For many years, it looked as if Andy Murray was going to be a nearly man in tennis.
In an era dominated by the ‘big three’ of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, Murray came up short at Grand Slams many times in the early stages of his career.
At majors from 2008, the Briton reached four finals and six additional semifinals before finally hoisting the US Open title in 2012.
Earlier that year, Murray attempted to end the 76-year drought of male British singles winners at Wimbledon, but was beaten by Federer in a final that broke hearts across the nation.
There was a moment after his loss that day, which former player and television presenter Sue Barker said changed people’s opinion of him.
Sue Barker discusses Andy Murray’s 2012 Wimbledon interview
When giving his on-court runner-up interview with Barker, Murray was brought to tears after saying: “I’m going to try this and it’s not going to be easy.”
He then proceeded to give a classy speech, congratulating Federer on his 17th Grand Slam title and stating that he will keep trying to win the famous trophy.
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In a recent interview with the Herald, Barker said: “People still often bring up the 2012 Andy Murray interview. That interview changed so many people’s opinions of Andy Murray.
“It was a really tricky one for me because, often, when I’m interviewing people and I see the tears coming on, I just say all the best, we look forward to seeing you next year and send them away because nobody wants to burst into tears in front of hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
“But that one with Andy in 2012 was different because I felt that he did want to speak, and when I said to him you don’t have to do this, he looked at me and said: ‘I’ll be all right’.
“So, in the end, I just gave him the microphone, but I did wonder if I had done the right thing. But the emotion just poured out of him, and everyone saw just how much it meant to him.
“Before that day, a lot of people thought he was pretty tough, but that interview showed a really softer side of Andy, and it totally changed what people thought of him.”
Andy Murray’s triumphant Wimbledon 2013 campaign
A year later, Murray bounced back at Wimbledon and finally clinched the men’s singles title, becoming the first from his country to do so since Fred Perry in 1936.
Murray did not drop a set en route to the quarterfinals in 2013, where he ultimately found himself two sets down to Fernando Verdasco, but came back to seal the win.
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He had to fight his way back into the match again in his semifinal bout with Jerzy Janowicz, whom he defeated in four sets to advance to the final.
There, Murray beat Djokovic in straight sets, overcoming the Serb for the eighth time in his career, which saw the Centre Court crowd erupt.
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