Andy Murray recalls historic 2012 US Open triumph over Novak Djokovic - 'That was a huge moment for me'
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Published 29/08/2022 at 09:01 GMT
10 years ago, Andy Murray became Britain’s first Grand Slam singles champion in 35 years after he defeated Novak Djokovic in a dramatic five-set match. Murray says he felt “unbelievably nervous” before the match and was relieved to get over the line. The 35-year-old will begin his 2022 US Open campaign on Monday afternoon against 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo.
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Andy Murray has described his 2012 US Open victory as “a huge moment” in his career after he became the first British Grand Slam singles champion since Virginia Wade in 1977.
It’s been 10 years since Murray’s historic win, where he beat Novak Djokovic in a dramatic five-set match.
Having taken a two-set lead, Djokovic came back to take the match to a decider, before Murray got over the line.
His victory came after four Grand Slam finals losses and six semi-final eliminations, leading to ever-increasing pressure on the Briton.
“That was a huge moment for me,” said Murray. “I’d been put under a lot of pressure to try and achieve that. A lot of what I’d achieved in my career up to that point felt, to me anyway, kind of irrelevant because of the questions I’d continued to get asked about winning Slams.
“Am I good enough? Am I fit enough? Am I mentally strong enough? Lots and lots of questions over a period of time.
“And it was nice to finally be able to move on from that because it’s not particularly helpful, and also the players I was competing against – maybe at the time they were all great players but not how everyone is seeing them now.
“They’re pretty much being seen as the three best tennis players of all time, certainly on the men’s side. It wasn’t easy to win Slams in this era. I was aware of that. But I don’t think everyone else was.”
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Andy Murray celebra su título en el US Open 2012 tras derrotar a Novak Djokovic
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Murray’s Grand Slam win was the first time a man had won a major since Fred Perry in 1936.
His triumph made him part of the “Big Four”, according to Djokovic and tennis pundits.
“I remember how I felt before the match,” continued Murray. “I remember being in the locker room on my own and feeling unbelievably nervous and feeling pretty lonely and kind of feeling a lot of pressure.
“I remember after the match going back on to the court before I left the venue. I just wanted to be out there on my own.
“I was very proud of myself. I didn’t feel like going wild and celebrating and that sort of stuff. I just felt quite relaxed and it was just such a big relief to get over that line.”
Who does Murray play in the first round of the 2022 US Open?
Murray’s preparation for this year’s US Open has been far from ideal, suffering from cramping issues at the Citi Open and Cincinnati Masters.
"It's not the worst draw I could have had, but there are also better draws out there as well,” said Murray.
“Cerundolo is a young guy but is in the top 30 in the world. It's kind of his first full year on tour, but he won a tournament a few weeks ago and made the semis in Miami earlier this year.
“He's going to be improving all the time because of his age, so it's not an easy match for me to start off with, but I also could have played Daniel Medvedev in the first round. I've prepared as well as I could this week."
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