On This Day: Murray's surge to No. 1 in 2016
Andy Murray ended the Big Three’s 666-week No. 1 reign on this day in 2016 after a scintillating run saw him dethrone Novak Djokovic at No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
The Scot spent the majority of 2015 inside the Top 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings and started 2016 by reaching the fifth and last Australian Open title match of his career. Murray fell to Djokovic in the championship match and lost to Serbian again in the Madrid final four months later. He gained revenge in Rome, where he captured his first ATP Masters 1000 title of the season and backed that up by reaching another major final at Roland Garros.
While Murray’s progress to this point in 2016 had been strong, the grass-court swing provided the first major highlight. As was the case so often in his career, the then 29-year-old produced his best on London’s lawns, winning Queen’s and Wimbledon to become just the seventh player to complete the Queen’s-Wimbledon double. Alcaraz would also go on to achieve the feat in 2023.
During the North American hard-court swing, Murray reached the final in Cincinnati and the last eight at the US Open. Arriving in Beijing at the start of October, Murray still trailed World No. 1 Djokovic by 4,695 points. However, it was two weeks and 10 straight-sets Murray wins in China that injected late-season intrigue into the 2016 race to become ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF.
He took his tally to six titles for the season by claiming the trophy in Beijing and then seven at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, victories that reduced the gap between World No. 1 Djokovic and Murray from 4,695 to 2,415 points. The late-season wins kept coming when he returned to Europe.
He triumphed at the ATP 500 indoor-hard court event in Vienna to move to within range of Djokovic, before he captured his 14th and ultimately final ATP Masters 1000 title of his career in Paris. With the Serbian only reaching the quarters in the French capital, Murray became the 26th player to rise to No. 1.
At the Nitto ATP Finals two weeks later, Murray beat Djokovic again in the title match to earn ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours, capping a perfect year in which he held a 78-9 record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. Murray went on to spend 41 weeks at No. 1 before Rafael Nadal surpassed him in August 2017.
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