My Favorite Andy Murray Moments

[@alexhunter7978]

Hey there! Regarding Murray I have a thought i would like to share with you. I've always had the belief there was a golden moment between 2012-2013 where Murray had narrowed the gap between himself and the big 3. I've always thought that the Shanghai 2012 final where Djokovic saved 5 match points to beat him to be an overlooked crucial match in the history of tennis. Murray had just beaten Djokovic at the US Open and if he had won that match that would have been 3 in a row against him and I think the chances of him winning Australia in 2013 would have been higher, add this to the Wimbledon win of that year, means Murray would have been on 3 slams and 1 Olympic medal, not too far behind Djokovic's at the time 5 slams. I know people rightly commend Murray's 2016 year, but all the big 3 were too far ahead at that point and either injured or in poor form. So for me, I always imagine Murray's 2012-2013 period as the point I look back on and say 'what if?'. I hope that's not too much of a ramble and wonder if you agree. What do you think was the time Murray was the closest to the Big 3? Let me know your thoughts and love the videos ❤️

[@ak10s30]

Thanks for taking the time to write this comment! Yeah I also champion 2012-13 being the best version of him though he was definitely more consistent in 2015-16 but after the back injury/surgery I always felt like he was never the same consistent threat to the big boys even if he began making it to those stages more often than ever in 2015-16. I think that showed especially in those Federer/Djokovic matches after 2013 where he actually fared much worse against post prime Roger and had really few and far between wins on Novak plus like I said in the vid for whatever reason 2012-13 was the only time in his career I felt like he had a borderline elite forehand. Making this video looking back at that Wimby 2013 final and how much conviction he had blasting that shot whether it was taking initiative with it once that last game got tight or just unloading with it on the run it's surreal to watch for someone whose FH otherwise only stood out like that on a couple hot streaks like the Montreal 15 final. You bring up a great point with the Shanghai 2012 final could be seen as a pivotal inflection point since it sort of quelled the Murray momentum from his rebound after the Wimby final and I think if Andy got over the line it would've been 3 in a row for him in the h2h after Olympics and USO I hadn't really though of that especially since as you said at that point the h2h w Djokovic was still relatively close and it was only 5 to 1 in the major tally. Ofc think Novak would've created separation eventually but it is a compelling what if overall too if maybe Andy doesn't have the back issues he did especially to end 2013 since he pretty much lost out on all of 2014 after that and not much of his own good yrs left after as it turned out

[@sanjnarvekar4877]

👌👌👌👌

[@ValentinG23]

Love your videos , let’s what will the collaboration between Andy and Novak will bring to Novak’s career!!1

[@ak10s30]

Thanks man, appreciate that! I guess it's hard to project with this stuff but it's very intriguing at the very least. The prospect of winning a major with one of your biggest rivals in your box seems super surreal but within the lines I could see it being pretty valuable having the perspective of somebody that played you so many times for so long and employing that into Novak's approach. Plus just trying something out of the box always just has the potential to spark some additional motivation for a guy that's won everything now so it can't hurt.

[@Thetiersofmadness]

Agree, Murray was also able to more consistently challenge the big three during those couple of years than Stan, hence why it’s big four and not big 5. (He also won 2x Olympics during that period)

[@vascogong1156]

