Andy Murray reaches 500 hard court wins on the ATP Tour
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Another day and another career milestone for former world No.1 and three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray as he reached 500 hard court victories on the ATP Tour.
Murray claimed win No.500 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships this week as he defeated Denis Shapovalov to reach the second round.
The Briton came from a set down to beat the Canadian 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 and extend his winning record in the opening round in Dubai to 8-0.
He is the fifth player in the Open Era to reach 500 tour-level hard court wins, behind Rafael Nadal (517), Andre Agassi (592), Novak Djokovic (700) and Roger Federer (783).
Since turning pro in 2005, Murray has won 34 ATP titles on hard courts - including the US Open (2012), ATP Finals (2016), Olympics (2016) and 12 ATP Masters trophies.
This is his 735th career win in total, meaning that he now overtakes Spain’s David Ferrer as 14th of all-time.
As we congratulate the 36-year-old on yet another incredible achievement, we look back at some of those milestone hard court victories along the way:
Win No.1: Murray d. Jesse Witten (USA) – Indianapolis first round 2005
Just a month after claiming his first ATP win at Queen’s, Murray headed to the States to compete in his first tour-level hard court event in Indianapolis.
His opponent in the opening round was USA’s Jesse Witten who had turned pro earlier that year.
Murray got his hard court debut win against the American 6-4, 6-2 and moved on to face Mardy Fish in the next round.
The Brit had fully announced himself on the world stage and what came next has simply been the stuff of dreams...
Win No.100: Murray d. Roger Federer (SUI) – Madrid Masters semi-final 2008
What a way to mark your 100th hard court win than against the player with the most victories on the surface of all-time – Roger Federer.
In 2008, Murray came into the Madrid Masters looking for his second ATP 1000 title of the season and his career to date. The British star battled his way through to the semi-finals, where he faced none other than eventual 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer.
Faced with what then was a seemingly impossible task against the man who defeated him in the US Open final weeks before, Murray came back from a set down to defeat the former world No.1 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Murray would go on to beat Novak Djokovic in the final 7-6(4), 7-6(5) to lift his first of two trophies in Madrid.
Win No.200: Murray d. Laurent Bram (LUX) – Davis Cup 2011
Murray is third in Great Britain’s all-time Davis Cup match wins with an incredible 42 victories – one of which marking his 200th career win on the hard courts.
Playing at home in Glasgow during the Europe/Africa Zone Group II, Murray helped the Brits to a 4-1 win over Luxembourg with a comprehensive 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 victory over Laurent Bram.
The British star would go on to help GB lift their first title for 79 years at the Davis Cup in 2015, spearheading the team to wins over the USA, France, Australia and Belgium.
Win No.300: Murray d. Jiri Vesely (CZE) – Indian Wells third round 2014
By the time Murray clinched his 300th tour-level win on the surface, he had lifted two Grand Slam titles at the US Open (2012) and Wimbledon (2013).
His next milestone came at Indian Wells – a tournament where he had previously reached the final (2010) and semi-final (2007 and 2015) – up against Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesely.
Murray overturned a set deficit to beat the Czech 6-7(2). 6-4, 6-4 before eventually bowing out to then world No.11 Milos Raonic in the fourth round.
Raonic would become a familiar opponent for Murray over the years. The Brit went on to defeat him at the ATP Finals that year and claimed important wins over the big-serving Canadian in the final of Queen’s and Wimbledon in 2016.
Win No.400: Murray d. Andrey Kuznetsov – Beijing second round 2016
That leads us perfectly on to win No.400 for Murray on the hard courts, coming in 2016 – the year that the Brit dominated the sport.
Murray’s stats in 2016 were staggering. 78 match wins, nine titles and becoming the first Briton to become ATP singles world No.1 in the Open Era.
Following a quarter-final exit at the US Open, Murray won five titles in a row – starting at the Beijing Open.
In the second round, Murray got his 400th win against world No.45 Andrey Kuznetsov, cruising through to the quarter-finals 6-2, 6-1.
Win No.500: Murray d. Denis Shapovalov (CAN) - Dubai first round 2024
In the years that have followed, Murray has defied the odds and a potential career-ending injury to reach the half century mark.
From five-set battles at the Australian Open and US Open to finals in Sydney and Doha – Murray’s ability to overcome obstacles and make his way back to the top of the game has been nothing short of impressive.
Although it may have come later than he might have wanted, win No.500 was certainly worth the wait.
Murray marked the milestone with one of his trademark comeback victories against former world No.10 Shapovalov to kick-start his campaign in Dubai.
Having faced a break point at a set down and 4-4 in the second, Murray supercharged himself into the second round with arguably his standout performance of the season.
