Andy Murray is no longer the ‘Big 4’ force he once was. A poor first-round exit in the ongoing Shanghai Masters proved that his powers have waned. However, at his peak, he was a dominant force to be reckoned with. His rise began over 15 years ago, breaking into the top 10 and causing trouble for the elite names. On one such occasion, Murray denied the world a Roger Federer – Rafael Nadal clash in October 2008.
The iconic rivalry between the duo was heating up in 2008. Both reached the semi-finals of the Madrid Open, and fans were praying for a mouth-watering final clash between them. However, Murray had different plans as he downed Federer. He was denied an opportunity to face Nadal for a fifth time that year.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had disappointing Madrid outing
Nadal and Federer came into the 2008 Madrid Open seeded first and second, respectively. Both got byes into the second round courtesy of their high seeding. Local lad Nadal beat Ernests Gulbis, Richard Gasquet, and Feliciano Lopez to reach the final four. Federer, meanwhile, bested some big names like Radek Stepanek, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Juan Martin del Potro to come up against Murray in the semis.
Notably, Murray had lost the 2008 US Open final to Federer. In Madrid though, the story was to flip. The Swiss legend won the first set in Madrid and looked like he would inflict another defeat on the then-World No.4. Murray, however, used his big serves to bounce back. He fired 14 aces and broke his opponent in the penultimate game to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, exacting revenge for his loss in New York City. Murray said he felt good about his serve and put his performance amongst his top 5 so far (via Reuters).
“I served huge and the second serve was very good. That probably makes the top five (in his best performances).”
Murray advanced to the final, dashing hopes of a Federer-Nadal title showdown. However, a summit clash between the duo would not have happened given the Spaniard would go on to lose his semi-final against Gilles Simon. Nadal arguably fumbled what could have been a relatively easy path to the title in front of his home crowd.
It would not have been a cakewalk for Nadal, though. Murray had defeated him in the 2008 US Open semi-finals in four sets. The then-21-year-old bagged victories over the top two of tennis in the space of weeks. He kept up his good form to defeat Simon in the final and won the title, his second ATP Masters of the year, and career, after Cincinnati.
Andy Murray ranking and title wins
Andy Murray is currently ranked World No.39, a sharp rise from being ranked outside the top 100 as recently as 2022. He was a constant feature in the top 5 from 2008 to 2016, peaking at World No.1 for 41 weeks in 2016-2017. It was during this period he won his third Slam, the 2016 Wimbledon Championships. He had previously lifted the 2012 US Open and the 2013 Wimbledon titles. Additionally, Murray boasts 14 Masters titles and two Olympic gold medals. He also won the 2016 ATP Finals.
During Murray’s peak, the Big 3 of tennis was extended to the Big 4 to include him. While he has memorable wins over the famed trio, the head-to-heads are quite lopsided in their favour. With Federer retired and Nadal on the sidelines, Murray has likely moved beyond those rivalries. However, Novak Djokovic is still going strong and they are set to cross paths at the Davis Cup quarterfinals. The duo have had some iconic matches over the years, and fans will hope their Davis Cup clash is a thrilling encounter.
