Murray’s dry humour was already established throughout his junior days.
“Who’s the best participant within the historical past of Scotland?” a reporter probed.
“Me?” he replied.
Murray added: “My mum was an OK participant, however we have one senior man who’s, like, 220 on the planet. Aside from him, there’s probably not anyone that is been superb.”
That “senior man” was Alan Mackin, whose win-loss tour degree report reached 1-15. Murray retired with a 739-262 tally.
First up for Murray within the 2004 junior title run was 15-year-old Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, who was walloped 6-0 6-1.
Twelve years later, Murray beat Del Potro once more in the Rio Olympics final – by which level both men had won a US Open men’s title.
And if there may be familiarity concerning the identify of Stakhovsky, the person who stood in Murray’s manner within the closing, there may be good purpose for that.
The Ukrainian achieved a jaw-dropping 2013 victory against Roger Federer at Wimbledon, boasting he “kicked the butt” of the Swiss. With Federer nursing a sore bottom, Murray swooped for that title, too.
Murray’s retirement got here simply weeks in the past. His physique had been sending code-red messages for years; the thoughts finally took heed.
His sport was born in Dunblane and nurtured in Spain, however New York was the place observers started measuring him up towards Britain’s main man Henman.
“I have been in comparison with him quite a bit, which is nice,” Murray stated in 2004. “I feel I can do it. However simply now I am nowhere close to nearly as good as Tim.”
Henman reached six Slam semi-finals – the final coincidentally got here on the 2004 US Open – however a closing remained elusive.
After beating Stakhovsky, Murray acknowledged the burden coming his manner.
“This match’s an enormous deal for me, however in just a few years everybody’s going to have forgotten about it and they will be on the lookout for me to win within the senior Grand Slams,” he stated. “I imagine that I can go proper to the highest.”