizemoney= US$4,128,751
singlesrecord= 140–63
singlestitles= 6
highestsinglesranking= No. 4 (September 8, 2008)
AustralianOpenresult= 4R (2007)
FrenchOpenresult= 3R (2008)
Wimbledonresult= QF (2008)
USOpenresult= F (2008)
doublesrecord= 20–29
doublestitles= 0
highestdoublesranking= No. 89 (April 2, 2007)
updated= September 23, 2008

Andrew "Andy" Murray (born May 15, 1987) is a Scottish tennis player who is currently the highest-ranked British player. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2008/06/23/stmurr123.xml Wimbledon: Andy Murray promises to focus] , "Daily Telegraph".] [http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/2008/06/23/wimbledon-more-mature-andy-murray-ready-to-shine-89520-20618073/ "I am Scottish. I am also British. I am patriotic and proud to be Scottish"] , "Daily Mirror".] Murray broke into the official ATP Top 10 for the first time on 16 April 2007, and reached a career-high of #4 after the 2008 U.S. Open, in which he reached the final, losing to Roger Federer. [cite news| first = Karen | last = Crouse | authorlink = | author = | coauthors = | title = The Arthur Ashe Crowd Has Fallen Out of Love With an Achy Djokovic | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/06/sports/tennis/06men.html?em | format = | work = | publisher = New York Times| location = | id = | pages = | page = | date = 2008-09-05 | accessdate = 2008-09-08 | language = | quote = | archiveurl = | archivedate = ]

In December 2005, Murray won the BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year Award and the sport section of the Top Scot awards. His elder brother Jamie is Great Britain's highest ranked doubles player. Murray is most proficient on a fast surface (such as hard courts or grass), although he has worked hard recently on improving his clay court game. [cite news|author=BBC Sport|title=Corretja to help Murray on clay | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7331593.stm|date =2008-04-04| accessdate =2008-07-01 | language =English] Murray works with a team of fitness experts, [http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/other-sports/article3826890.ece Andy Murray: A nation expects] , "Belfast Telegraph", June 23, 2008.] with Miles Maclagan currently acting as his main coach. He was previously coached by American Brad Gilbert.

Early life

Andy Murray was born to Willie and Judy in Glasgow, Scotland. [http://www.andymurray.com/about_andy/biography Biography] , Andy Murray official site.] His maternal grandfather was a professional footballer who played reserve team matches for Hibernian and senior football for Stirling Albion; [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/jun/26/wimbledon2005.wimbledon1?commentpage=1 Dunblane tastes regret along with its new favourite son] , "The Guardian", June 26, 2006] as a result, Murray is a Hibs fan. [ [http://www.itftennis.com/juniors/players/player.asp?player=100013005 MURRAY, Andy (GBR)] , International Tennis Federation profile.] Murray has a bipartite patella, where the kneecap remains as two separate bones instead of fusing together in early childhood. [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/daviscup/2290508/Andy-Murray-to-miss-Argentina-Davis-Cup-tie.html Daily Telegraph, 30th January 2008, Profile of Andy Murray] ] [ [http://orthopedics.about.com/od/kneecappatelladisorders/g/bipartite.htm About Orthopedics - Patella disorders] ] Murray attended Dunblane Primary School, where he experienced the Dunblane Massacre of 1996. [http://news.scotsman.com/dunblanekillings/Faultless-young-Scot-who-is.2563990.jp Faultless young Scot who is all set to take on the tennis world] , "The Scotsman", September 14, 2004.] Thomas Hamilton killed 17 people, mostly children who were in a younger age group than Murray. Murray himself took cover in a classroom. [cite book|author=Murray, Andy|title=Hitting Back|publisher=Random House|year=2008|pages=44|id=ISBN 9781846051678] Murray says he was too young to understand what was happening and is reluctant to talk about it in interviews, but in his autobiography "Hitting Back" he says that he attended a youth group run by Hamilton. [cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/jun/05/tennis.scotland |title=Murray describes fight to cope with trauma of Dunblane school killings |publisher=The Guardian |date=2008-06-05 |accessdate=2008-06-06] He went on to attend Dunblane High School.cite news | url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article671494.ece | date=2006-06-04 | title = The Big Interview: Andy Murray | publisher = The Times |author=Paul Kimmage | accessdate = 2008-03-17] cite news | url = http://sport.guardian.co.uk/wimbledon2007/story/0,,2101161,00.html | date=2007-06-09 | title = Boy on the brink | publisher = The Guardian |author=Simon Hattenstone | accessdate = 2008-03-17]

