Champion who delivered on a nation’s hopes
RECORD chief reporter Mark McGivern has been there every step of the way during Andy’s stellar career.
Here he tells how the newspaper has been Andy’s number one fan from the start.
“IT’S odd for a news reporter to have spent so much time writing about a tennis player.
“When skinny 17-year-old Andrew Murray from Dunblane won the US Junior Open title in 2004, he was already looking the real deal.
“I was first dispatched to Wimbledon in 2012, as Scotland was in a state of fever pitch at the prospect of a Murray breakthrough in a Grand Slam.
“I miraculously managed to get a berth in the press box as Andy went down to a valiant defeat against Roger Federer and I saw him shed tears at the end.
“I was there when Andy gained revenge over Federer a few weeks later, brushing him aside to win the gold medal at the London Olympics.
“That success brought a civic reception in Dunblane attended by 16,000 well-wishers – more than turned out for a visit by the Queen. And Andy probably signed his autograph for half of them.
“Wimbledon 2013 was the one to elevate Andy into legend status.
“Watching Andy skittle Novak Djokovic in straight sets, becoming the first male Brit in 77 years to win Wimbledon, sent the Centre Court crowd wild, knowing they were there when sporting history was made.
“Andy’s second Wimbledon win in 2016 meant we’d all become accustomed to him beating the best.
“If he manages to nurse his hip to a final starting spot at Wimbledon in June there will be another day of sporting history made, regardless of whether he wins or loses.”
Other sportsmen do this bit. What’s different is that Murray is a feminist. He’s close to his mum. He takes tennis seriously while poking fun at himself. His emotions are close to the surface. It’s hard to imagine a star from the last century gulping