Andy Murray faced a level of pressure during his tennis career that few others will ever experience.
Prior to winning Wimbledon for the first time in 2013, the British tennis legend had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Much of the pressure derived from Murray being his nation’s greatest hope of ending Great Britain’s long wait for a British champion at Wimbledon.
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Murray did indeed end the barren run in 2013, despite the immense pressure.
Andy Roddick recently reflected on Murray’s triumph at Wimbledon and the intense scrutiny he faced from the media.
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Andy Roddick and Andy Murray contested two matches at Wimbledon: in 2006 and 2009.
Murray emerged victorious in the third round of the 2006 event. Three years later, Roddick secured his place in a third Wimbledon final after beating Murray 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6.
Having competed against the British star twice in London, Roddick knows a thing or two about the pressure Murray was under prior to his Wimbledon triumph.
“Playing Murray there… the first six pages they would cover his water breaks in practice,” Roddick said on the Served Podcast. ‘There was a pink substance he was drinking’ – yeah, that was electrolytes.
“Like, who cares?
“The amount of scrutiny he was under, probably after [Tim] Henman. Henman created the mainstream obsession where this actually might happen for the first time in 100 years, or 80 years at that point, whatever it was.
“Murray playing through and winning that tournament with that amount of pressure in that fishbowl, it was a huge deal but it’s completely undersold outside of Great Britain.
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“We’re talking screens up across the country, hundreds of thousands of people gathering to watch massive screens. But it’s not a team, it’s one person.
“The fact that he did it, and then did it again – I want to sit down with him.
“That would be a dream show to sit down with him and actually get an honest look back at the amount of pressure that he felt, because I had never seen anything like it, and I participated – I was on the other side of it.
“He was having to deal with it, I was just there. It was nuts.”
Murray ended Great Britain’s 77-year wait for a Wimbledon Men’s Singles champion when he defeated Novak Djokovic in the 2013 final.
Three years later, he added another Wimbledon trophy to his cabinet after beating Milos Raonic in the 2016 final.
Andy Murray’s reaction after winning the 2013 Wimbledon title
Murray’s day of destiny arrived on July 7, 2013.
A year after losing the Wimbledon final to Roger Federer in heart-breaking fashion, Murray emerged victorious in the British capital.
Murray defeated world number one Novak Djokovic 6–4, 7–5, 6–4; securing his place in British tennis folklore.
“Last year was one of the toughest moments of my career, so to manage to win the tournament today,” Murray said while speaking to BBC Sport’s Sue Barker after the victory.
“It was an unbelievably tough match, so many long games. How I managed to come through that last game… it was unbelievable,”
“I’m so glad to finally do it.”