RIO DE JANEIRO — In the midst of arguably his best season as a professional tennis player, there’s a chance recent Wimbledon champion Andy Murray could take the No. 1 ranking from Novak Djokovic with a strong finish to the year at the U.S. Open and other big hardcourt events.
But Murray gave up precious rankings points last weekend by choosing not to defend his title at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, an indicator of just how seriously he takes the Olympics.
“The Olympics means a lot to me,” said Murray, who beat Roger Federer for the gold medal in 2012.