Andy Murray competed in the toughest generation of tennis the sport will likely ever see, with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal dominating for two decades.
Despite playing in an era with three of the best players to grace the sport, Murray carved out an impressive career for himself.
The Scot won three Grand Slams, at the US Open and Wimbledon, two Olympic gold medals, as well as 43 other titles in his career.
Murray might have played in one of the most difficult eras of the sport, but he was desperate to face a tennis legend from a previous era.
Andy Murray would have loved to play Ivan Lendl
Murray and Ivan Lendl worked with each other extensively throughout the British star’s career and he would have loved to see what a match between the pair would look like.
During a BBC Sport Q&A, Murray was asked about which former player he would most like to compete against.
The Scot replied: “My coach, Ivan Lendl. No question. I hadn’t watched many of his matches until I started working with him, then I started to watch some videos of his big matches.
“Now that I know him and have watched him a lot, he would be the most fun guy to go play. He was incredibly consistent, very rarely played a bad match, he did everything well – served well, good forehand, passed well, moved well.
Where does Andy Murray rank among the best players in tennis?
“He improved his volleys a lot towards the end of his career as well to try and win Wimbledon. That was the sort of guy he was. He could have won more Slams, for sure. He missed a French Open to prepare better for Wimbledon, and when he started playing the Aussie that was on grass too. If the Aussie was on hard courts, I think he would have won more.”
Murray then contemplated his chances against a prime Lendl and suggested it would come down to the surface the match was played on.
“Would I have beaten him? Depends on the surface. I think on clay he would have beaten me, on grass I think I might have beaten him, and on hard courts… it would have been a good match!”
Lendl coached Murray between 2011–2014, 2016–2017, and 2022–2023, a period which saw the Scot win two Wimbledon titles.
What Andy Murray thinks of his tennis career now he’s retired
Murray was not particularly pleased with his career while he was still playing, but he looks back fondly since his 2024 retirement.
Speaking on The Romesh Ranganathan Show, he explained: “I wasn’t very proud of what I had accomplished as a player, but very soon after my retirement, my perception of my career and my achievements changed radically.
“It’s a shame, in hindsight, I wish I had been a little kinder to myself and enjoyed my career more. But it’s difficult; when you’re trying to achieve goals, there’s always the next tournament or the next week.
“I worked very hard for it and it’s something I always wanted to accomplish. So I wish I had taken the time to fully enjoy it, because I didn’t, and I regret that.”
Murray retired in 2024 after competing at the Paris Olympics, nearly 25 years after making his debut in 2005.
