Andy Murray Reveals 'Regret' Regarding Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic
Andy Murray has said he regrets being a part of the same generation as the legendary trio of Roger Federer, Raphael Nadal and Novak Djokovic before adding that he has also been lucky to have played against them.
Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have won a combined 60 Grand Slams (20 each) and with 20 Grand Slams each, they jointly hold the record for most majors won in the Open Era in men’s tennis.
Briefly in the past, along with Murray, they were called the Big Four as the Brit won three major titles and played in several finals against Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. While Murray has not won another Grand Slam post his Wimbledon victory in 2016, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have been unstoppable over the years and are now dominating tennis for over two decades.
During the Antwerp Open, the reporters asked Murray if he regrets being born in the same era as the Big three. To which, the two-time Wimbledon champion replied, "Do I regret being born at the same time as them? It’s a difficult question, obviously, on the one hand, I regret it because I tell myself that I could have won a lot more if they hadn’t been there or if I had been 5 or 6 years younger."
Murray defeated World No. 1 Djokovic in the 2013 Wimbledon final to claim his first singles trophy at the All England club before he triumphed at the same venue three years later by beating Canada’s Milos Raonic in the final.
"I would have had more opportunities. On the other hand, I had the opportunity to play and challenge the best players in history in the biggest tournaments. I was able to face Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, Roger Federer at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open and the US Open and always in the final, even at the Olympic Games, I obviously did not win all these meetings but I won a few. I feel lucky to have been able to play against them, they allowed me to improve by setting the bar so high," Murray, 34, added further.
Talking about the current crop of players, Murray heaped praises on the current US Open champion Daniil Medvedev.
"For me, right now, Medvedev is best equipped to win on hard. He just won the US Open, but before that his hard results were excellent. I think his game is more complete than the others, (but) on clay it’s hard to say," said Murray, whose maiden Grand Slam title was the US Open that he had won in 2012.
Photo: GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / CLIVE BRUNSKILL
Murray recently lost in straight sets to Argentina's Diego Schwartzman in the Round of 16 of the European Open in Antwerp. Schwartzman is set to take on Italy's Fabio Fognini in the final on Wednesday.