Thanks for this vid man, really enjoyed the nostalgic trip once again and great to see some appreciation for Andy in a time where I feel like every post I see that references his achievements alongside the Big 3 is just met with a ton of backlash saying 'There never was a Big 4, 'it's just a British media term' or '24>22>20>>>3', I have to admit I've let these sorts of comments get to me more than they probably they should've because as you said, the era where he played in will never do his career achievements justice in a time where tennis comparisons have increasingly become about the pure numbers. A stat that I've always liked to use to counter the 'There was never a Big 4' claims aside from the World No.1 stat you mentioned in the vid is that from when Rafa became No.2 in 2005, no one else outside of the 4 were in the top 2 until Medvedev in early 2021, with Andy spending a sizeable chunk of time in there and reaching No.2 abt half a year before Nole did. It really does baffle me sometimes how people seemingly can't acknowledge that it was possible for a Big 3 and a Big 4 to have co-existed. Just wanted to chuck in a couple of honourable mentions as well, I think you had some background footage on it but another highlight from the metal hip era was in his first tournament back (Cincinnati was his first singles iirc) winning the doubles at Queen's with Feli, just the feel good factor around that week, at a tournament Andy had really made his own over the past decade, was something to behold 6 months after the apparent farewell at AO. Other mentions are the clay seasons of 2015/16, beating Rafa, albeit the 2015 version of him, at Madrid for his first clay masters in a part of the season I would routinely dread when it came to being a Murray fan was a real core memory, then the Madrid/Rome/RG run in 2016, including my favourite Murray match point of all time against Nole in that Rome final, really was a preview of what Andy had to offer going forward that year. I feel looking back at that run in 2016, which is also my favourite Andy moment of all time btw, it probably should've been more obvious that Andy's body was gonna suffer after this given the amount of time on court and the way he would be putting his body through in certain matches where at times it seemed like he would just be soaking up pressure, one that I always remember was Verdasco in Bercy where he was just absorbing everything being thrown at him in a way that was amazing to watch, but probably long-term was gonna hurt him. I did actually have the debate recently on if Murray would accept remaining at No.2 in 2016 for a couple more years at the top of the game, I actually personally don't know if he would take it in terms of his career legacy, even though it would've been really cool to see him battle post-prime Big 3, I don't think we would see him get 41 weeks at No.1 or year end No.1 with how well those 3 would go on to play in the late 2010s, most likely a shorter stint in early-mid 2017 and then maybe a few more weeks down the road when Big 3 all started to pick and choose their tournaments a bit more, but of course that's all hypothetical. Anyways, that's enough rambling me for this vid, thanks for making it once again! Just wanted to ask are we going to be seeing one on Thiem as well? He's probably the other one I could do with a bit of a nostalgia injection on 😂

[@ak10s30]

Ah yeah thanks for taking the time to drop this comment! Yeah I definitely could've expanded on honorable mentions like Tokyo 2011 when he blew Rafa off the court the last 2 sets in stunning fashion, some of the bangers from probably his most important rivalry with Novak in Rome 2011, Shanghai 2012, Montreal 2015, Doha 2017 actually such a crazy sleeper bc it was such a good match that seemed to be implying the carrying over of those 2 at the top from the prior yr right before both spiraled, and then ofc his best clay yrs in 2015-16 were super fun I had all those in my mind in contention for a spot just forgot to give them a shout. 2019 winning the dubs with Feli and then playing mixed with Serena at Wimby great shouts as well I remember everybody rooting for those teams for the vibes after what was such an emotional abrupt supposed to be farewell at AO. As a Rafa fan and how much the clay merchant stuff started being thrown around at the end as we became further and further removed from the days when he had access to some of the all time peaks on any surface, I know exactly what you're talking about. It seems like the further removed we get from that period now 10-15 yrs ago, the less nuance there is for so many people that didn't live through it and just read off a stat sheet. Stats are good and well but I feel like discourse these days becomes too extreme where people just use one stat as a be all end all when it does need context and very rarely is just one statistical category indicative enough to on its own support a conclusion about these like 2 decade long careers especially in the case of Andy where he's such a one of one case to assess on an all time scale and honestly the fact that I have such a litany of moments to choose from and was even able to make a video like this on his career speaks to the type of legacy he left. Regarding his no 1 chasedown stretch in 2016 it's kinda weird to say but if his exploits were the straw that broke the camel's back with his body then there is a part of me that's like it was a more than worthy cause that he pulled off in such epic fashion to empty out the tank for especially when those hip problems had been bubbling under the surface for years and that it would've been a matter of time anyways. Still, I have pondered a couple of times that he could've very well added to his major tally with some of the softer fields at Wimbledon pre Alcaraz breakout as our first natural on grass in a while. Hypothetically a healthy Murray probably is a super strong contender to take out a title there any of Wimbledons 2019-22 and same to a lesser extent at USO 2017 on since he never was able to really bring it in Flushing Meadows after 2012 but we'll never know lot of factors there including his own aging. But glad you enjoyed, I am most definitely intending on getting to Domi as well and then at some point doing the same for Rafa and knocking out that last 2010s ranking vid for the USO. Should be kept busy here this winter.