Andy Murray has revealed that among tennis's 'Big Three' — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic — he preferred facing Federer. The 39-year-old Scot, who retired in 2024, opened up about his career and Federer's influence during an appearance on former cricketer Kevin Pietersen's YouTube channel.
Murray's Early Admiration for Federer
Murray, who has 11 wins against Federer from 25 meetings, admitted that he enjoyed watching the Swiss star as a teenager. "I loved watching him," Murray said. "I had an injury when I was 16 where I couldn't play for like six months, and I used to sit and take notes on him and watch a lot of the top players."
This preparation helped Murray when he turned professional. "It helped me because when I then went on the tour, I felt like I'd seen so much of them, I actually had a plan at how I'd go about playing against them," he explained.
First Encounter and Career Record
Murray's first match against Federer came in 2005 at a tournament in Bangkok. "The first time was in 2005. I played against him in the final of a tournament in Bangkok, it was my first final on the main tour. I actually played a good match, I lost," Murray recalled. Despite a losing record (11-14), Murray said he "didn't mind playing him as much as some of the others."
Murray's record against the other members of the 'Big Three' is less favorable. He also has 11 wins against Djokovic but lost 25 times, while against Nadal he has only seven wins and 17 losses.
Nadal's High Praise for Murray
Despite the lopsided head-to-head, Nadal once paid Murray the ultimate compliment: "In terms of level of tennis, in terms of mentality winning spirit — Andy was the only one at the same level of myself, Roger and Novak."
Post-Retirement Coaching Career
Since retiring, Murray has moved into coaching. He assisted Djokovic last year and has now joined Jack Draper's team for the grass-court season. Their partnership was set to debut at Queen's last week, but Draper withdrew due to a knee injury and is targeting a return at Eastbourne ahead of Wimbledon.
