The last Brit to win one of tennis’ four Grand Slams was Virginia Wade in 1977, some 33 long years ago. Yet last month’s Australian Open was the second time in recent years that Andy Murray has made a major final.
In the post match interviews the all conquering Roger Federer said it was only a matter of time before 22-year-old Murray would win a Grand Slam. Federer has always been a gracious winner but I felt that he wasn’t just being polite. There was truth in his words. Whether it is this year or in five years time, Murray will be the first male British tennis player to win a prestigious Grand Slam tournament since Fred Perry in 1936.
When you look at Murray’s family it is no surprise that he ended up becoming a sportsman. His grandfather enjoyed some success as a professional footballer in Scotland and his older brother Jamie is a regular on the tennis doubles circuit.
Considering the amount of time and money needed to develop a young tennis career, Murray comes from a humble background. Born in Glasgow, he later attended Dunblane Primary School and was actually in the school when the infamous massacre occurred in 1996. He is understandably reluctant to speak about the events that day but said he found the incident very hard to understand at such a young age.
At the age of 15 he made the difficult decision of moving to Barcelona, moving away from his family in order to improve his tennis. This huge risk resulted in him leaving school with no qualifications but seemingly paid off when his tennis matured and improved rapidly. In 2005 he climbed a staggering 343 places in the world rankings to 64 and became the youngest Briton to ever play in the Davis Cup. The next year he finished 17th in the world and is now number three after a brief period at number two last year. In this short period of time he has reached two Grand Slam finals and won four Masters titles.
Over this period the face of British tennis has changed. ‘Tiger’ Tim Henman has been replaced by Andy Murray and ‘Henman Hill’ has now been dubbed ‘Murray Mound’. The transition was seamless. Britain has found a new player to rest all its tennis hopes on, although the lanky Scot with the scruffy hair and bad facial stubble is a mile away from clean cut Tim.
Henman reached six Grand Slam semi-finals in his career, but never managed to go that step further, yet we still loved him. He was reserved, a true English gent and an interviewers dream. Although not the most charismatic of stars, he was always willing to appear on television (remember those Persil adverts) with his smile and clean cut appearance. He was professional but never the best; never ruthless enough but he always gave it his all. A true Brit, one we loved to watch loose.
Murray is a different sort of professional; he has an attitude which suggests that he doesn’t care about how people feel towards him, because he’s playing the sport he loves. A few years back he came under stinging criticism for saying that he would ‘support whoever was playing England’ in the world cup. It ended up that the comments were a joke taken out of context. Nevertheless people have continually suggested that Murray is moody and incredibly hard to warm to.
There is a great contradiction within the British public. Henman was a good player but he was ‘the nice guy’. There was always that sympathy towards Tim, the feeling of ‘he’s done his best’, hence his regular spot in the commentary box of Wimbledon next to Becker and McEnroe (players who actually won Grand Slams.) Murray on the other hand is seemingly unfazed by media attention. Yes he’ll do the pre and post match interviews but he won’t go out of his way to talk to anyone to make you like him. He is the opposite of Tim. He isn’t always clean shaven and his hair is messy. When he wins a vital point his roar will make sure you know what it means to him.
The fickle British public are reluctant to embrace Murray even though he is the best British player we’ve seen for many years. We backed ‘nice guy’ Tim but as soon as we get a determined athlete like Murray we are wary of him. We should embrace Andy, support him and respect his professional attitude. He plays sport to win, not to smile at the cameras or feature in adverts.
Murray recently broke up with his girlfriend of four years who said she wasn’t getting enough out of their relationship. It was rumoured that he plays Call of Duty for seven hours every day which put too much strain on the relationship! If he puts that sort of time into his tennis then I’m sure the Grand Slams will come in abundance.
1. jim
I would have admired Andy if he doesn’t roar to much and if he does not boast of something he cannot achieve yet. He always says he is ready but he cannot actually do it. He is also a bit big headed when he said the title is nothing if it is not Roger to beat (daily mail). True he can beat Roger but sorry not in a Grand slam. Tim is still better and adored.
2. Adam Troth
How many Grand Slam finals did Henman reach in his career Jim? Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Henman summed up everything that was wrong with British sport-he was yet another glorious failure but we loved him anyway. Murray has fire in his belly, balls of steel and a far more complete game than Tim ever had.
3. Avril
I think Mr Murray gets a raw deal from some quarters of the media. Tim did as well. The media just hype them up and when they don’t achieve fill columns with negativity and a sort of British self indulgent despondency. I was appalled by the treatment of Tim Henman and I am now about Andy Murray. Do we like trying to destroy our talented sportsman. These men are shining examples of the work ethic and they should be respected for that. I am completely fed up with the media buid up knock down cycle and the mob that publish rude, defamatory and disrespectful material on the internet. Where has integrity gone?
4. Adam Troth
Avril, I agree that the media did overhype Tim Henman to some degree, and may risk doing the same with Murray. However, there are crucial differences between the two. When cheering on Henman, for a lot of us it was mostly in hope rather than expectation. Even at this young age, there is a sense of expectation with Murray. He may be young but already has made 2 Grand Slam finals, and his game has really matured in the last few years. Sooner rather than later he will triumph. Unfortunately in Australia, he came up against a masterclass from arguably the greatest tennis player ever to pick up a racket.
A lot of people say that Henman was a choker, mentally weak, a bottler. Personally, I don’t think he was ever good enough to make a Grand Slam final, let alone win one. Henman was physically weak compared with the top ranked players and relied on a very limited serve-and-volley game on his favoured surface. Murray has already shown he can compete on different surfaces and adjust his game accordingly. He has a long way to go (for example, being more ruthless with winning opportunities) but is doing British tennis proud. Hell, if he was an upper-class Englishman like Tim was, we’d already have built a statue of him.
5. lori
People in the UK need to wake up , and realize what a treasure they have in Andy Murray !!! Get over your hate people , and get behind the world #3 Canada would love to have you Andy !!!!
6. Irene Smith
I met Andy Murray in Dubai tournament last year and he is a pleasant, friendly guy when off the court. He was the player who took time to sign loads of autographs. He is a credit to Scotland and his parents. On court he is focused and wants to win every point. Surely we can admire this, not knock it.
7. Avril
Adam, Lori and Irene
I agree with you all. Andy is a treasure. I think Lori is right that he would be better appreicated in other countries than he is here in the UK. That is sad. And says more about the negative outlook of us Brits than Andy. Av