Andy Murray: The Man Who Ended The Big Three’s No. 1 Reign

Mainad

Mainad

Bionic Poster
(Not quite ready yet to post this in the Former Players' Forum along with the other former #1 profiles). :cool:

In the final profile on the 26 players to rise to No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, ATPTour.com looks at the career of Andy Murray.

First week at No. 1: 7 November 2016
Total weeks at No. 1: 41
Year-End No. 1s: 2016

As World No. 1
More than eight years after cracking the Top 4 behind Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for the first time on 8 September 2008, Murray ended the Big Three’s 666-week stranglehold on the World No. 1 position in the FedEx ATP Rankings on 7 November 2016. Having spent 76 weeks at No. 2 across seven stints, Murray’s perseverance paid off as he became the oldest first-time World No. 1 since John Newcombe in June 1974 by reaching the Rolex Paris Masters final in his 12th season as a professional. “The past few months have been the best of my career and I am very proud to have reached No. 1. It has been a goal of mine for the past few years,” said Murray. With a stellar run of results, Murray ended Djokovic’s two-year, four-month run at the top of the game to become the first British man to top the FedEx ATP Rankings. Between ATP Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Paris, the Brit reached 11 finals from 12 events (8-3) to take the top spot. Murray held the World No. 1 position for 41 consecutive weeks, winning 18 of 25 encounters and two of three championship matches during his reign.

 
In 2016 :
Federer was injured and out.
Nadal was injured and out.
Djokovic' slump started after French open.

So it was expected perennial #4 will ascend to #1 position. No need to make big deal of it. It was nothing like Murray went toe to toe with healthy in form Big 3 and managed to overtake all them beating them in Slams - masters etc. Even in 2016 Murray was 0-2 in Slams against Djokovic. Lol. If Djokovic had played himself in form in just one more big tournament - Murray would never get there.

Edit - Murray didn't end big 3 dominance. He became #1 for short period taking advantage of slump/injuries of other three. Once Big 3 came back in 2017 they captured #1 spot again and continue to hold it for 3 seasons in a row.
 
Last edited:
USO said:
I think it was very unlucky for Murray to get injured when he was finally at a good place and this mostly helped Djokovic because peak Murray was beating him in USO and Wimbledon finals. Today it should have been 6 slams Murray and 14 Djokovic.
Click to expand...
if it helped anyone it was Federer @ AO and WImbledon,
 
USO said:
I think it was very unlucky for Murray to get injured when he was finally at a good place and this mostly helped Djokovic because peak Murray was beating him in USO and Wimbledon finals. Today it should have been 6 slams Murray and 14 Djokovic.
Click to expand...
Murray was back in 15-16. Djokovic was better in 2015 than in 2012 or 2013 as well.
 
Third Serve said:
Holy s**t we may not be that far off from the truth, after all.
Click to expand...
06-01A-pic%203-Caravaggio_-_The_Incredulity_of_Saint_Thomas-web.jpg
 
USO said:
I think it was very unlucky for Murray to get injured when he was finally at a good place and this mostly helped Djokovic because peak Murray was beating him in USO and Wimbledon finals. Today it should have been 6 slams Murray and 14 Djokovic.
Click to expand...
The USO is definitely the one event I wonder about the most if Andy had stayed healthy post-2016. That's been by far the most vulnerable tournament for the Big 3 lately and where he could have done some serious damage the last few years. But then I think about how he really should have won it in 2016 but blew it and start to 2nd guess if I'm giving him too much credit.
 
I am no Djokovic fan, but it always bothered me that Murray snatched YE #1 largely on the basis of striving during the post-USO season.

Murray won 3 total titles from January 1 through the USO (4 if you include the Olympics, but I don't think that awarded any ATP points that year), but then 5 titles post-USO in what is by far the softest, least important part of the season. It felt a little odd that his ascent at #1 was built on the back of that part of the season.

That said, Djokovic has made a career out of caring about those tournaments, so it really was poetic justice to see him lose his YE #1 title because of tournaments like Vienna and Paris Bercy.
 
FrontHeadlock said:
I am no Djokovic fan, but it always bothered me that Murray snatched YE #1 largely on the basis of striving during the post-USO season.

Murray won 3 total titles from January 1 through the USO (4 if you include the Olympics, but I don't think that awarded any ATP points that year), but then 5 titles post-USO in what is by far the softest, least important part of the season. It felt a little odd that his ascent at #1 was built on the back of that part of the season.