Murray first picked up a tennis racquet when he was two years old, and was soon playing with his older brother Jamie. Leon Smith, Murray's tennis coach from 11 to 17, said he'd never seen a five-year-old like Murray, describing him as "unbelievably competitive." Murray attributes his abilities to the motivation gained from losing to Jamie, who had been the second-best junior player in the world. He first beat Jamie in an under-12s final in Solihull, afterwards teasing Jamie until his brother hit him hard enough to lose a nail on his left hand. At 12, Murray won the Orange Bowl, a prestigious event for under-12s. [ [http://www.clgandjrtennis.com/JrOrange99.htm JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS] , "College and Junior Tennis". Retrieved on 2008-07-19.] He briefly moved away from tennis, turning towards football instead, but soon reverted back. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/get_involved/4237382.stm Andy Murray's First Steps in Tennis] BBC News, Retrieved 2008-08-01]

When playing against Rafael Nadal, who was a year older than Murray, he found out Nadal was training with Carlos Moyà, the world number one. Murray was angry that he had only his brother to practice with, so when he was 15 he moved to Barcelona, Spain, where he attended the Schiller International School [cite web | url = http://www.lta.org.uk/Performance/TopPlayerProfiles/TopPlayersMen/MurrayAndrew.htm?BSMGuid=d8e22622-9d63-40d5-b233-1286cbb8733d | title = Player Profile | publisher = The Lawn Tennis Association | accessdate = 2007-04-13] and trained on the clay courts of the Sánchez-Casal Academy. Murray described this as "a big sacrifice to move away from your family, and spend money training over there when you're not making any back". His schoolwork was also sacrificed during this period; despite being bright, he left without qualifications. While in Spain he trained with Emilio Sánchez, formerly the world number one doubles player. In September 2004, he won the junior US Open and was selected for the Davis Cup match against Austria later that month. [cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3650524.stm | date=2004-09-12 | title = Dunblane teenager takes US Open | publisher = BBC News | accessdate = 2008-03-17] Later that year, he won BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year. [cite news |title=BBC Scotland audiences serve ace result for Andrew Murray in Sports Personality poll |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/12_december/09/murray.shtml |publisher=BBC |date=2005-12-09 |accessdate=2007-03-17]

Career

2005

2005 was Murray's breakthrough year. He came to public attention after reaching the third round at both the Stella Artois championship at Queens and at Wimbledon. Almost all of his ATP tour results came on hard and grass courts, though he has claimed to prefer clay courts, a liking tied to his training in Barcelona as a junior. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/6474675.stm Murray training in Barcelona] , BBC Sport.]

In March 2005, he was called up to play doubles for the United Kingdom's Davis Cup team to play against Israel, and became the UK's youngest ever Davis Cup player in doing so. Murray and David Sherwood produced a surprise win over the Israeli doubles team, who at the time were the World number eight pairing and had reached the Wimbledon semi-final in 2003. This helped the UK to a 3–2 victory.

The Scot reached the semi-finals of the Boys' tournament at the French Open,Prior to the Junior French Open in April, Murray turned professional and played his first senior tournament when he was given a wild card to the ATP Open SEAT clay-court event in Barcelona, his adopted home town. He lost in the first round to Jan Hernych.

The Barcelona Tournament gave Murray his first senior ranking point, and he was soon handed a second wild card for the Stella Artois championship at Queens. He progressed to the third-round but retired due to a cramp. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/4628225.stm Petchey makes Murray fitness vow] , BBC News, 27 June 2005. URL accessed on 17 March 2007.]

Murray was awarded a wildcard for Wimbledon. He went into his first senior grand slam ranked 374th in the world, but managed to produce a major upset by defeating fourteenth seed Radek Štěpánek in straight sets. He was the first Scottish person in the Open era to reach round three at Wimbledon, and was the only Briton remaining in the men's or ladies' singles championship. Murray's run in Wimbledon 2005 came to an end when he was beaten by David Nalbandian after leading by two sets to love.

