Sir Andy Murray is the greatest British tennis player of the modern era, a Glasgow-born champion who ended decades of national waiting by winning Wimbledon, and who reached the very top of a sport dominated by some of its all-time greats.
A Glasgow start
Born in Glasgow in 1987 and brought up in Dunblane, Murray came from a tennis family: his mother Judy was a coach, and his elder brother Jamie became a doubles champion. He turned professional in 2005.
Breaking the drought
For years Murray was one of the ‘Big Four’ of men’s tennis, alongside Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, and he lost his first four Grand Slam finals. The breakthrough came in 2012: he won Olympic gold at the London Games, and then his first Grand Slam at the US Open, becoming the first British man to win a major singles title since 1936.
Wimbledon champion
In 2013 Murray won Wimbledon, ending a seventy-seven-year wait for a British men’s champion and setting off national celebration. He won it again in 2016, a year in which he also defended his Olympic title, becoming the only player ever to win two Olympic singles gold medals, and rose to world number one.
A sporting great
Knighted for his services to tennis, and admired for his resilience through years of injury, Murray stands among Glasgow’s greatest sporting figures, in the company of the likes of the footballer Kenny Dalglish.
Related questions
Who is Andy Murray?
A Glasgow-born tennis player, the most successful British player of the modern era, with two Wimbledon titles and two Olympic gold medals.
How many Grand Slams did Andy Murray win?
Three: the US Open in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016.
Why was Andy Murray’s 2013 Wimbledon win so important?
He became the first British man to win the Wimbledon singles title in seventy-seven years, since Fred Perry in 1936.
Where is Andy Murray from?
He was born in Glasgow and grew up in Dunblane.