That said, Djokovic has made a career out of caring about those tournaments, so it really was poetic justice to see him lose his YE #1 title because of tournaments like Vienna and Paris Bercy.
Click to expand...

Yes - Murray vultured his way to #1 but it's totally DJOKOVIC' faults the way he fell off after winning FO. Had he maintained even half decent level - then no matter how many insignificant 250/500 titles Murray won he would never lose the spot.
 
D.Nalby12 said:
Yes - Murray vultured his way to #1 but it's totally DJOKOVIC' faults the way he fell off after winning FO. Had he maintained even half decent level - then no matter how many insignificant 250/500 titles Murray won he would never lose the spot.
Click to expand...

Well, I mean he won the Canada Masters and he reached the finals of both the USO and the WTF, and the SF of Shanghai. It's not like he took the year off.

But again literally 30% of Djokovic's career titles are from the 6-week period of the calendar from October 1-WTF, so if anyone should get screwed by that it's him.
 
FrontHeadlock said:
Well, I mean he won the Canada Masters and he reached the finals of both the USO and the WTF, and the SF of Shanghai. It's not like he took the year off.

But again literally 30% of Djokovic's career titles are from the 6-week period of the calendar from October 1-WTF, so if anyone should get screwed by that it's him.
Click to expand...

Yeah True. He was very dominant post USO for four seasons in a row. (2012-15). And suddenly he failed everywhere and lost #1 ranking.
 
Mainad said:
(Not quite ready yet to post this in the Former Players' Forum along with the other former #1 profiles). :cool:

In the final profile on the 26 players to rise to No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, ATPTour.com looks at the career of Andy Murray.

First week at No. 1: 7 November 2016
Total weeks at No. 1: 41
Year-End No. 1s: 2016

As World No. 1
More than eight years after cracking the Top 4 behind Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for the first time on 8 September 2008, Murray ended the Big Three’s 666-week stranglehold on the World No. 1 position in the FedEx ATP Rankings on 7 November 2016. Having spent 76 weeks at No. 2 across seven stints, Murray’s perseverance paid off as he became the oldest first-time World No. 1 since John Newcombe in June 1974 by reaching the Rolex Paris Masters final in his 12th season as a professional. “The past few months have been the best of my career and I am very proud to have reached No. 1. It has been a goal of mine for the past few years,” said Murray. With a stellar run of results, Murray ended Djokovic’s two-year, four-month run at the top of the game to become the first British man to top the FedEx ATP Rankings. Between ATP Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Paris, the Brit reached 11 finals from 12 events (8-3) to take the top spot. Murray held the World No. 1 position for 41 consecutive weeks, winning 18 of 25 encounters and two of three championship matches during his reign.

Click to expand...
I really enjoyed his utter spanking of peak djokovic in 2012 and 2013. Andy making Djokovic cry at the Olympics made me an instant fan.
 
D.Nalby12 said:
In 2016 :
Federer was injured and out.
Nadal was injured and out.
Djokovic' slump started after French open.

So it was expected perennial #4 will ascend to #1 position. No need to make big deal of it. It was nothing like Murray went toe to toe with healthy in form Big 3 and managed to overtake all them beating them in Slams - masters etc. Even in 2016 Murray was 0-2 in Slams against Djokovic. Lol. If Djokovic had played himself in form in just one more big tournament - Murray would never get there.

Edit - Murray didn't end big 3 dominance. He became #1 for short period taking advantage of slump/injuries of other three. Once Big 3 came back in 2017 they captured #1 spot again and continue to hold it for 3 seasons in a row.
Click to expand...

Novak Djokovic was in such a slump that he reached the YEC final, where, if he'd have won, he'd have been world No 1.

But he lost to Murray - who was the deserving No 1 for 2016.
 
D.Nalby12 said:
In 2016 :
Federer was injured and out.
Nadal was injured and out.
Djokovic' slump started after French open.

So it was expected perennial #4 will ascend to #1 position. No need to make big deal of it. It was nothing like Murray went toe to toe with healthy in form Big 3 and managed to overtake all them beating them in Slams - masters etc. Even in 2016 Murray was 0-2 in Slams against Djokovic. Lol. If Djokovic had played himself in form in just one more big tournament - Murray would never get there.

Edit - Murray didn't end big 3 dominance. He became #1 for short period taking advantage of slump/injuries of other three. Once Big 3 came back in 2017 they captured #1 spot again and continue to hold it for 3 seasons in a row.
Click to expand...
Precisely.

All that Sir Mary did was to VTV - vulture the vacuum.

