Eleven years ago, Tim Henman went down in the Wimbledon semifinals for the fourth and final time in his career. Three years later, Murray earned a Wild Card and played his first points there, falling in the third round.
While it may not have been evident at the time, it was a changing of the guard for British tennis.
The years of anguish on "Henman Hill" would give way to a new great hope for the country but ultimate jubilation was certainly not sudden on what some now call "Murray Mound."
Murray had to fight the notion of being the other guy in a sport dominated by two all-time greats, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, then a third in Novak Djokovic, all in the heart of their prime.
Just getting to a final, let alone winning one, seemed a monumental task. He first reached one in 2008, a loss to Federer at the U.S. Open, and then twice at the Australian Open championship, falling to Federer again in 2010 and Djokovic in 2011.
But one year ago, Murray was on the precipice of ending the long British men's Wimbledon drought, finally reaching the final at the All England Club.
He won the first set against Centre Court king Federer but then dropped the next three and lost with a country's hopes riding on his back. Murray got emotional after that match, crying in front of the British faithful.
A year ago, I wrote Murray's legacy was being defined by the three greats ahead of him.
Since that loss to Federer at Wimbledon 2012, the boy from Dunblane has captured an Olympic gold medal in London, won his first grand slam at the U.S. Open, and ended a seven-decade long British dearth at its home grounds.
Suffice to say, Andy Murray is now writing his own place in history. He has slain the Goliaths and conquered the albatross hanging over his country each year. The next logical step is reaching another mountaintop - becoming the number one player in the world.
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