GOOD KNIGHT: ANDY MURRAY CAPS OFF EPIC 2016 WITH BEING KNIGHTED BY QUEEN ELIZABETH II

Written by: Staff on 31st December 2016

GOOD KNIGHT: ANDY MURRAY CAPS OFF EPIC 2016 WITH BEING KNIGHTED BY QUEEN ELIZABETH II

epa05640333 Britain's Andy Murray reacts during his win over Novak Djokovic of Croatia during the final of the mens singles at the ATP Tour tennis finals at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 20 November 2016. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

By Ricky Dimon

Andy Murray was knighted on Friday as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year’s honors list. The 29-year-old Scot earned the recognition for his services to tennis and and to charity. He was among several Olympic and Paralympic athletes to be knighted, including Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis-Hill. Farah and Ennis-Hill starred in track and field at this summer’s Rio Olympics, while Murray captured the gold medal in men’s singles.

It was Murray’s second consecutive singles gold, having also triumphed at the All-England Club during the 2012 London Olympics. The world No. 1’s accomplishments for Great Britain also include a Davis Cup title in 2015.

Murray had previously received an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) medal from HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, in October of 2013 after winning his first Wimbledon crown that summer. This year was even better, as Murray won Wimbledon, the Olympics, and seven other titles. He reached No. 1 in the rankings for the first time in his career at the Paris Masters this fall and he finished 2016 in the top spot by winning the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. For the first time in the history of the ATP World Tour, a year-end No. 1 ranking all came down to the last match of the season between the top two players. One day after saving a match point to beat Milos Raonic in the semifinals, Murray defeated Novak Djokovic to lift both the tournament winner’s trophy and the No. 1 trophy.

Photo by @thealphamag via Instagram.

He became the 17th different man and the first Brit to end a season in the top spot. He also recently earned his third BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

Murray warmed up for the 2017 campaign at this week’s prestigious six-man event in Abu Dhabi, the Mubadal World Tennis Championship. The No. 1 seed lost his opening match to David Goffin but bounced back to beat Raonic for third place on Saturday.

“It was good to finish the year with a win,” the three-time Grand Slam champion said. “It was a good match to work on returns as Milos has a strong serve…. I still feel like Andy Murray–that feels more normal–but it’s a great honor and I am happy with the knighthood and it is a nice way to start the new year.”