Andy Murray had an incredible career in tennis, but he was often in the shadow of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer.
While the Scotsman is rightly considered one of the best players of his generation, he only won three Grand Slam tournaments while the other three men captured more than twenty.
Andy Murray is considered incredibly unlucky for being in the tennis greats’ generation, as he would have surely dominated any other.
The star missed out on several Grand Slam crowns to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and he’s named which star was tougher on their preferred surface.
Andy Murray picked Rafael Nadal on clay as toughest opponent
On Fore Bros, the three-time Grand Slam champion was asked who was toughest to play against out of Nadal and Federer on their chosen surface.
Federer dominated the grass court season, winning eight Wimbledon crowns, including a record five in a row.
Nadal, meanwhile, was dubbed the ‘King of Clay’ for a reason. He won Roland Garros an incredible 14 times, a stunning 63% of all of his Grand Slams won.
Murray lost plenty of times to both men on their chosen surface, but he was certain which one was tougher.
“I would say Nadal on clay is the hardest. Definitely,” said Murray on his golfing podcast, and it’s easy to see why.
Murray lost seven of his nine matches on clay to Nadal, with neither of his victories coming at the French Open.
Murray defeated Nadal twice at the Madrid Open in 2015 and 2016, the first of which saw him win his first clay court title.
What was Andy Murray’s record against Roger Federer on grass?
Somewhat surprisingly, Federer and Murray only met on the grass on three occasions throughout their career.
Federer holds a record of 2-1 over Murray, most famously capturing his seventh Wimbledon crown with a four-set win over the Scotsman.
| Match | Result |
| Wimbledon 2015 | Roger Federer won (75 75 64) |
| Olympics 2012 | Andy Murray won (62 61 64) |
| Wimbledon 2012 | Roger Federer won (46 75 63 64) |
Murray got almost instant revenge on the surface, defeating the Swiss superstar in the final of the London 2012 Olympics at the same venue.
Their final match on grass came in the semi-final of Wimbledon 2015, which went the way of Federer. The Swiss star lost the final to Novak Djokovic, however.