A peer of the greatest players of all time, the Scot's mental resilience has driven him to the top...
Andy Murray himself wasn’t even considering a rise to world No. 1 six months ago.
“After the French Open I was so far behind that it wasn’t in my immediate thoughts,” he said after completing his ascent on Saturday afternoon.
“I wanted to go for Wimbledon and the Olympics and just wanted to perform well there.”
Murray may reflect on his status as the best in the world as “strange”, but he and his team will toast a victory for spotting an opportunity and brilliantly capitalising on it.
Visibly drained after losing to Juan Martin del Potro in September’s Davis Cup semi-final, the Scot used a two-week break to recover.
The result? Four titles inside a month.
Murray knew that were Novak Djokovic’s results to go his way – as they ultimately did – then the No.1 position was a possibility.
In grabbing it, he exhibited a relentless streak that sums him up, and penned himself in at the top of the list of this country’s finest sportspeople – ever.
Cultivated amid a backdrop of failure – despite significant resources and investment – Murray has redefined what it means to be a British tennis player.
A contemporary of three of the greatest players of all time, the 29-year-old’s desire for self-improvement has driven him to finally sit top of the lot.
He has reached 11 grand slam finals, yet just one – the most recent against Milos Raonic at this year’s Wimbledon – was not against Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic has beaten him in five different slam finals, and will go down in history as Murray’s ultimate nemesis.
Andre Agassi, in 2012, headed the commonly-held theory that he would have won multiple majors had he played in a different era.
But he has since collected three slams, two Olympic gold medals and now risen to No.1 – among the strongest field ever.
His scraps in both an extraordinary Davis Cup victory and both Games’ demonstrated so very clearly the patriotism that fuels him.
A poor off-court demeanour would have discouraged his national-hero tag, but Murray’s champion conduct has both turned numerous naysayers around and left persistent critics floundering in search of a jibe.
In truth, said criticism has always been confusing.
Those who pronounce him as deadly dull are the first to admonish any ounce of, so clearly, his vast character.
Voicing his support of “anyone but England” – which was said in jest – before the 2006 World Cup as a teenager was the first stick with which he was vigorously beaten.
His support of Scottish independence in 2014 was another – fault-finding at its tamest.
It is strange, too, that displeasure at Murray’s regular in-game rants at his own box are not echoed when Novak Djokovic regularly pulls up with mysterious injuries.
Neither, indeed, was much made of Roger Federer’s wife ‘sledging’ Stan Wawrinka as he prepared to serve in the 2014 ATP World Tour Finals.
Double standards when it comes to gamesmanship are prevalent.
But Murray – who was booed by home fans at the O2 Arena just months before winning his first Wimbledon title – has always swerved any temptation to bite back.
Mundane public suspicion as to whether he belongs to Britain or Scotland has been played out loudly as he aims to topple such illustrious opposition on court.
It has not proved an undefeatable hurdle.
Having conquered the world, it is time to respect and accept Murray as Britain’s greatest ever sportsperson.
