Andy Murray biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Born in Dunblane, Scotland, on May 15, 1987, to Judy and William Murray, Andy Murray experienced terrible tragedy when he was only 8 years old. In March 1996, while Murray was sitting in his classroom at the Dunblane Primary School, an armed man by the name of Thomas Hamilton entered the facility, and shot and killed 17 people -- 16 students and one teacher -- before committing suicide by turning the gun on himself. During the horrible event, Murray ran and hid in his headmaster's office.

Having practiced tennis since he was an elementary student, Murray entered his first tournament -- Florida's Orange Bowl -- at the age of 12, and won. Five years later, he won the U.S. Open junior title. Later that year, he was named the BBC's 2004 "Young Sports Personality of the Year." In 2005, Murray became the youngest player to compete in the Davis Cup.

Tennis Career

In 2006, with new coach Brad Gilbert, Murray beat Roger Federer in Round 2 of the Cincinnati Masters tournament. Also that year, he beat tennis star Andy Roddick in the semifinals of the SAP Open. By 2007, Murray was a three-time Association of Tennis Professionals titleist, winning both the 2006 and '07 SAP Opens, as well as the St. Petersburg Open. He would go on to win more than 20 ATP titles by 2012.

In 2007, Murray became ranked as one of the world's top 10 tennis players. In the following years, his ranking improved to No. 4 and No. 2, and he became a three-time Grand Slam runner-up; he lost to Roger Federer at both the 2008 U.S. Open and 2010 Australian Open, and to Novak Djokovic at the 2011 Australian Open. In January 2012, Murray won the Brisbane Open 250 tournament, claiming his 22nd ATP title.

Later that year, Murray made it to the Wimbledon final for the first time, winning the Wimbledon semifinal against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on July 6, 2012. Murray's victory made is country proud -- he was the first tennis pro from Britain to reach the Wimbledon final since 1938. However, Murray lost in the final to longtime rival Roger Federer, who claimed his seventh Wimbledon win.

Murray avenged his Wimbledon loss at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, held in London, where he beat Federer to take his first Olympic gold medal. Murray's victory prevented Federer from attaining his first Olympic singles gold medal. That September, he continued to burn up the courts, making to the finals of the U.S. Open.