Andrew Murray is a Scottish professional tennis player, currently ranked a career high of World No.2 and is the British No.1. He is the first (and only to date) man in history to win the Olympic gold medal and the US Open title back-to-back. He achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on 16 April 2007, reached a career peak of World No.2 for the first time in August 2009, again in April/May 2013.
Background
Ethnicity:
Murray identifies himself as Scottish and British. Prior to Wimbledon 2006, Murray caused some public debate when he was quoted as saying he would "support anyone but England" at the 2006 World Cup. Murray explained that his comments were said in jest during a light-hearted interview with sports columnist Maurice Russo, 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. Sports journalist Des Kelly wrote that another tabloid had later "lifted a couple of [the comments] into a 'story' that took on a life of its own and from there the truth was lost" and that he despaired over the "nonsensical criticism". Tennis player Tim Henman confirmed that the remarks had been made in jest and were only in response to Murray being teased by Kelly and Henman.
Murray was born to Will and Judy in Glasgow, Scotland. His maternal grandfather, Roy Erskine, was a professional footballer in the late 1950s. Murray's brother, Jamie, is also a professional tennis player, playing on the doubles circuit. Following the separation of his parents when he was nine years old, Andy and Jamie lived with their father.
Education
Andy was present during the 1996 Dunblane school massacre, occurred on 13 March 1996. Thomas Hamilton killed 17 people before turning one of his four guns on himself. Murray took cover in a classroom. 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 states that he attended a youth group run by Hamilton, and that his mother gave Hamilton lifts in her car.
At 15, Murray was asked to train with Rangers Football Club at their School of Excellence, but declined, opting to focus on his tennis career instead. He then decided to move to Barcelona, Spain. There he studied at the Schiller International School and trained on the clay courts of the Sanchez-Casal Academy. Murray described this time as "a big sacrifice". While in Spain, he trained with Emilio Sanchez, formerly the world no. 1 doubles player.
Career
In 2006, with new coach Brad Gilbert, Murray beat Roger Federer in Round 2 of the Cincinnati Masters tournament. Also that year, he beat tennis star Andy Roddick in the semifinals of the SAP Open. By 2007, Murray was a three-time Association of Tennis Professionals titleist, winning both the 2006 and '07 SAP Opens, as well as the St. Petersburg Open. He would go on to win more than 20 ATP titles by 2012.
In 2007, Murray became ranked as one of the world's top 10 tennis players. In the following years, his ranking improved to No. 4 and No. 2, and he became a three-time Grand Slam runner-up; he lost to Roger Federer at both the 2008 U.S. Open and 2010 Australian Open, and to Novak Djokovic at the 2011 Australian Open. In January 2012, Murray won the Brisbane Open 250 tournament, claiming his 22nd ATP title.
Later that year, Murray made it to the Wimbledon final for the first time, winning the Wimbledon semifinal against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on July 6, 2012. Murray's victory made is country proud -- he was the first tennis pro from Britain to reach the Wimbledon final since 1938. However, Murray lost in the final to longtime rival Roger Federer, who claimed his seventh Wimbledon win.
Murray avenged his Wimbledon loss at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, held in London, where he beat Federer to take his first Olympic gold medal. Murray's victory prevented Federer from attaining his first Olympic singles gold medal. That September, he continued to burn up the courts, making to the finals of the U.S. Open. Murray scored an impressive victory over Novak Djokovic in a tough finals match to clinch his first Grand Slam title.