During the tournament his performances saw Henman Hill re-christened as Murray Mound/Mount and Murrayfield (a reference to Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh), [ [http://www.macmillandictionary.com/New-Words/060626-Murray-Mound.htm Murray Mound] - Macmillan English Dictionary Word of the Week (30th June 2006)] and Henmania became 'Andymonium'.

Mark Petchey, who had been coaching Murray through the early part of that grass court season was then confirmed as the player's full time coach, Murray stating::"I'm so pleased to have Mark as my coach, I respect him a great deal. He has helped me massively over the last few weeks and I am excited to work with him moving forward."Fact|date=January 2008

He began the U.S. hardcourt season by winning his first title at the Aptos Challenger Series hardcourt event without dropping a set. A wildcard afforded him entry to the Cincinnati Masters event where he played his first match against a top-ten player, Marat Safin, in the second-round. Murray lost the match, 6–4, 1–6, 6–1.

Murray was ranked #122 in the world and had to qualify for the U.S. Open. He was able to reach the second-round, playing two five-set matches. On the 29th September he finally reached the top 100, when he beat Robin Söderling in the Thailand Open. He reached his first ATP final by beating home favourite Paradorn Srichaphan in the semi-finals but lost to World no.1 Roger Federer in the final. His world ranking rose to #72.

Murray returned from a short injury layoff to play at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors. He was drawn in the first-round against British number one Tim Henman, with this tie being first time the two had met in professional competition. Murray defeated Henman, 6–2, 5–7, 7–6(4). He then defeated Thomas Berdych in three sets before losing in the quarter finals to world number 10 Fernando Gonzalez 6–4, 3–6, 6–1. However, he rose to a career high ranking of 65.

In December Murray won the BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year 2005.

2006

Murray began the 2006 season with second round exits in two tournaments, followed by a first round loss to Juan Ignacio Chela in his first Australian Open appearance. After winning a match against Kenneth Carlsen at the Heineken Open in Auckland, Murray told an on-court reporter that he thought "we both played like women in the first set".Praverman, Frank. [http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/article33758.ece Murray's "woman" boob] , "The Sun", 9 January 2006. ] He later explained that he had recently watched a match between two women which featured nine breaks of serve in a set, and he was comparing that to his match against Carlsen. [ [http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=41472006 Crowd's racket over Murray's 'sexist' quip] , "The Scotsman", 10 January 2006. ] Dead link|date=September 2008

Murray then won his first ATP title, the SAP Open in San Jose, California, by beating two former world number one players in the form of Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt. He reached the quarter-finals in his next tournament in Memphis. He lost in the first round of six of the next nine tournaments he played in, including first round exits at the French Open and at Queen's Club. During this run, Murray unsuccessfully partnered Greg Rusedski in the UK's Davis Cup tie, after missing the singles through injury.

As he climbed into the top 100 players, Murray gained a reputation of being "petulant" with the media. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/usopen06/news/story?id=2553405 Young guns climbing the charts] , ESPN, August 2006.] [ [http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/markhodgkinson/oct06/leavemurrayalone.htm Leave Andy Murray alone] , "Daily Telegraph", October 2006.] When playing in Davis Cup doubles with Greg Rusedski, against Nenad Zimonjić and Ilija Bozoljac, Murray incurred a $2,500 fine for swearing at the umpire. His words were over a line call which was caught on microphone and televised live. Later he admitted swearing, saying "We got an absolute shocker and I told the umpire how bad he was". [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/4892692.stm Britain fined for Murray outburst] , BBC Sport, 9th April 2006.]

Murray's cramping problems contributed to his defeat in the first round of the 2006 Monte Carlo Masters, [cite web|title=Murray out as cramps strike again|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/4919406.stm|publisher=BBC News|date=2006-04-18|accessdate=2008-06-28] and he was hampered by a back problem in his defeat to Gael Monfils at the 2006 French Open. Murray put his fitness problems down to the fact that he was still growing, saying "I had an X-ray and it showed the bones aren't fully grown. That's why my back gets sore and that's why I get cramp." [cite web|title=Murray plays down injury worries |publisehr=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/5031414.stm|date=2006-05-30|accessdate=2008-06-28]

At Wimbledon, Murray reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time, after defeating third seed Roddick in the third round. His run was then ended with a straight-sets loss to Marcos Baghdatis. He reached the semi-final and final of the next two tournaments he entered (the Hall of Fame Championships in Newport and the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, respectively). In between, he won a singles match against Andy Ram in the Davis Cup tie with Israel.

