TIME FOR SIR ANDY TO RISE?
London, Nov. 21: Andy Murray was tipped to become ‘Sir Andy’ after crowning a golden season on top of the world days after brother Jamie topped the doubles standings, prompting their mother to hail the “kings of world tennis”.
Leading British bookmaker William Hill promptly installed Murray as a 2/1 chance to be given a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II in Britain’s New Year honours list.
Were he to be so honoured, Murray would join Olympic champions Sir Bradley Wiggins (cycling) and Sir Ben Ainslie (sailing) as sportsmen with a knighthood.
“Come on your majesty @andy_murray for a knighthood. World number one,” tweeted businessman Alan Sugar, a former chairman of Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur.
But while Wiggins is winding down his illustrious career, Murray made it clear he wanted to retain his number one ranking and add to his tally of three Grand Slam singles titles.
His victory over Djokovic capped a brilliant week for the Murray family after brother Jamie guaranteed the year-end doubles world number one pair ranking together with Brazil’s Bruno Soares.
Judy Murray, the brothers’ mother and herself a tennis coach, posted a picture of her two sons on Twitter, captioned: “Andy & Jamie Murray: Pride of Scotland, Kings of world tennis.”
And the congratulations extended beyond the world of tennis, with JK Rowling, the author of the best-selling Harry Potter books, tweeting: “I’d almost forgotten what it’s like when the person you really, really want to win, wins! @andy_murray”.