Andy Murray finishes 2015 ATP Tour season with the highest prize money earnings and most wins of his career to date
Andy Murray once again suffered an early exit from the ATP World Tour Finals last night, a competition in which he has struggled to turn home advantage into success.
A 7-6, 6-4 to Stan Wawrinka, on the back of another straight sets defeat to Rafael Nadal, ended Murray's chances of winning the ATP's curtain call event for the first time and earning its £690,000 paycheque.
Read more: Here's how much cash is on offer at the World Tour Finals
Instead, Murray leaves London and heads to preparations for next week's Davis Cup final with $294,000 (£220,000) made up of a participation fee and prize money reward for his win over Milos Raonic.
That takes his total earnings for 2015 to $6.72m (£4.42m) – making it the highest-earning season of his career to date.
Yet it's illustrative of Murray's competitive drive that a quarter of a million dollar paycheque is of little solace to his failure to make the World Tour Finals' second stage for the first time since 2012.
"The only positive for me this week is I've come away from it injury-free," he explained. "Now I have a couple more days to get ready for Belgium."
Last year marked a frustrating, stuttering season for the Scot – his least lucrative for six years – but in contrast 2015 has been a personal record-breaking a show of strength.
At the turn of the year Murray was ranked No6 in the world (and was as low as No12 last September) but has since hauled himself up to the No2 spot behind Novak Djokovic – although Roger Federer can snatch that from him he goes on to win a record seventh World Tour Finals title.
Murray's 69 wins on the ATP Tour this season, a new personal best, has helped him to an impressive four titles and a not too shabby £4.4m.
And yet his biggest achievement this season may not come through any personal or financial accolade but the Davis Cup where he has almost single-handedly dragged Great Britain into their first final since 1978.
Great Britain have not won the Davis Cup for 79 years but – largely thanks to Murray's superlative year – are the favourites to beat Belgium on their home turf in the final and end the long wait.