Murray reached the semi-final of the Canada Masters, losing to Richard Gasquet. In the next tournament, the Cincinnati Masters, he lost to Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals after earlier defeating the then world number 1, Roger Federer. Murray was one of only two players to beat Federer in 2006, the other being Rafael Nadal. The final grand slam of the year, the U.S. Open, saw Murray reach the fourth round, before losing to the seeded Nikolay Davydenko in four sets. This was followed by his final Davis Cup appearance for the year, in which he won both singles rubbers in straight sets and lost the doubles en route to a British victory over the Ukraine, which ensured the team's continued presence in group 1 of the Europe/Africa zone for 2007.

In the final set of tournaments in 2006 he lost to Tim Henman in the first round of the Thailand Open (where he had reached the final the year before) He reached the final of the doubles, partnered by his brother. At the Madrid Masters, he defeated number 3 seed Ivan Ljubičić before losing to Novak Đoković in the round of 16. In his final tournament of the year, the Paris Masters, Murray beat Chela, and lost in the next round to Dominik Hrbaty. At the end of the year, Murray was ranked 17th in the world.

2007

At the Australian Open, Murray's first Grand Slam of the calendar year, he was seeded 15th. In his first round match he beat Alberto Martín of Spain 6–0, 6–0, 6–1, which equalled the largest-ever victory at the Australian Open, in the Open Era, which began in 1968. In the fourth round Murray faced Rafael Nadal for the first time in his career. After leading by 2 sets to 1, Murray lost in 5 sets to Nadal, 6–7(3), 6–4, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1. After the match Murray stated that it was the best performance of his career. [cite web|author=Preston, Eleanor|title="The quarter-final is a match I can win"|publisher=The Guardian|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/jul/01/andymurray.wimbledon1|date=2008-07-01|accessdate=2008-07-01]

Andy Murray successfully defended his San Jose title, beating Ivo Karlović 6–7(3), 6–4, 7–6(2) in a closely fought final. His brother also won the doubles title. They became the first pair of brothers to win singles and doubles titles at the same event since Emilio and Javier Sánchez at Kitzbühel in 1989. [ [http://www.sapopentennis.com/news/news.asp?story_id=202 Wins SAP Open in San Jose, California] : SAP Open (18th February 2007)]

At the Indian Wells Masters event Murray made his way into the quarter finals after a 7–6(5), 6–4 victory over number four seed Nikolay Davydenko. He then proceeded to save two match points and recover from a serious fall, in which he injured his ankle and hip, and bounce back to beat German Tommy Haas to progress to the semi-finals, winning 3–6, 6–3, 7–6(8). He could not make it to the final though, hampered by the injury he sustained in the quarter final against Haas, he lost 6–2, 6–3 to Novak Djokovic. Despite the loss, he rose to a career high ranking of 12th in the world. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/6465631.stm Murray rises to new rankings high (12th)] , BBC Sport, 19 March 2007.] At the Miami Masters he faced Djokovic again, and lost heavily 6–1, 6–0. It was reported that Murray had been injured in training the day before and was a doubt for the Davis Cup tie the following week. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/6515377.stm Murray in Davis Cup fitness race] , BBC Sport, 1 April 2007.] However, he did rise to a career high ranking of 11th in the world. On April 13, Murray clinched a place in the top 10 after the former #10 Tommy Haas failed to reach the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships semi-finals in Houston.cite web |title = Murray clinches world top-10 spot |author = BBC Sport |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/6554571.stm |accessdate=2007-04-14]

After the Hamburg Masters, where Murray was forced to abandon in the first set of his first round match against Italian Filippo Volandri due to a wrist injury, he announced that he was forced to withdraw his participation to the 2007 French Open. Shortly after this, he announced that he would not be able to take part in the tournament of Queen's, the preparatory tournament to The Championships, Wimbledon. He announced that he could not take part in Wimbledon either.cite web |title = Injured Murray pulls out of Wimbledon |author = Yahoo! Sports |url=http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news?slug=reu-wimbledonmurray&prov=reuters&type=lgns |accessdate= 2007-06-24] Murray rose to #8 in the world even though he was inactive, because other players failed to defend points. After missing Wimbledon and several other tournaments, he dropped to 14th in the rankings.