Sir Mary is the GOAT - of all the players ranked behind the Big 3.

Or was.
 
FrontHeadlock said:
I am no Djokovic fan, but it always bothered me that Murray snatched YE #1 largely on the basis of striving during the post-USO season.

Murray won 3 total titles from January 1 through the USO (4 if you include the Olympics, but I don't think that awarded any ATP points that year), but then 5 titles post-USO in what is by far the softest, least important part of the season. It felt a little odd that his ascent at #1 was built on the back of that part of the season.

That said, Djokovic has made a career out of caring about those tournaments, so it really was poetic justice to see him lose his YE #1 title because of tournaments like Vienna and Paris Bercy.
Click to expand...
He won the most prestigious tournament that year, so he was in no way an undeserving world #1.
 
Phoenix1983 said:
Novak Djokovic was in such a slump that he reached the YEC final, where, if he'd have won, he'd have been world No 1.

But he lost to Murray - who was the deserving No 1 for 2016.
Click to expand...

He deserved it for sure as he was the last man standing in 2016 - credit to him for digging deep when he got his first opportunity. That run ruined his rest of career though. But I don't buy the narrative Murray "ended" Big 3 dominance like Djokovic ended Fedal monopoly/duopoly - he got there thanks to injuries of Fedal and Djokovic' slump (there is no point denying the obvious slump from mid 2016 to mid 2018). Had healthy Federer or Nadal been around Murray wouldn't get it despite the Djoko' slump and his superhuman efforts. You don't "end" dominance of established player being 0-2 in Slam Finals against him , Lol. Djokovic for instance went 10-1 against Fedal in 2011 - that's how someone ends dominance.
 
Last edited:
MeatTornado said:
The USO is definitely the one event I wonder about the most if Andy had stayed healthy post-2016. That's been by far the most vulnerable tournament for the Big 3 lately and where he could have done some serious damage the last few years. But then I think about how he really should have won it in 2016 but blew it and start to 2nd guess if I'm giving him too much credit.
Click to expand...

Im a huge Murray fan but I had to look this up. I have absolutely no recollection of his 2016 USO at all. Did you watch the match against Nishikori? What was the level like?

EDIT: Now remembering it as the dreaded gong match. :cautious:
 
D.Nalby12 said:
Edit - Murray didn't end big 3 dominance. He became #1 for short period taking advantage of slump/injuries of other three. Once Big 3 came back in 2017 they captured #1 spot again and continue to hold it for 3 seasons in a row.
Click to expand...
C'mon now, he had a mad season on clay, grass, indoors, also making it to the AO final.

He ended at 12600 points, more than Sampras ever had in a season.

Pretty crazy numbers for a non-ATG, so give him credit, any other player would have stumbled and ended No2 there.

Novak is partially at fault, yes, but Andy had no room for error.
 
Don't know why Murray could be hated. He's a candidate for unluckiest athlete of all time. He had to play at the same time as the 3 best players to ever play the sport. Started his career when peak Fedal was around. Then Peakovic. Yet he still managed to win multiple slams, many masters, beat the Big 3 29 times, World No.1. ranking. Imagine what he could do if he was 10 years younger and getting started now. He'd run away with Wimbledon every year after the Big 3 retire, he'd routine them on HCs. He's had a great career, to mock him for losing a lot to the Big 3 and 'only' winning 3 GS... Let's see who's the next player to win more than 3 GS...
 
Winner said:
Don't know why Murray could be hated. He's a candidate for unluckiest athlete of all time. He had to play at the same time as the 3 best players to ever play the sport. Started his career when peak Fedal was around. Then Peakovic. Yet he still managed to win multiple slams, many masters, beat the Big 3 29 times, World No.1. ranking. Imagine what he could do if he was 10 years younger and getting started now. He'd run away with Wimbledon every year after the Big 3 retire, he'd routine them on HCs. He's had a great career, to mock him for losing a lot to the Big 3 and 'only' winning 3 GS... Let's see who's the next player to win more than 3 GS...
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, the next player may win more than 3 GS but we all know it will be because they will not have had Murray's competition.
 
Mainad said:
(Not quite ready yet to post this in the Former Players' Forum along with the other former #1 profiles). :cool:
Click to expand...

Now, now, now! That's quite a enough of that kind of talk!

The "threepeat" at Tokyo next year is still very much on. If (when) Andy wins the Olympic Gold next year, he'll not only be the one of the greatest British Olympians, but also arguably the greatest human being to have ever graced the planet.

