LONDON — Next Sunday night, Andy Murray will be portrayed as never before to an armchair audience in this country.
Daily Mail
With his girlfriend Kim Sears, often seen, but seldom heard from, Murray will be shown walking his two terriers, Maggie and Rusty, to show the softer side of the greatest tennis champion this nation has produced.
Sir Alex Ferguson, who was courtside in New York when Murray ended the 76-year search to unearth a male British major champion as he beat Novak Djokovic to win the US Open, and Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue, will offer an intimate profile of the player as viewed from outside his working environment.
Murray’s fiercest rivals, Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, have also contributed to the BBC documentary of the 26-year-old Scot entitled, Andy Murray: The Man Behind the Racket.
It is a charm offensive masterminded on Murray’s behalf by his management, XIX Entertainment, the company behind David Beckham. Yet it is more than merely a blatant exercise in spin. It is also a concerted attempt to provide evidence that Murray is not just a one-dimensional athlete. The film could be sub-titled, Andy Murray: Access all areas.
Murray will return to Wimbledon with an even greater burden of expectation, if that is possible. His appearance in the final 12 months ago, when he was denied the championship by Federer, the most successful player of all time, illustrated how Murray has to be judged against the best in the game.
And his heartfelt, tearful reaction after the match revealed a depth of emotion he had previously kept hidden from the public. Then, his irresistible performance against Federer in the Olympic final three weeks later won the Scot more than a gold medal. On that summer’s evening, Murray earned the respect of the nation.
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And before the summer had ended, he stood triumphant in the Arthur Ashe Stadium, holding aloft the US Open trophy. Murray was then voted third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards behind Sir Bradley Wiggins and Jess Ennis.
So how do you reprise that year? Winning Wimbledon is the clear and evident ambition of a man who on Saturday reached the final of the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club.
“I probably feel a bit more confident coming into this grasscourt season because of how I played on it last year,” he admitted. ‘I played well. I was aggressive, I moved well and I practised extremely well, too.’
Murray can expect to be named Wimbledon No 2 seed this week, behind world No 1 Djokovic and ahead of Federer, with David Ferrer squeezing in front of Nadal.
‘I think Andy’s very personally driven,’ said Australian coach Roger Rasheed, who journeyed to the summit of the game with Lleyton Hewitt, and who was a candidate to work with Murray before Ivan Lendl joined the British star 18 months ago.
‘I’m sure Lendl sorted a few things out, as you can see changes in his game,’ explained Rasheed, now coaching Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who reached the semi-final of the French Open 16 days ago. ‘But there are obvious changes Andy would have wanted to make anyway.
‘Also, the more often you are in contention, the more you believe that eventually you will go the distance. He’s matured as well; and you can never underestimate the importance of tennis maturity on the court.’
Murray’s New York win followed the heartache of losing the first four major finals he had contested, at the US Open, twice at the Australian Open, and Wimbledon last summer.
‘Some guys need to fall over a lot before they finally get through,’ added Rasheed.
Lendl himself lost his first four Grand Slam finals but went on to acquire eight majors.
‘It is good for Lendl to be there and giving out legitimate instructions that they agree on, as Ivan has been there, and had that full ride,’ added Rasheed.
‘Once Andy buys into you, he works at 100mph. If Andy had to walk into a Grand Slam final now, he’d have his natural nerves, but he would probably feel very relaxed compared to wearing that eager, where am I now look?
‘I think you learn those things. Lleyton had that. He was born for the big match, the big crowd. He’d be like: ‘‘Give it to me’’. No one taught him that. To me, Andy’s very like Lleyton in that he will always have the passion to play.’
So Murray’s reputation as a competitor with a large heart, a voracious appetite to run the hard yards and make personal sacrifices, is well known. Next Sunday evening, he intends to unveil more of himself than just his passion for tennis.
