Back in 2008, when a young gentleman made his name known Britain expected many happy memories from him. He is formidable in his game, consistent in the tournaments, as is evident by his rankings. A pure mix of creative genius with tactical and technical soundness. He is making history at every stage of his professional career, he is Andy Murray, the “History Maker” of Great Britain.

He won Britain the very first Wimbledon singles title in the Grand Slam era, and he has done it twice. Murray won two gold medals at the Olympics, first in London and then defending it in Rio this year. He is also credited for the all important Davis Cup victory in 2015. Now, after much hard-work and resilience Britain’s Andy Murray is No. 1 on ATP rankings.

Well, many would think that he is not going to hold it for long. And, they may even be right about it. Murray has the mammoth task of defending the No. 1 ranking against a rather struggling Novak Djokovic at the ATP world tour finals. But, not to forget the Serbian is the defending champion in London and has been so since 2012. Another thing to note about the ATP world tour finals this year is that for the first time since 2002, neither Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal will be featured in the tournament.

Rise and the sudden fall

The relief of ending Britain’s long wait for a male singles champion at Wimbledon is engraved to Murray’s face. He was the coming force, winning the Olympic gold medal and the US Open in 2012. Djokovic seemed little short at the time.  

However, things did not go as planned for Murray and injuries forced his career into a crisis. A sudden drop in form, lack of wins and the pain of the injury only made things further difficult. His rankings went down too, from a consistent feature in the top four he barely managed to stay in the top 10.

Ending the year 2014 on a low, Murray hoped for things to get better in 2015 with a winning start to the campaign in Abu Dhabi. And, his form seemed to improve through the Australian Open but then he suffered another set-back losing in the final of the year’s first Grand Slam. That was the Scot’s fourth final in five years down-under and he lost them all.

New found consistency key to winning

Coming towards the end of 2015, things appeared to change once again. Great Britain was in the finals of the Davis Cup and Murray led them to victory, their first since 1936. Things began to brighten up once again for Andy Murray, but not quite he suffered a set-back in the final of the Australian Open once again in 2016, making it to the final five times in six years without a win.

Over-time Murray improved his chances and relied on small victories to boost up the confidence that had lacked for some time. He went into the final of the French Open for the first time this year and ended up on the losing side to Novak Djokovic, who at that point seemed to en-route to winning every possible competition.

It was during the Wimbledon 2016, when things actually began to change for the Scot. Djokovic had been eliminated early in the rounds and that left Murray in pole position for his second Wimbledon title and he did not disappoint. It was only an upward curve from there; Murray reclaimed the Olympic gold medal in Rio as Djokovic was sent packing early once again.

From that point, there was no looking back as Murray found his consistency. His talent has never been a doubt among the who’s who of the tennis world, but this is the year when he matched to every bit of his potential. The decline of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal might have been an added advantage, while the sudden dip in Novak Djokovic’s performances left the throne unguarded. The Scot took his time and eventually pounced on the opportunity to end the Serbian’s 122 week run at the top of the rankings.

Can Andy Murray stick to the top?

Now, the big question is, will Murray be able to keep his name on top of ATP rankings? Well, at this stage there is no reason to claim that he cannot. He is likely to stay on top if he continues his remarkable form and fitness. Two weeks from now, when the ATP world tour finals conclude he may not even be the world No. 1, but, having worked so hard putting his heart and soul into the game day-in and day-out to reach here, Murray should simply cherish playing tennis and derive the enjoyment he takes from it.

Image Courtesy: The Telegraph