It’s a decade since the country held its breath as Andy Murray won Wimbledon for the first time, becoming the first British man to win the title for 77 years. We asked some of those who were there to recall their memories of one of the greatest days in British sporting history and assess its impact and legacy.
Marion Bartoli, 2013 Wimbledon ladies singles champion
It was just madness. On the Sunday before the tournament started, we were both at Aorangi, practising side by side. It was raining that morning, they were about to close out the courts and we were the last two just standing, wanting to keep finishing our practice. Andy was doing serves, I was doing returns with my hitting partner and we were refusing to leave the court and the grounds person, because Andy was still practising, maybe I think gave him a little extra time. So I was taking that extra time to keep doing my practice. That was a first sign. The second sign, it was middle Sunday (a rest day until 2022), I was coming out of my physio session and Andy was coming out of his. Our two physios looked at each other and said: “Well, maybe we are the next two Wimbledon champions because we were the ones practising in the rain one week ago, we’re the ones still standing and the dedication and desire to win looks incredible.” One week later, we’re both holding a trophy.
The anticipation and expectation was building. I remember watching Novak against Juan Martín [del Potro] in the semi-final, going toe to toe for five hours and I’m thinking, well, Andy’s probably going to have a shot in the final because whoever is going to win is going to be tired and feeling it in the legs. And then obviously what happened, happened. I just remember him winning and turning to the press, like saying: “Well, I did it! You see, you put me down for so many years and I’ve done it.” And then the hug with his mum. I mean, everything was so emotional.
Benjamin Becker, first-round opponent at Wimbledon.
I wasn’t very happy with the draw. But then I tried to get back into competition mode and be like: “OK, I gotta find a way to do something and it’s his first round too, you never know, there’s some nerves, high expectations. Everybody’s saying that this is the year he’s going to win it.” So I just tried to do the best I could. I wasn’t able to play as well as at Queen’s and I felt like maybe he also was playing a little bit better, knowing what kind of chance he has.
We knew this might be his time. Because the longer he would not make it, the tougher it will get. After playing against him, and obviously seeing the draw, I knew he would have a chance. I knew he would be able to at least make it far and give himself the best chance and later on you never know.
First round
bt B Becker (Ger) 6-4, 6-3, 6-2
Second round
bt Lu Y-h (Tai) 6-3, 6-3, 7-5
Third round
bt T Robredo (Sp, 32) 6-2, 6-4, 7-5
Fourth round
bt M Youzhny (Rus, 20) 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-1
Quarter-final
bt F Verdasco (Sp) 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5
Semi-final
bt J Janowicz (Pol, 24) 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
Final
bt N Djokovic (Ser, 1) 6-4, 7-5, 6-4
Murray has to be in the conversation with the top three. Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, they’re their own group of having more than 20 grand slams. I mean, nobody expected it. I kind of started with Djokovic when I came on tour after college. And just no way I would have ever imagined him having more than 10. But Murray to me is with Wawrinka right after them. He could have maybe had more but obviously had some injuries.
It’s amazing what he’s done now. But he has to be in the conversation when you talk about the best players of that era. Even what he’s doing now shows what a competitor he is or inspiration he is to so many people, which to me is part of the conversation of the best players in the world, right? If you talk about the GOATs, it has to be with who inspires the most people as well. That’s how I see it.
Chris Hoy, six-time Olympic gold medallist
It’s a bit of a cliche, but you could tell history was being written that day. It was such a special moment. There was this unique atmosphere. You felt as though this was his day and that it was going to happen. I’m not a big believer in destiny, but it just felt as though Andy was in control. I mean, he had the measure of him.
But you have to get it across the line. It’s one of the hard things about tennis. In my sport, you knew where the finishing line was and come hell or high water you knew that at the end of (the race), that would be the end. But in tennis, it can just go on and on. You have to put that final nail in the coffin. It got more and more tense and the further into it the more you thought, is this going to happen? You know: “Come on Andy, put us out of our misery here.”
To me, it is the greatest sporting moment I’ve witnessed, one I’ll never forget. He would get my vote as right up there with any other British sportsperson of all time. As a standalone achievement, certainly nothing else I can think of would trump that. It’s massive.
From the moment I first saw him play, (at Wimbledon) in 2005, sitting two rows back with Sean Connery, I remember thinking this kid, he lost the match but his determination really stood out. Being an elite athlete yourself, competing in training alongside elite athletes, you see many high-level performers in all kinds of sports. But a few stick in your mind and a few stand out for their mental strength. Andy, immediately you could see that he had something special.
Chris Hoy is the co-host of the Sporting Misadventures podcast
Liam Broady, British tennis player
Obviously I didn’t really know Andy at the time. I have never been so nervous watching a match of two people I had never met before. It was magical, that, wasn’t it? You could feel the nerves as well. He’s so human on court. You could really feel the emotions he was going through. It was almost surreal once he got over the line.
To look back now and realise it was against Novak [Djokovic] who has won Wimbledon seven times, how Andy still managed to win Wimbledon twice and beat Novak in the finals of US as well. It’s a ridiculous career. I guess it probably made people a little bit – I won’t say nicer – a little bit more tolerant of all British tennis players. Andy took the heat off everybody with those wins.
On the men’s side, obviously Andy is just an absolute freak of nature. He’s been one of the best players on the planet and still is. Then we’ve got Cam [Cameron Norrie], again, one of the best players on the planet. [Jack] Draper, once he gets his body fit, will be right up there, Top 10 easily. [Dan Evans] Evo as well, who is another fantastic player.
We are lucky on the men’s side to have all those guys. If they weren’t there, then it would be me at No 1 and everybody would be saying the same thing about British tennis. So we’re lucky to have these guys and obviously need to cherish them as much as we can.
Andrew Castle, BBC commentator
I wrote a couple of winning lines earlier in the final because I was totally convinced he was going to win and I thought, well, if I have got a piece of British sporting history, sort of iconic moment to talk over, should I prepare a line? But I never did use them. The (final) game was 40-0 in about 30 or 45 seconds and then it ended up lasting around a dozen minutes and turned out to be one of the most amazing games. I actually think Djokovic, if he’d have won that game, who knows where we would have been.
I had said to Boris [Becker] and to Tim [Henman], that if we are going to say something now, it had better be something really switched on and pithy. My intention was to basically leave the last game alone but Paul Davies [the match director] called for a shot, really pushing in as close as you possibly can into Andy’s eyes. A line came to my head that I was reasonably pleased with. I said: “Sporting immortality doesn’t come easily.” I was pleased with that. The winning line (“The waiting is over”), I wasn’t so pleased with.
The other thing about the winning moment is that Tim flew up in the air on match point and elbowed me in the head. So the winning line could have been “Oh fuck”; for ever and indelibly marked on the tape. But he did elbow me quite hard and made me slightly bleed.
Apart from the sheer joy and journey we all took with Andy, I don’t know how much impact it had. If I were the LTA, I would have Andy and Jamie and to a degree, Judy as well, I would hardly move a muscle without asking them first. World No 1 singles, world No 1 doubles, from Scotland. It’s absolutely phenomenal.
