Andy Murray is back in the Top 50 after reaching 70th ATP final in Stuttgart

In the last 20 years, only one man other than the Big 3 has been able to win multiple Grand Slam titles and reach No. 1 on the ATP rankings—that man is Andy Murray.

Needless to say, he’s driven. And that drive has taken him to another incredible milestone today: his run to the final of Stuttgart this past week has propelled him from No. 68 to No. 47 on the ATP rankings, his first time being inside the Top 50 since he returned to the tour in June of 2018 after the first of his two hip surgeries.

When he reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2017, Murray was still ranked No. 1. But he couldn’t play the rest of the year due to the hip injury, then had surgery in January 2018. By the time he returned to the tour that June, he was No. 156—and after his quarterfinal points from Wimbledon dropped off in July, he fell to No. 839.

After working his way back into the Top 300 by the end of 2018, he underwent a second hip surgery in January 2019. He returned to the tour again that summer, but by September he was ranked outside the Top 500 again.

But then, the revival truly began—a three-week stretch in October of 2019 that included winning the first ATP title of his comeback in Antwerp pushed him from No. 503 to No. 127, and he remained in the Top 150 for most of the next few years until this year, when he finally broke back into the Top 100 in February. And today, June 13th, he soars back into the Top 50 after reaching the final in Stuttgart, where he fell to Matteo Berrettini in a two-hour, 40-minute grinder of a final, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.

Stuttgart was the 70th ATP final of his career, and his 10th on grass.

“It has been a long time since the last final [on grass],” said Murray, whose last title match on the surface came at Wimbledon back in 2016, his third Grand Slam title.

“A lot of ups and downs, but I kept going and kept working, and finally managed to get another one. I am proud of the effort I have put in.”

Murray got the first four Top 20 wins of his return in 2018 and 2019, and since 2020 he’s had his first four Top 10 wins back—including the biggest of them all a few days ago.

MURRAY’S TOP 20 WINS SINCE RETURNING FROM FIRST HIP SURGERY:
d. No. 18 Edmund in 2018 Washington DC 2nd Rd, 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-4
d. No. 11 Goffin in 2018 Shenzhen 2nd Rd, 6-3, 6-4
d. No. 13 Berrettini in 2019 Beijing 1st Rd, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (7)
d. No. 18 Wawrinka in 2019 Antwerp F, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
d. No. 7 Zverev in 2020 Cincinnati [New York] 2nd Rd, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
d. No. 10 Hurkacz in 2021 Vienna 1st Rd, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3
d. No. 10 Sinner in 2021 Stockholm 2nd Rd, 7-6 (4), 6-3
d. No. 16 Shapovalov in 2022 Madrid 2nd Rd, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
d. No. 5 Tsitsipas in 2022 Stuttgart QFs, 7-6 (4), 6-3

Murray’s win over Tsitsipas in Stuttgart last Friday was his first win over a Top 5 player since beating then-No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the final of the ATP Finals in 2016 (Murray, who actually beat four Top 5 players that week, was No. 1 himself then).

With only 180 points coming off his ranking the rest of the summer, it may not be long before the three-time Grand Slam champion is back among the seeds at the majors…