Murray returned to play at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, three months after sustaining the wrist injury and lost in the second round to world number 139 Fabio Fognini 6–2, 6–2. The following week at Cincinnati Murray lost in the opening round to Marcos Baghdatis 6–1, 6–2 and his ranking fell to number 19. He reached the third round of the U.S. Open. After an opening straight sets victory over against Pablo Cuevas, he needed five sets to defeat Jonas Björkman. Then he fell to Lee Hyung-taik in four sets, 6–3, 6–2, 2–6, 7–5.

Murray then won a £50,000 exhibition event; the Betfair Turbo Tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London. He defeated former Wimbledon Champion Goran Ivanišević 7–4 in the final. Murray commented afterwards, “I really enjoyed myself, and the crowd were unbelievable. It was a lot of fun playing a tennis match like this. For me to play against two Wimbledon champions in one day was great." [ [http://www.lta.org.uk/Newsroom/GeneralNews/GeneralNews2007/070915Murray.htm?BSMGuid=ef532403-e356-44b0-8460-cd420eaf1be4 Lawn Tennis Association Murray takes Turbo jackpot] ] Dead link|date=September 2008

Murray went on to compete for Great Britain in the Davis Cup tie against Croatia played at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. He defeated Marin Čilić in a close five set match to take Britain to a 1–0 lead. Tim Henman won the second rubber and partnered with Jamie Murray to win the doubles title. Murray played the fourth rubber defeating Roku Karanusić 6–4, 7–6(4).

Murray started the Autumn indoor season with a strong showing at the Metz International in France. Wins over Janko Tipsarević, Michaël Llodra, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Guillermo Cañas saw him reach the final of the tournament. In the final Murray took on top seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo and lost 0–6, 6–2, 6–3; showing inconsistent form. Murray then headed to the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, where he had a solid opening-round win over young Russian hopeful Evgeny Korolev, before falling to Janko Tipsarević—the man who he beat in Metz the previous week—in the second round. Murray also spoke out in the British press claiming that "everyone is aware" of the match fixing problems that exist in tennis. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7044199.stm Murray satisfied with ATP meeting] , BBC Sport.]

Murray reached the third round of the Madrid Masters, where he defeated Juan Ignacio Chela in the second round. He met Rafael Nadal in the third round, and both players traded breaks of serve throughout the match, but Murray eventually lost 7–6(5) 6–4. Following this Murray competed in St Petersburg taking out Dmitry Tursunov in a tight match 3–6, 7–6(2), 6–4 to reach a semi-final against Mikhail Youzhny. Murray reached his 7th career final in St Petersburg with a 6–2, 5–7, 7–6(1) win. He faced Fernando Verdasco in the final, winning 6–2, 6–3.

Murray then played in the 2007 Paris Masters, and defeated Fabrice Santoro in the third round 6–4, 6–2 before falling to home favorite Richard Gasquet 6–3, 0–6, 6–4 in the quarterfinals. This defeat ended his chances of qualification for the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup, while Gasquet received the last available place. After the tournament, Murray stood at number 12. [ [http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/rankings/EntrySystem/default.asp?rank=100&country=&RankDate=10/29/2007 ATP Rankings at 29 October, 2007] , ATP.]

In late November, Murray split from coach Brad Gilbert, replacing him with a "team of coaches".

2008

Murray trained hard in the off-season, working with fitness experts Jez Green, Matt Little and Miles Maclagan in Miami, leading Murray to say he had never been better prepared for a season. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7164308.stm Clinical Murray blows away Rochus] ] Murray's hard work paid off immediately as he sealed his fourth career title at the 2008 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, defeating top seed and world number four Nikolay Davydenko 6–4, 6–3 in the semifinals, before defeating up-and-coming Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 in a tight final, which assured Murray rose back into the Top 10.

Murray was seeded ninth at the 2008 Australian Open, his first time in the Top 10 seeds at a Grand Slam, but lost to eventual runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round. Murray withdrew from Great Britain's Davis Cup tie against Argentina, a decision that provoked controversy; his brother Jamie commented, "It's not that Andy doesn't enjoy the Davis Cup, it's just that he obviously felt that it was more important for him to concentrate on Marseille and play well there rather than come here." [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/02/07/sthodg107.xml Jamie and Andy Murray at war over Davis Cup] ]

Murray won his fifth career title at his next tournament in Marseille, defeating Mario Ančić in the final. In Murray's opening match in Dubai, he defeated world number one Roger Federer but exited in the quarter-finals; Murray posted early losses at the subsequent Masters Series events in Indian Wells and Miami.

