Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka were considered the best players outside of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic while at the peak of their powers.
Wawrinka considered Murray to be better than him, but both men managed to win three Grand Slams apiece.
The pair were a select few, including Marin Cilic and Juan Martin del Potro, to win a Grand Slam during the ‘big three’ era.
Murray and Wawrinka remained firm friends on the ATP Tour and the Swiss star made a positive prediction about the British star, which didn’t take too long to come true.
Stan Wawrinka predicted Andy Murray’s world number one success
Speaking to Talksport in 2015, Wawrinka discussed Murray’s chances of becoming world number one in 2016.
Wawrinka was positive about the Scot’s chances, stating: “He can. He is number two so he is really close and he has won two Grand Slams and some big tournaments on clay courts.
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“Novak has been amazing and at a different level this year, but we will see because every year there is a chance to change that.”
Murray did eventually become the world number one at the tail-end of 2016 after he won the ATP Finals in London.
The Scot stayed at the top of the ATP Tour rankings for 41 consecutive weeks and it was the only time he managed to reach world number one.
What Stan Wawrinka said after Andy Murray became World No. 1
Wawrinka was delighted when his prediction came true after Murray confirmed his status as the best ranked player in the world.
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The British star had an imperious year in 2016, which included eight ATP titles and an Olympic gold medal in Rio.
Speaking about Murray’s monumental achievement, Wawrinka said: “The ranking never lies. He’s been winning a lot this year, more than any other player, so he deserves to be No 1.”
“He did really well with the pressure, he won Wimbledon this year and he won the Olympics in London, so he knows how to deal with it.”
Murray and Wawrinka’s head-to-head record ended with the British star beating his Swiss counterpart in 13 of their 23 meetings.
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