Nick Kyrgios has his say on who should join Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic on Mount Rushmore of tennis
Nick Kyrgios recently gave his verdict on who he thinks should join Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic on the Mount Rushmore of tennis. According to Kyrgios, the fourth player should be Andy Murray.
For the better part of the last two decades, Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have dominated men's tennis. The individual brilliance of each of these players earned them worldwide appreciation from the tennis community, and the nickname "Big 3".
In the list of players who have won the most Grand Slams, Djokovic, Nadal and Federer occupy the top 3 positions with 24, 22, and 20 respectively. Each of them has made a special mark on the biggest tournaments in the sport. Djokovic has won the most Australian Opens (10) in history, Nadal has won the most French Open titles (14), and Federer has won the most Wimbledon titles (8).
Out of a possible 39 Slams from the year 2011 to 2020, the Big 3 won 31 of them. The notable exceptions were Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic, and Dominic Thiem.
Recently, a user on X (formerly Twitter) asked who the ideal person to join the Big 3 on the Mount Rushmore of tennis would be:
Nick Kyrgios commented on the post, stating that in his opinion, Andy Murray had the right to sit alongside the legendary "Big 3" and complete the Mount Rushmore of tennis.
"Murray," tweeted Kyrgios.
Murray has won three Slam titles in his career, and is notably the only man in history with two singles Olympic gold medals. He is also one of only three men apart from the Big 3 (the other two being Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz) to occupy the World No. 1 spot over the last two decades.
Murray was widely considered a part of the 'Big 4' when he was in a prime, as several experts believed he belonged in the same elite group as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
"Not going to play past this summer" - Andy Murray
Ever since coming back from multiple hip surgeries, Andy Murray has struggled to put up consistent results. The three-time Major champion last won an ATP title back in 2019, when he defeated Stan Wawrinka at the European Open in Antwerp.
Since then, he has not won any title or made a deep run at any of the Majors. After winning his opening-round match against David Goffin at the BNP Paribas Open, Murray lost in the next round against fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev.
However, having made a good start at the Miami Open by beating Matteo Berrettini in the opening round, Murray will be hoping for a good run this time.
The three-time Grand Slam champion recently said he feels time is running out for him. He stated in a press conference at the Dubai Championships that the likelihood of him playing past the summer was slim.
"Yeah, I mean I'm likely not going to play past this summer," Murray was quoted saying by Tennis TV.
In the second round of the Miami Open, Murray will face 29th seed Tomas Etcheverry of Argentina. Etcheverry had gotten the better of the Scot in the first round of this year's Australian Open in straight sets.