It’s been a year of glittering prizes.. but my grannie award tops the lot!
NEW ARRIVAL SOPHIA THE HIGHLIGHT FOR JUDY
ANDY MURRAY will become the first man to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year three times tomorrow night unless all phone lines in Scotland are cut.
Two-time Wimbledon champion, double Olympic champion, No.1 in the world rankings for the first time and Team GB’s flag-bearer in Rio, it is hard to imagine what else Murray could have done to complete his unprecedented treble – short of mowing the grass on Centre Court himself.
Nobody has ever been shorter odds to win the Beeb’s blue riband award, which reflects Muzza’s status as Britain’s greatest tennis player of all time.
In any other year, triathlon superman Alistair Brownlee would win the gong for retaining his Olympic title and carrying his exhausted brother Jonny across the line at the World Series finale in Mexico.
Even the Hollies themselves would approve of Brownlee’s cover version of He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother. But although Murray’s stupendous year eclipsed a golden cast of Olympians who brought home the bullion from Rio, his mother and players’ box cheerleader Judy can think of one seminal moment which topped the lot – becoming a grandmother.
The arrival of Murray’s daughter, Sophia, in February augmented a mother’s pride which would later be amplified, in 2016, by both her sons reaching No.1 as doubles specialist Jamie ended the year unassailable in the charts.
She said: “It would be very difficult to top 2016. The boys have achieved more than any of us could have imagined. If you take the tennis away, there have been lovely family moments which transcend sport like the birth of Andy and Kim’s daughter, Jamie turning 30 and his award of the OBE in October.
“There have been so many moments of success on the court it’s almost impossible to pick one ahead of the others, so family highlights like becoming a grandmother are probably what made a special year an unforgettable one.” Murray had to dig deeper
than a mineshaft to prevail in his titanic slugging match with Juan Martin del Potro to win Olympic gold, and his conquest of former world No.1 Novak Djokovic at the ATP Tour finals was another showcase for his unquenchable spirit.
“Andy has incredible resilience, an incredible fighting spirit, and he has always relished a challenge,” said the proudest mother in sport.
“Growing up, he was always one of those curious kids who needed to be challenged and needed to be stimulated, and when you transfer that to sporting competition, it has always made him most dangerous when his back is against the wall.
“He is one of those extraordinary competitors who, when he puts his mind to something, always manages to achieve it. He manages to find the willpower, or something within, that makes him produce special performances when he is physically or mentally exhausted.
“I’ve seen it many, many times over his career, probably never more than the Olympic final in Rio and the ATP Tour finals at the O2, where he had to dredge every last drop from the tank. I don’t know where he finds it.
“That’s the mark of a champion: If he really wants something, he will fight for it and he will always find a way to win when he’s not playing well or when he’s exhausted.
“He has always been very driven, but since the baby arrived he has become even better at separating family life from the demands of his career, which takes him on the road for 10 months of the year. Sophia has had a very positive effect on him.”