ANDY Murray has hit back at John McEnroe’s claim he is not in the same league as the rest of the big four by arguing there is more to tennis than just winning grand slams.
Murray, pictured, begins his grass-court season at the Aegon Championships this week where he is hoping to become a record six-time champion before the start of Wimbledon in a fortnight’s time.
The 30-year-old remains world No 1 but has struggled this year, slipping behind the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka in terms of form and following Novak Djokovic into an unexpected dip. It means Federer will arguably be favourite at Wimbledon to clinch a 19th grand slam title while Nadal and Djokovic are gunning for their 16th and 13th respectively.
McEnroe told the Sunday Times that Murray, who has won three major titles, was “still a distant fourth” behind those three.
But while the Scot admits that rings true for their whole careers, he pointed to his record at the Olympics – where he has won two singles gold medals – and over the last 12 months, as evidence to the contrary.
“For me, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. I’m very proud of the Olympic medals, they mean a lot to me,” Murray said at Queen’s Club on Sunday.
“Within tennis, a lot of people just go ‘oh that guy was a better player because he won more grand slams than that one or that woman was better because she won more grand slams’.
“If that’s the case then what is the point in all of us being here today?”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here