“Could I have won more if Roger, Rafa and Novak were not around? Probably" - Andy Murray admits he was 'fortunate' to compete in 'Big Three' era

Andy Murray may have been felt hard done by in his career. One of the best players in the world at one point, he only has three Grand Slam titles to show for it following the brilliance of the 'Big Three' at their peak. While in a different era he almost certainly would have won more major accolades, Murray is adamant that he does not regret competing in the same generation as some of the best to have ever done it.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic ruled the tennis landscape for some time. Many tried and break into their prestigious group but all failed. Murray came into the spotlight around the same time as Djokovic, reaching the 2008 US Open final before being taken down in straight sets by Federer.

Another three Grand Slam finals came and went, including a heart-breaking defeat to Federer at Wimbledon 2012. In the next Grand Slam, Murray finally accomplished his dream, winning the 2012 US Open against Djokovic in a hard fought five-set win.

The pinnacle of his career came twice at Wimbledon, winning the championships in 2013 and 2016. He won a total of 46 ATP titles, including 14 at Masters 1000 level and the 2016 ATP Finals. This all on top of the two Olympic Gold medals in 2012 and 2016 with him leading Great Britain over the line in the Davis Cup back in 2015.

While on paper this is great, it could have been so much greater. He reached 11 Grand Slam finals, losing eight of them. Five of which against Djokovic with the other three against Federer.

Murray has been recognised as the best of the rest in this time period by many thanks to his consistency at the top level. While his numbers are nowhere near the same as the Big Three, he regularly competed on the big stage with them and was a tough competitor.

Speaking to Tennis365, he admitted that his title count could have been higher if not for those three, but that is beside the point. “Could I have won more if Roger, Rafa and Novak were not around? Probably, but I don’t look at it like that,” he said.

“I believe I would have won more if there had been one less of them or, even better, two less of them. Coming back here now, I do see this event differently. When I was playing, it was all about the pressure building and every year that I didn’t get over the line, there were more questions over whether I would ever do it. I wasn’t sure if I would ever get over the line at Wimbledon. Federer won seven, Djokovic has won seven, Nadal won a couple, so there were not too many chances for me to win around that."

With this pressure building on Murray, there were times he wished that they would not be competing at the same time. As time has gone on, his perspective has shifted. “There were definitely times when I probably wished they were not playing at the same time as them, but the other way to look at this is I was fortunate to play these three great champions on the biggest stages of tennis and try to beat them," he acknowledged.

“I may be biased, but for me, that was the best era we have ever seen in men’s tennis. To have three players like that winning 20-plus Grand Slams each. I’m not sure we will see that again in my lifetime. The way I look back on it is I was fortunate to play against and beat Djokovic on Centre Court at Wimbledon. I was fortunate to take on Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros, at a time when he was virtually unbeatable on clay. I was fortunate to beat Roger Federer in an Olympic final.

“I didn’t always get the results I wanted against them, but I have incredible experiences and memories from my career and I’m not sitting here now thinking about what might have been. I’m proud of what I achieved in that time. I put so much into it, I pushed my body as far as it could go and the achievements I have are pretty amazing given where I came from and how hard it is to make it in this sport.”

Murray has since dabbled in coaching following his retirement from tennis after the 2024 Paris Olympics. First with his former rival Novak Djokovic on a six month stint at the start of 2025. He has recently teamed up with Jack Draper in the grass swing, helping him try and get back to full match fitness and sharpness. A successful link-up at the Eastbourne Open saw the former world number four reach the semi-final before Ugo Humbert took him down. As Draper eyes up an improved stint on the court in North America, Murray will watch from a distance hoping that his fellow Brit can get back to his former standards.