A timeline of Andy Murray's rise to No. 1

What a journey it’s been.

When the next ATP World Tour rankings are released come Monday, there will be a new name leading the way. Andy Murray has followed in the footsteps of his fellow members of the “Big 4”—Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal—and reached the game’s pinnacle.

Here’s a timeline documenting the milestones—and setbacks—Murray encountered on his way to the top.

2002

A teenage Murray goes to train at the Casal-Sanchez Academy in Spain for 18 months.

September 2004

At the junior edition of the US Open, Murray wins the title, beating Sergiy Stakhovsky in the finals.

March 2005

Murray makes his Davis Cup debut against Israel, winning a doubles rubber.

June 2005

More firsts: Match wins on the main tour come in the Queen’s Club tournament on grass; he also wins two rounds at Wimbledon.

August 2005

At the US Open, Murray qualifies and advances to the second round.

September–October 2005

With a ranking of No. 109 entering the Thailand Open, Murray makes his first final, losing to Roger Federer.

February 2006

He becomes No. 1! (Well, a different one): Murray becomes the top-ranked British player, ahead of Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski. He also wins his first career title in San Jose.

August 2006

Facing Federer in the second round in Cincinnati, Murray beats the world No. 1, snapping his 55-match win streak on hard courts. After the tournament, he cracks the Top 20 for the first time.

April 2007

He’s No. 10! Murray reached the ranking milestone for the first time after making the semis of the Miami Masters.

May 2007

The first significant injury-related layoff occurs when he snaps tendons in his wrist.

November 2007

The brief union of Murray with coach Brad Gilbert ends.

July 2008

At Wimbledon, the “home” favorite makes his first Grand Slam quarterfinal before falling to Rafael Nadal.

July–August 2008

Murray wins his first Masters shield in Cincinnati, but can’t sustain the momentum at the Olympics, losing in the first round to Yen-Hsun Lu.

August–September 2008

Rebounding from his Olympics loss, Murray makes his first Slam final at the US Open.

November 2008

Joining the elite at the year-end championships Masters Cup, the world No. 4 makes the semis in his debut.

May 2009

After a solid clay-court run, Murray reaches the highest ranking for a male Brit in the Open Era at No. 3.

June–July 2009

He wins 10 matches in a row on grass with first Queen’s title and Wimbledon semifinal.

August 2009

He gets to a career-high No. 2 after winning the Canada Masters title.

January 2010

Murray makes his second career Slam final at the Australian Open.

October 2010

He wins second Masters title of the year in Shanghai (the first was in Canada in August). Those were his only singles titles of the year.

November 2010

In Valencia, Murray teams up with his older brother Jamie to win his first doubles title.

January 2011

Murray reaches the Australian Open final again, losing to Novak Djokovic.

May–June 2011

Slam success continues with his first semifinal at the French Open.

September–October 2011

Three tournaments entered, three won: Murray goes undefeated during the “Asia Swing” after the US Open.

January 2012

Makes debut with former world No. 1 Ivan Lendl as coach.

June–July 2012

Murray reaches his first final at Wimbledon, and becomes the first British male to make it that far since 1938.

July–August 2012

At the London Olympics, Murray wins Gold over Federer in a rematch of the Wimbledon final.

August–September 2012

Murray takes home his first-place trophy at a major, winning the US Open over Djokovic.

June–July 2013

The biggest moment of Murray’s career occurs at Wimbledon, when he defeats Djokovic to become the first British male champion in more than 70 years.

September 2013

Dealing with a lingering back issue, Murray has surgery and cuts his season short.

January 2014

At the Australian Open, he reaches the quarters and falls out of the Top 5 for the first time since 2008.

March 2014

The Lendl-Murray partnership ends.

June 2014

Murray shakes up the tennis/sports world by naming Amelie Mauresmo his coach.

August–September 2014

For the first time since 2008, Murray falls out of the Top 10.

September–October 2014

Murray wins three tournaments to make the field at the year-end ATP World Tour Finals in London.

January 2015

At the Australian Open, he once again makes the title match, losing to Djokovic.

April–May 2015

A nine-match winning yields two titles—on clay, Murray’s first ones on the surface and first as a married man (he married Kim Sears in April).

November 2015

Great Britain—led by Murray—wins the Davis Cup.

January 2016

Another Australian Open final with a familiar result: Murray is once again stopped by Djokovic.

May 2016

Mauresmo leaves the coaching team.

June 2016

At the French Open, he reaches the final for the first time in his career. Afterward, Lendl comes back on board as coach.

June–August 2016

Murray’s next two tournaments—Wimbledon and the Olympics—end in victory.

October 2016

A three-title tear at Vienna, Shanghai and Beijing brings him to the brink of reaching the top spot.

November 2016

With a walkover from Milos Raonic to reach the final of the Paris Masters, Murray dethrones Djokovic and becomes the new world No. 1.