Britains Andy Murray reflected on a positive 2015 and discussed his future at the 2016 Olympics and beyond in a wide-ranging interview with Reuters on 16 December. The world number two was in Dubai for the International Premier Tennis League, Murrays last event of 2015.
Looking back on 2015, the Scot was delighted to finish the year ranked second in the world, his highest ranking at the close of a season, and highlighted Britains victory in the Davis Cup the outstanding moment in a year full of highs.
It was a positive year. I mean I finished number two in the world, which is good. I mean thats not bad, thats the highest Ive ever finished in the rankings, so that was good, said Murray ahead of his match for the Singapore Slammers in the IPTL.
The Davis Cup was a very big positive as well. That was a big goal of mine this year so to get to get to do that with the team and for the country was amazing, and then the rest of the year was extremely consistent but maybe lacking a big title in one of the grand slams so it was close to being a great year but it was not quite - it was a very good year.
Murray, alongside his brother Jamie, clinched the Davis Cup for Britain for the first time in 79 years when they defeated Belgium in November. Britain had to defeat the United States, France and Australia on root the final and Murray said it was particularly special due to the difficulty of their passage to victory and because of his working relationship with his brother and his coach Leon Smith.
Yes it was great, again to do with my brother as well made it special. The captain of the team Leon Smith, he used to coach me when I was 11 years old, so I worked with a lot of the other staff on a day to day basis throughout the year, so to get to do that and get to celebrate it with all of them was amazing and it was also something I never thought that we would ever win the Davis Cup. I never saw us being able to do that and you know to win against the other three grand slam nations and some tough teams and then to win away from home on clay and the final was really nice, said Murray.
Murrays success alongside his brother at the Davis Cup was the lynchpin upon which Great Britains success was built, and younger brother Andy is hopeful of more success with his brother in 2016.
I played all three events in London you know my brother has made some big improvements over the last few years so hopefully we can play doubles together and give it our best shot there. You know we played some good doubles in the Davis Cup this year and I would love to play with him, he admitted.
As well as his two grand slam victories, the US Open in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013, Murray ranks his gold medal at the 2012 Olympics as one of the highlights of his career. He is also due to compete at the Rio Olympics in 2016 which, despite the scheduling issues the summer tournament could cause, Murray says all the players are looking forward to.
Olympics is big obviously. You dont maybe get the chance to play three potentially, four Olympics in your career, if youre lucky. This will be my third one in Rio. I really look forward to it, I think it should be a great event. It comes at a tricky time of year, just after Wimbledon, in between the US Open and the Davis Cup is in that time just before hand as well, so it will be important to get your scheduling and preparations right for that but, the Olympics will be a big goal next year for all the players, said Murray.
Whilst Murray can reflect on a positive 2015, he did fail to win any of the grand slams, three of which were claimed by world number one Novak Djokovic. Djokovic was unbeatable for much of the season, but Murray said he was most impressed with the Serbs ability to bounce back from the disappointment of losing in the French Open final for the third time.
Confidence is a big thing in sport and he obviously got off to the best possible start to the year winning in Australia and just played fantastic tennis since then. I think the most impressive part was how he bounced back after not winning the French Open which is the only grand slam he hasnt won. I think a lot of people maybe thought that after losing at the French that mentally he might be a bit down after that but he came back very strong from there and had a great season, said Murray of his great rival.
At 28-years-old, Murray still could have the better part of a decade at the top of mens tennis. However, when he finally retires Murray plans on keeping himself busy.
When I immediately finish, that will be my main priority to be around and be with my family as much as I can. And then, yes, I will stay in tennis for sure, as I get older, tennis has given me so much and I would like to give something back to tennis when Im finished, said Murray.
But also I would like to do something in other sports as well. I dont know exactly what that would be but I love football, I love talking about sports. I talk all day with my friends about different sports so maybe a radio show or something like that, a podcast, I dont know, something like that. I havent thought loads about it but it will definitely be something within sports because thats my passion.