Onside Law, the legal firm representing Andy Murray's official website, made an official legal request to fan site murraysworld.com to cease and desist all use of photographs and images of Andy Murray unless given explicit permission from the copyright holders in April 2008. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/may/07/1 Murray threat hits fan] , "The Guardian", 7 May 2008. ] The lawyers claimed the use of such material constituted copyright infringement; the fan site claimed the legal request was an attempt to "suppress a website that is often critical, and in some cases damaging to Murray's image, due to its journalistic principles". [ [http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/sport/Richard-Moore--Murray-net.4234386.jp Murray net verbals to increase] , The Scotsman, 30 June 2008. ]

In a bid to improve his results on clay, which had been thus far his least successful surface, Murray began working with former French Open runner-up Alex Corretja. However, Murray failed to go beyond the third round of any of his pre-French Open clay court tournaments.Murray reached the third round of the Open, and completed a convincing second-round win over clay specialist Jose Acasuso 6–4, 6–0, 6–4, which BBC Sport described as "his best ever performance on clay". [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7420581.stm Superb Murray storms past Acasuso] ]

At Queen's, Murray reached the quarterfinals, but withdrew from his quarterfinal match against Andy Roddick due to a thumb injury. As the twelfth seed at Wimbledon, Murray defeated his first two opponents, Fabrice Santoro and Xavier Malisse, before defeating Tommy Haas 6–4, 6–7(4), 6–3, 6–2 in round three. In the fourth round, he defeated Richard Gasquet 5–7, 3–6, 7–6(3), 6–2, 6–4, after Gasquet had served for the match in the third set. In his first career Grand Slam quarterfinal, however, Murray was defeated by eventual champion Rafael Nadal 6–3, 6–2, 6–4.

Murray returned to action on the US Open Series, where he has so far encountered success. In the Toronto Masters he reached the semi-finals, defeating Novak Djokovic for the first time on his route there, before defeating Djokovic again, in the final of the Cincinnati Masters, to win his first Master Series shield. This ensured that Murray reached a career high of No. 6 in the world. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7539980.stm|title=Superb Murray wins Masters title|publisher=BBC Sport|author=Piers Newbury|date=2008-08-03|accessdate=2008-08-04]

After winning in Cincinnati, Murray went into the men's singles at the 2008 Summer Olympics as one of the favourites for gold, [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/2498083/Andy-Murray-targets-Olympics-and-US-Open-after-Masters-Series-triumph---Tennis.html Andy Murray targets Olympics and US Open after Masters Series triumph] , "Daily Telegraph", 4 August 2008.] but he suffered a shock defeat to Lu Yen-Hsun in the first round. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/tennis/7553989.stm Mixed Olympic fortunes for Murray] , BBC Sport, 11 August 2008.] Murray also entered the men's doubles, where he was paired with his brother Jamie. Andy and Jamie won 4–6 6–3 6–4 in the first round against Canada's Daniel Nestor and Frederic Niemeyer, but were beaten in the second round by the French duo of Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra in straight sets, 6–1 6–3.