What a summer it will be next year:

Harry Kane slots home the winner in the final of the Euros, a Covid-19 vaccine is widely disseminated throughout the world, and Sir Andrew Barron Murray once again takes his rightful position at the top of the GOATlympic podium.
 
TimHenmanATG said:
Now, now, now! That's quite a enough of that kind of talk!

The "threepeat" at Tokyo next year is still very much on. If (when) Andy wins the Olympic Gold next year, he'll not only be the one of the greatest British Olympians, but also arguably the greatest human being to have ever graced the planet.

What a summer it will be next year:

Harry Kane slots home the winner in the final of the Euros, a Covid-19 vaccine is widely disseminated throughout the world, and Sir Andrew Barron Murray once again takes his rightful position at the top of the GOATlympic podium.
Click to expand...
The English hopes of grandeur are something else :-D
 
Crazy to think that Djokovic was basically 1 or 2 matches away from Year End No.1 in 2016 and 2019. He could have had 7 Year End No.1 if a couple of matches played out differently.. o_Oo_O....
 
D.Nalby12 said:
In 2016 :
Federer was injured and out.
Nadal was injured and out.
Djokovic' slump started after French open.

So it was expected perennial #4 will ascend to #1 position. No need to make big deal of it. It was nothing like Murray went toe to toe with healthy in form Big 3 and managed to overtake all them beating them in Slams - masters etc. Even in 2016 Murray was 0-2 in Slams against Djokovic. Lol. If Djokovic had played himself in form in just one more big tournament - Murray would never get there.

Edit - Murray didn't end big 3 dominance. He became #1 for short period taking advantage of slump/injuries of other three. Once Big 3 came back in 2017 they captured #1 spot again and continue to hold it for 3 seasons in a row.
Click to expand...

You're being very churlish. It sounds to me like you have a huge chip on your shoulder surrounding "The Flying Scotsman".

Yes, Novak's form took a plunge after the French Open, but he ended the year with 2 Grand Slam titles, 1 GS final, and 4 Masters titles. How many years would someone not end as World No. 1 with those achievements?

Andy's achievements in 2016 were phenomenal, and he was the best player in the world that year by merit.

The idea that he got there by default is ludicrous. Just look at the current rankings: even allowing for the Covid hiatus, I don't see anyone else stepping into the breach, when Roger - and increasingly Rafa - are practically playing the game part-time, and Novak is - shall we say - a little bit "erratic" in his play nowadays.
 
USO said:
I think it was very unlucky for Murray to get injured when he was finally at a good place and this mostly helped Djokovic because peak Murray was beating him in USO and Wimbledon finals. Today it should have been 6 slams Murray and 14 Djokovic.
Click to expand...
Peak Murray would beat peak djokovic at W and UsO. Murray deep down must be frustrated that Djokovic has 8 Majors at those 2 slams when the h2h is 2-0 in his favour at those events.
Murray gets a lot of hate but had he stayed fit i think he would have been beating Djokovic most of the time past few years. If RBA and PCB are hard for Novak he would not be beating Murray. Really feel for Murray. He should have been on 6 Majors at least.
 
D.Nalby12 said:
In 2016 :
Federer was injured and out.
Nadal was injured and out.
Djokovic' slump started after French open.

So it was expected perennial #4 will ascend to #1 position. No need to make big deal of it. It was nothing like Murray went toe to toe with healthy in form Big 3 and managed to overtake all them beating them in Slams - masters etc. Even in 2016 Murray was 0-2 in Slams against Djokovic. Lol. If Djokovic had played himself in form in just one more big tournament - Murray would never get there.

Edit - Murray didn't end big 3 dominance. He became #1 for short period taking advantage of slump/injuries of other three. Once Big 3 came back in 2017 they captured #1 spot again and continue to hold it for 3 seasons in a row.
Click to expand...

So what? The point of this series of posts was highlighting the men who made it to #1. Whatever the circumstances its still a rare achievement.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Andy Murray Arena unveiled at Queen's Club
2
Replies
57
Views
2K
Rattie
Rattie
Mainad
Kafelnikov: The Man Who Sparked Tennis' Russian Revolution
Replies
21
Views
2K
sargeinaz
sargeinaz
clayqueen
The case for the BIG 4
2
Replies
69
Views
4K
Mainad
Mainad
beard
Year End No 1 will be the best player in 2021 alone...
Replies
19
Views
2K
Cortana
Cortana
Mainad
Marcelo Rios: The First South American No. 1
Replies
14
Views
1K
Phoenix1983
Phoenix1983
Back
Top