Murray revels in 'special' Davis Cup victory
Comparing Great Britain's Davis Cup success to his two grand slam wins, Andy Murray explained: "It's special in a very different way."
Andy Murray is no stranger to history-making successes, but the two-time grand slam champion says there was a different feel to Davis Cup glory after inspiring Great Britain to their first title in the competition in 79 years.
Murray's 6-3 7-5 6-3 victory over David Goffin on Sunday was enough to secure an unassailable 3-1 lead for Britain over Belgium - sparking jubilant celebrations from the visiting supporters in attendance at the Flanders Expo in Ghent.
Prior to the Scot's successes at the 2012 US Open and Wimbledon a year later, 1936 had been repeatedly highlighted as the year in which a British player - Fred Perry - had last won a grand slam, but - until now - it was also the year Britain last claimed the biggest prize in international team tennis.
Asked where Davis Cup success ranked in his list of career achievements, Murray said: "So much effort has gone into all of those wins, but this one feels different.
"To get to do it with my brother [Jamie, with whom he earned a crucial doubles win on Saturday] and a lot of my friends - I know how much it means to all of them as well, so to have played a part in the success of this team is great.
"Leon [Smith], the captain, he coached me when I was 11 years old. We never thought we would ever be doing this together.
"A lot of the team I work with throughout the rest of the year as well, I'm very close with, and it's special in a very different way.
"Winning Wimbledon, you feel like you're just doing it for yourself. Here, there's a lot more to it than that."
Victory over Goffin saw Murray become the first player to win eight live Davis Cup singles rubbers in a calendar year since the World Group was introduced in 1981.
The legendary Pete Sampras, meanwhile, was the last man to win three live rubbers in a final.
"I only found out about the eight live rubbers at the beginning of this week - it's not something I'd thought about before," Murray said.
"It's not an easy thing to do at this level and it's very special from a personal point of view, [but] I'm more interested in it being the first time Great Britain have won in, whatever, 80 years or something. It's incredible and I'm glad I was part of that."
British captain Smith hailed Murray's contribution, adding: "It has to be one of the best achievements of all time.
"It's incredible for all of us to watch how he's managed to win that many rubbers, that many wins."