"They are not easy guys to pass" - Andy Murray on overtaking Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to finish as World No. 1 in 2016
Andy Murray considers his World No. 1 ranking from 2016 as one of the proudest accomplishments of his life, especially because of the hard work it took to overtake the Big 3 in the rankings.
Speaking on the latest episode of the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast, the current World No. 134 opened up about the circumstances that led to him achieving the World No. 1 ranking. Murray achieved the feat in November 2016, becoming the first ever British male player to do so.
Murray admitted that after losing in the quarterfinals of the 2016 US Open, he had all but given up on reaching No. 1 by the end of the year. Since Murray was far behind Novak Djokovic at the time, climbing to the top of the rankings was possible only if he won every match left in the year.
"After US Open, we had a very clear goal. It was to try and give myself an opportunity to get to No. 1 in the world for the beginning of 2017. We weren't thinking about it at the end of 2016," Murray said.
"I was gonna have to win literally every single match between then and the end of the year," he added.
Andy Murray did just that. He finally overtook Djokovic after the latter couldn't reach the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Masters while Murray made it into the finals. He went on to win the tournament and the 2016 ATP Finals later to cement his position as the year-end No. 1.
2016 was an incredible year for world No. 1 @andy_murray. Take a look back on Murray's season: tennischannel.com/andy-murrays-y… https://t.co/UHmGmt2bGK
According to Murray, winning one tournament was in itself something to be proud of, but finishing the year as the top-ranked player made him all the more proud.
"It was so many years of such hard work, being behind Novak and Rafa and Roger. You know, they are not easy guys to pass in the rankings," Murray said. "It was not easy to do that. So it was one of my best accomplishments," he added.
A look back at Andy Murray's 2016
Andy Murray finished as the runner-up at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros that year. He followed it up with the men's singles gold medal at the Rio Olympics and the Wimbledon Championships title.
He also defeated Novak Djokovic in the finals of the ATP Finals, becoming the first male player to win a Grand Slam, Olympics singles gold, the ATP Tour Finals and a Masters 1000 in the same year.
2016. What a year for @andy_murray!🎾
Wimbledon champion✅
Olympic gold medallist✅
#ATPFinals champion✅
24 matches unbeaten✅
World No.1✅👏 https://t.co/nCk3tKVtmR
He ended the year with a 78-9 win-loss record. He won nine titles on tour and his last 24 matches of the season. For his exploits, Andy Murray was granted the title of Knight Bachelor in New Year Honors in 2017.