Andy Murray recently became only the fifth professional men’s singles tennis player in the Open Era to collect 500 ATP Tour career wins on hard courts. The Big 3, usual suspects when it comes to leading record charts, once again led the way. However, the list also features Andre Agassi, making many feel he is not appreciated enough.
After a bad run of form, Murray bagged his first win of the year against Alexandre Muller in the opening encounter of the 2024 Qatar Open. He lost his second-round match, leaving him stranded on 499 hardcourt wins. But the three-time Grand Slam champion rebounded to an extent to beat Denis Shapovalov in the first round of the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships. With this victory, he hit the 500 hard court wins milestone, joining an exclusive club.
Roger Federer leads the list with a whopping 783 wins on the surface. Novak Djokovic follows the Swiss star with 700 wins while Rafael Nadal is fourth with 518. Sitting between the duo in third place is Andre Agassi, who collected 592 wins on hard courts in his career. Some fans were taken aback to see the American amongst the legendary trio despite him having won considerably fewer titles.
However, American tennis lovers were delighted to see Andre Agassi in a list dominated by players who played in the generation after his. Agassi is the only name not just from the United States, but also from the 90s era with as many as 583 wins on the surface.
Agassi won eight Grand Slams, much less than the 20+ each Big 3 member has in their kitty. Six were on hard courts (4 Australian Opens and 2 US Opens). He also secured the singles gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics on hard court. Overall, 46 of his 60 ATP Tour titles have come on this surface.
Pete Sampras, Agassi’s biggest rival, was said to be the better hard-court player. Despite this, the aforementioned statistic shows the latter dominated this surface. He may be third on the list currently, but he was the first to breach the 500-win mark.
It also seems highly unlikely that Nadal or Murray, both in the twilight of their careers, will catch up with him. Hence, as more fans realise the extent of how good Andre Agassi really was, despite his lower trophy count, he will receive the adulation he truly deserves.
Andy Murray ‘proud’ of achievement that sees him join Andre Agassi
Murray went five months without winning, exiting a string of tournaments in the first round. Before his 2024 Qatar Open first-round win, his last victory came in the opening round of the 2023 Swiss Indoors in October. Talks of retirement surfaced, with some media outlets even stating that the two-time Olympic singles gold medallist is tarnishing his legacy.
Despite his poor recent form, Andy Murray remains World No.50. He won two of his last three matches to reach 500 wins on hard courts, joining the Big 3 and Andre Agassi. In his post-match on-court interview after beating Denis Shapovalov in Dubai, he agreed that hard courts have been great for him and he is proud of this feat. He said it was great to get this record before he was ‘done’ (Telegraph).
“It’s not bad. Obviously, hard court has been a great surface for me over the years and 500 is a lot of matches so I’m very proud of that. There are not many players that have done that, so great to get to 500 before I’m done.”
Much like Agassi, as some would claim, Murray will bow out as an underrated and under-appreciated player. The Big 3 have blown all records out of proportion, which is why certain players like the Brit struggle to get their due recognition despite having strong legacies.
