ANDY on marriage, nappies and his proudest moments
The other half of me
‘Becoming a dad has been amazing... I’ve changed my fair share of dirty nappies’
ANDY MURRAY is one of the greatest sportsmen Scotland has ever produced. The 29-year-old Dunblane ace has thrilled audiences around the world since he burst on to the scene in 2005.
As well as reaching 11 Grand Slam finals, Andy has been awarded an OBE and has twice been named BBC Sports Personality Of The Year.
He’s back home this week, competing in the Davis Cup semi-final today in Glasgow and then on Wednesday at the city’s Hydro for the first Andy Murray Live charity event.
He’ll play an exhibition match against Gael Monfils, and a doubles with brother Jamie against Monfils and Tim Henman. All profits will go to Glasgow charity, Young People’s Futures, and Unicef, of which Murray is a UK Ambassador.
Andy marked his return to home soil by revealing his 10 greatest moments.
GETTING MARRIED (2015)
I’ve been with Kim for a long time and she’s been with me through thick and thin. Getting married in front of our friends and families was perfect. We had a great day and it was made extra special by all the well-wishers who came to Dunblane – another day we will never forget.
FATHERHOOD (2016)
Becoming a dad to Sophia has been amazing. You see things differently once you become a parent – it’s helped me put things into perspective on and off court.
It’s been a busy year with tennis, but I’ve managed to fit in plenty of time with Sophia and have definitely changed my fair share of dirty nappies!
In terms of my career, these are my winning memories...
FIRST APPEARANCE FOR GB (2005)
Representing your country is something every athlete dreams of when starting out in their career, so to be selected for a senior Davis Cup squad at the age of 17 for my first live rubber match in Israel was a real honour.
FIRST CAREER TITLE (2006)
I think every player remembers their first tournament win. I beat Lleyton Hewitt, someone I really looked up to, in San Jose. He was always really great with me and supported me a lot when I was one of the younger players, so for it to be him in the final made that moment special.
WINNING THE OLYMPICS (2012)
Winning Gold in London is one of the proudest moments of my career. I had lost the Wimbledon final a few weeks earlier to Roger Federer, which was one of my toughest losses.
The opportunity to compete at a home Olympics and better still, win a medal, was something I will never forget.
The atmosphere up and down the country during the fortnight was absolutely incredible.
To be able to bounce back and win the Gold on the same court, against the same player from the Wimbledon final, just a few weeks later – it worked out pretty well in the end!
MY FIRST GRAND SLAM (2012)
One of the defining moments of my career. I’d suffered disappointment in multiple Grand Slam finals before this and after losing in my first Wimbledon final a few months earlier, I started to think I might never win one.
It sounds like a really negative mind-set, but it actually helped.
I finally relaxed and started just enjoying my tennis, and I was probably the most relaxed I’d ever been heading into the US Open in 2012.
The final was an incredibly long and brutal match against Novak Djokovic.
I was two sets to love up but Novak managed to level at 2-2.
I took a bathroom break and gave myself a talking-to in the mirror. It seemed to work and finally I got the breakthrough.
A lot of years of hard work came together that day and I’ll never forget it.
WIMBLEDON (2013)
After the disappointment of the year before when I lost to Federer in the final, it would have been easy to go into Wimbledon 2013 a little bit apprehensive. However I had gone on to win the Olympic Gold and the US Open, so I was actually feeling really confident.
I’d finally got over the Grand Slam hurdle at the US Open and I knew I was able to compete, and win, at the highest level and that really helped.
DAVIS CUP TRIUMPH (2015)
British tennis has been on an incredible journey over the last few years. At one point we were just one match away from dropping into the lowest tier of world tennis but it was at that point that things began to turn around.
Under the leadership of Leon Smith and the support staff, the team has gone from strength to strength and the younger players have really stepped up.
The British Davis Cup team is very much a family and to be winners of the biggest tournament in international tennis is a pretty good feeling.
MY SECOND WIMBLEDON (2016)
After winning Wimbledon in 2013, I had to take some time out to have surgery on my back.
It was something that took me a lot longer to recover from than I expected and 2014 turned out to be one of my most difficult years. It was only at the Australian Open in 2015 I felt like I was beginning to play my best tennis again.
I went close in both the Australian (final) and French Open (semi-final) in 2015 and then after making the final of the Australian Open and the French Open in 2016, a lot was expected of me going into Wimbledon. It’s always a tournament that is special for me. The atmosphere throughout the tournament this year was incredible – the fans are so different to anywhere else in the world. It was great to win there again and I’m looking forward to going back next year to defend my title.
OLYMPIC GOLD AGAIN (2016)
To successfully defend the Olympic title was an incredibly proud moment. It’s something that hasn’t been done before in tennis, so to be able to say I am the first to do it is a great feeling.
Rio put on a great show and a lot of the players really enjoyed the event. It was also great to have Del Potro back in one of the big finals – he’s a really nice guy and it was a great match.
I’m just pleased I was able to win through.
Andy Murray Live, SSE Hydro, Wednesday.