Andy Murray shared an epic rivalry against Roger Federer and played some of the most important matches of his career against the Swiss Maestro. When Murray came into the tour, Federer was already an established player and had won multiple Slams.
In 25 matches between the two, Federer won 14, whereas Murray won 11 matches. But Federer had a 5-1 win-loss record against Murray in Major Slams.
Murray said on the Tennis Podcast: “I loved watching him [Federer] play. I felt like I knew from a strategic point of view how to play against him. I certainly was never going to always execute it well because of how good he is, but I had a clear idea of how it was that I wanted to play against him. That certainly helped me early on when I competed against him.
“The matchup was not a great matchup for me. I still lost more than I won against him, but it was a good match. I had chances to win when I played against him. In the Grand Slams I certainly did not do as well, and I think part of that was his game, but also the psychological impact of him having won multiple majors and me never having won one.
Murray admitted that Federer had a different aura about him when he played the biggest matches on the tour.
“The nerves that I would feel going into those matches and the pressure I would feel, obviously he would have felt that too – I’m not saying that he wouldn’t – but I think if I played him the first time in Slams when neither of us had won one, I probably would have felt a bit different going on the court.
“But he had this aura about him and was always described as the best tennis player of all time, so to overcome him is challenging in those biggest matches. But the matchup itself, I felt like I matched up quite well.”
The Brit said he loved watching Federer in action, and the Swiss Maestro inspired him a lot.
“I get on very well with Roger now. It meant a lot for me to beat him because he was someone I watched as a kid. I loved his game,” Murray began.
Murray was able to beat Federer in the London Olympics 2012 final.
