Even for a player who had already won 35 tour-level titles, including two Grand Slams, 11 ATP Masters 1000 crowns, and an Olympic gold medal, 2016 was something special for Andy Murray. After years of battling Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the top of the men’s game, the Briton elevated his level to eclipse them all.
Murray racked up a 78-9 record en route to nine tour-level titles in 2016, which he finished by becoming ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF in the most spectacular way. Ahead of the China Open in Beijing in October that year, World No. 2 Murray had trailed No. 1 Djokovic by 4,695 points in the PIF ATP Rankings. What followed was one of the most memorable season climaxes in ATP Tour history.
To celebrate the end of Murray’s glittering career, ATPTour.com looks back on Murray’s unforgettable 2016 season.
OCTOBER – Murray On A Mission
It was two weeks and 10 straight-sets Murray wins in China that injected late-season intrigue into the 2016 race to become ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF. The 29-year-old had put up a sustained bid to haul in Djokovic and become World No. 1 for the first time by winning 54 of his first 61 tour-level matches of the year, but he was in danger of losing momentum after a quarter-final defeat to Kei Nishikori at the US Open was followed by a Davis Cup loss to Juan Martin del Potro.
Yet back-to-back defeats against a pair of old rivals was to prove a mere blip for the in-form Murray. He took his tally to six titles for the season by claiming the trophy in Beijing and then another at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, victories that reduced the gap between World No. 1 Djokovic and Murray from 4,695 to 2,415 points. The Scot was nonetheless keen to dampen any talk of him hitting World No. 1 before the year was done.
“Although points-wise it’s possible to do it this year, Novak is going to win a lot of matches between now and the end of the year. I’m aware of that, and I expect that to happen,” said Murray after defeating Roberto Bautista Agut in the Shanghai final. “There is more chance to do it next year, I think.”
However, Murray continued to turn the scenario on its head as the late-season wins kept coming. He headed to Vienna to start his European indoor season and promptly won his seventh title of the year. Then another Masters 1000 crown, the 14th and ultimately final one of his career, at the Rolex Paris Masters. Djokovic had fallen in the quarter-finals in the French capital, leaving Murray to secure his remarkable rise to No. 1 for the first time by reaching the championship match.
“It’s been really, really hard to do it, been really difficult,” said Murray, when asked about finally disrupting Federer, Nadal and Djokovic’s 13-year monopoly on top spot. “Obviously, they are three of the best players that have ever played the game and some of the years that they have had in that period have been ridiculous… It’s taken a great year to get there.”
NOVEMBER – Fairytale Finish
Getting to No. 1 is a huge achievement, but ending an ATP Tour season in top spot earns a player membership of an even more exclusive club.
There was little time for Murray to celebrate becoming the world’s top player as he prepared for the 2016 Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 in London. The 29-year-old arrived on a 19-match winning streak but needed to perform well at the prestigious season finale to prevent Djokovic from an immediate return to No. 1, with the honour of finishing as the ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF on the line.
Murray completed a perfect round-robin stage in London by defeating Marin Cilic, Nishikori and Stan Wawrinka, before pulling through for a nailbiting 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(9) semi-final triumph against Milos Raonic to make it six victories in six Lexus ATP Head2Head clashes with the Canadian that year. With Djokovic also reaching the final, the stage was set for a winner-takes-all championship match in which both players were one win away from securing the year-end World No. 1 honour.
As he had done so often that season, Murray rose to the occasion in style. Roared on by his home fans, the Briton eased past Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 to complete a fairytale end to the year after winning 24 consecutive tour-level matches and five back-to-back titles.
“It was obviously a big match, a very important win for me,” reflected Murray, who finished 2016 with a 78-9 match record and a personal-best nine trophies for the season. “It was just a huge match to finish the year, to try and obviously finish No. 1. Obviously, this is a major event, as well, and one I’ve not done well in in the past, so it’s been a great week.”
JANUARY – Uncertain Beginnings
Murray’s seismic celebrations in London were a far cry from how his year had begun.
The Scot had wrapped the 2015 season in historic fashion by leading Great Britain to its first Davis Cup title in 79 years. Starting the new year at No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings, the Briton picked up where he left off at his first tournament of 2016 by beating a then-18-year-old Alexander Zverev, David Ferrer and Raonic en route to his fifth Australian Open final.
Awaiting the 28-year-old in the championship match was the familiar face of World No. 1 Djokovic, who had beaten Murray in three of his past four title matches in Melbourne. Their fourth, and ultimately final, Australian Open final proved to be the most one-sided when the Serbian eased to a 6-1, 7-5, 7-6(3) triumph.
Murray experienced the joy of becoming a father for the first time when his wife Kim gave birth to their first child in early February, but what was to become the best season of his career delivered two other early on-court disappointments. The Briton went 2-2 in March after falling at the third-round stage in both Indian Wells (to Federico Delbonis) and Miami (to Grigor Dimitrov). By the time the European clay season began in April, it had been eight months since Murray had won an individual title.
