Murray accepted he may never win a Grand Slam after 2012 loss

Andy Murray is a three-time major champion and the No. 1 player in the world, but there was a time such feats seemed unachievable.

Murray lost his first four final appearances in Grand Slams before finally breaking through in 2012 to win the US Open. A little more than a month earlier, he suffered a disappointing defeat to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final, prompting the Scot to wonder if he'd ever capture a major.

"I was really, really upset after that match. I was pretty down for a couple of days afterwards," Murray told ESPN. "I said that I kind of accepted that I may never win a Grand Slam, but that I was doing everything that I could to give myself the best chance. Once I sort of got that into my head, that I was working as hard as I could and doing the best that I could, I was fine with that."

Murray suffered through an era of Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic dominance. It would have been easy to accept being the fourth-best player in the world, but he continued to push himself.

"It's not been easy, losing in your first four Slam finals," he said. "It's tough. I had a lot of questions asked of my mental state in big matches and stuff. I just kept working, kept trying to find ways to get better. I feel like I've had a really good team around me for long periods of my career. So it's been hard, but I've enjoyed it. Just tried to keep learning all the time."

It's paid off. Instead of asking, "Will Murray win a major?" the tennis world is now asking, "How many will he claim before his career ends?"