In the U.S. Open, Murray progressed from the third round by coming back from being two sets down against Jurgen Melzer. He then beat 10th seed Stanislas Wawrinka 6–1, 6–3, 6–3 to reach the quarter-final. In that match he stopped 17th seed Juan Martin del Potro's 23 match winning streak by winning 7–6, 7–6, 4–6, 7–5, coming back from a break down in both the first and fourth sets. Murray was assured of a world ranking high of #4 by reaching the semi-final, benefitting from the losses of David Ferrer, Andy Roddick and Nikolay Davydenko. Murray played top seed Rafael Nadal in the semi-final, which was moved forward and onto the Louis Armstrong Stadium court due to rain expected to be caused by Hurricane Hanna. Murray won the first two sets, 6–2 7–6(5), but Nadal was up a break in the third set as the play was suspended due to the rain's arrival. The match continued on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court the next day, with Murray going on to win 6–2, 7–6(5), 4–6, 6–4. [cite news
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Murray became the first British man since Greg Rusedski in 1997 to reach the final of a Grand Slam, and only the third in the open era (John Lloyd being the first, in 1977). [cite news
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title = Murray Beats Nadal, First Briton in Grand Slam Final Since 1997
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archivedate = ] Rusedski said, "There's no doubt Murray's playing the best tennis of the two players. He's been so impressive." [cite news
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title = Magic Murray Into US Open Final
url = http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Andy-Murray-Beats-Rafael-Nadal-In-US-Open-Semi-Final-Briton-Plays-Roger-Federer-In-The-NY-Final/Article/200809115094364
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archivedate = ] Describing the semi-final result as "awesome", Murray was asked about his prospects in the final, saying, "Roger's played better in his last couple of matches after struggling earlier in the tournament. I'm going to have to play great to have a chance of winning that." [cite news
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title = Andy Murray beats Rafael Nadal in US Open semi-final
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archivedate = ] He called it an "honour" to play against "probably the greatest player ever" in a Slam final. "I've played well against him in the past. Hopefully I can do the same again." [cite news
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title = Andy Murray ends Rafael Nadal's magic run
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archivedate = ] Murray lost the final to Roger Federer in straight sets, 6–2, 7–5, 6–2.

National identity

Murray identifies himself as "Scottish, but also British". Prior to Wimbledon 2006, Murray caused some public debate [ [http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/newscomment.html?in_page_id=1787&in_article_id=389385 See you, Murray] , Mail on Sunday, 6th June 2006. URL accessed on 25th July 2006.] when he was quoted as saying he would "support anyone but England" at the 2006 World Cup. He received large amounts of hate mail on his website as a result. [ [http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/tennis/tm_objectid=17307387&method=full&siteid=66633-name_page.html Hate messages on Murray website] , Daily Record, 29th June 2006. URL accessed 25th July 2006.] It was also reported that Murray had worn a Paraguay shirt on the day of England’s World Cup match with the South American team. [Littlejohn, Richard. [http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-389385/See-Murray.html See you, Murray] , "Mail on Sunday", 6 June 2006. ]

Murray explained that his comments were said in jest in response to provocation from Englishmen who asked him if he would be supporting Scotland in the World Cup, in the knowledge that Scotland had failed to qualify for the tournament. [ [http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/motorracing/tm_headline=tim-s-my-pop-idol&method=full&objectid=18432555&siteid=66633-name_page.html Tim's My Pop Idol] , "Daily Record", 10 January 2007. ] Murray protested that he is "not anti-English and never was" and he expressed disappointment over England's subsequent elimination by Portugal. [ [http://sport.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1308&id=967832006 I picked them to win on penalties so I am a bit disappointed] , "The Scotsman", 3 July 2006. ] In an interview with Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live, Tim Henman confirmed that the remarks had been made in jest and were only in response to Murray being teased by a journalist and Henman. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqQsHBwkDgQ Tim Henman talks about Andy Murray, 9th Sep '08] , YouTube clip of BBC Radio 5 Live interview.] He also stated that as far as he was aware the rumour that Murray had worn a Paraguay shirt was untrue.

In an interview with Gabby Logan for the BBC's "Inside Sport" programme, Andy said that he was both Scottish and British and was comfortable and happy with his British identity. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/sol/newsid_6630000/newsid_6638300/6638329.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&news=1 Inside Sport, 7 May, 2007] ] He said he saw no conflict between the two and was equally proud of them. He has also pointed out that he is quarter English with some of his family originating from Newcastle, his coach is English and that his girlfriend, Kim Sears, is English. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/jun/29/andymurray.wimbledon1 Murray's a winner - but not yet a hero] , "The Observer", June 29, 2008.]

Career statistics

Grand Slam singles finals (1)

Runner up (1)

valign=top width=33% align=left

Doubles (1)

Runner-up (1)

* As of October 9, 2008.

References

External links

* [http://www.andymurray.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.murraysworld.com/ Fan site]
* [http://muchatvonline.com/search/label/Federer_Murray_Final Live Info of Andy Murray at the US Open 2008] (English and Spanish)
* [http://muchatv.net/2008/08/murray-wins-masters-series-cincinnati.html Andy Murray Wins in Cincinnati 2008 - Video]
*ATP|id=MC10|name=Andy Murray
*ITF male profile|number=100013005
*DavisCupplayerlink|id=100013005|name=Andy Murray