Tuesday 29 December 2015 11:02, UK
Andy Murray can look back on 2015 with great satisfaction after ending the season as world No 2 and winning the Davis Cup with Great Britain.
2014 was pure frustration for the Scot, having spent the majority of it rehabilitating from back surgery. But he made a lung-bursting start to this year, which suggested he was close to being back to his best.
And although there were fits and starts in the latter part of the season due to his Davis Cup excursions, Murray knows he can approach next season with a lot more optimism and real hope of adding a third career slam to his trophy cabinet.
Here, we look back on the highs and lows of Murray's season and we start in Melbourne...
Murray was already a three-time losing finalist down under but looked fresh and eager to finally seal a maiden Melbourne title. He was involved in a gruelling five-set contest with Grigor Dimitrov before coming through to reach his sixth consecutive Australian Open quarter-final. A straight sets win over Nick Kyrgios followed before Murray came from a set down to beat Tomas Berdych to seal a place in his first major final since his Wimbledon success in 2013.
But he came up against an inspired Novak Djokovic, and despite glimpses of his old magic, Murray was beaten 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-0 as he wilted in the heat and humidity. Murray's run to the final enabled him to return to the top four in the world rankings for the first time in 12 months, which was a major boost going forward.
This was a milestone tournament for Murray, who recorded his 500th career win en route to the final - becoming the first British player to do so in the Open Era. Once again he went up against world No 1 Djokovic and once again he was 'bageled' in the decider, losing 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-0.
So to the Scot's least favourite surface - clay - but he was more than determined to land his first ATP title on the red stuff and it finally came in Germany. Murray overcame the efficient Philipp Kohlschreiber from Germany in a titanic three-set battle to become the first Briton since Buster Mottram in 1976 to win a Tour level clay-court event.
Murray reached a second successive clay-court final the following week and this time he produced one of his greatest ever performances against the 'King of Clay' Rafa Nadal in his own backyard. The two-time Grand Slam champion dismissed Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori along the way before outclassing the Spaniard 6-3 6-2, securing his first victory over Nadal, Djokovic or Roger Federer since winning Wimbledon two years earlier.
Notable wins against Kyrgios and David Ferrer helped Murray set up yet another showdown with Djokovic at Roland Garros. Murray was on a 15-match winning run on clay and the semi-final certainly lived up to expectations. After a storm interrupted play to take it into a second day, Murray came from two sets down to take it to a fifth. However, Djokovic prevailed 6-3 6-3 5-7 5-7 6-1 to inflict an eighth successive defeat on his old friend.
Murray headed into the grass-court campaign with high hopes of winning his second Wimbledon title after making vast improvements in his form and fitness over the first half of the season. Dunblane native Murray had already won a hat-trick of titles at Queen's Club in 2009, 2011 and 2013 and was looking to continue the trend in 2015. Wins over Yen-Hsun Lu, Fernando Verdasco and Viktor Troicki catapulted the Scot into another final. The top seed then beat South African Kevin Anderson to join the likes of John McEnroe and Boris Becker as a four-time Queen's Club champion.
With Murray peaking just in time for Wimbledon there were high expectations for a second success at the All England Club and things went swimmingly all the way until the semi-finals, when a rejuvenated Federer turned back the clock to dismantle the British No 1 7-5 7-5 6-4 and leave the Centre Court crown in awe of his near-perfect performance.
Another final and another meeting between old foes Murray and Djokovic. This time Murray finally breached the formidable Serb's defence to secure his first win over his rival in two years. The Scot dominated the baseline battle to secure a thrilling 6-4 4-6 6-3 victory in Montreal. The win earned Murray his fourth title of the year, and moved him up to second in the world rankings.
Defeat to Federer in the Cincinnati Masters semi-finals meant Murray had fallen to No 3 in the world rankings heading into the final major of the season.
After seeing off Kyrgios, Murray overcame Adrian Mannarino in a five-set thriller. In doing so, Murray equalled Federer's record of winning eight matches from being two sets to love down. Thomaz Bellucci was dispatched next but then Murray fell to a shock defeat to Anderson in the fourth round.
The South African won 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-0) in an epic four-hours 18-minute contest. It was the first time Murray had lost before the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam since the US Open in 2010.
Murray suffered yet another defeat to Djokovic in the final with the Serb in a league of his own. His win in Paris was not only his 22nd in a row, but his 10th title in a year that yielded a record-breaking 15 finals, which ended in style at the ATP World Tour Finals and a remarkable 82-6 win-loss record. Although the 6-2 6-4 reverse was routine, Murray hit twice as many winners against his opponent. If he cuts out the unforced errors (34) and increases the consistency on his second serve, he will hope to bridge the gap with his Serbian nemesis when they meet in 2016.
After an early exit at the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals at London's O2, 2015 ended in a thrilling climax for Murray and his Davis Cup team-mates with a landmark victory over Belgium in Ghent.
After James Ward's heroics against John Isner - winning in five sets - Murray helped nine-time winners Great Britain overcome the USA 3-2 in front of a raucous Glasgow crowd to reach the last eight.
Murray then helped take Leon Smith's side into their first semi-final in 34 years as they defeated France 3-1 on grass at Queen's Club. The tireless Murray came from a set down to beat Gilles Simon 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-0.
Australia followed and a return to Glasgow. Murray twice secured straight-set victories - first against Thanasi Kokkinakis and then Bernard Tomic. Sandwiched in between, brother Jamie was on hand to help out in the doubles as Lleyton Hewitt and the world's fastest server Sam Groth were beaten in five sets.
A year that had until then offered so much but fell agonisingly short of tangible success all came together in Ghent when Murray helped Leon Smith's men to their first success in the competition for 79 years by winning both his singles rubbers and doubles with brother Jamie.
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