Andy so close to becoming greatest of all
EVERYONE wants it to go ahead. Just not at any cost. Here in the UK, there is one further hope being harboured by everyone who ever got a kick out of watching sport. Namely, that Andy Murray spends this weekend cementing his place in legend — by carrying Great Britain to their first Davis Cup title since 1936.
Should Scotland’s greatest ever sportsman do the necessary by contributing all three points in a team triumph, ably abetted by elder brother Jamie in the doubles, he will have elevated himself to a new plain.
At the age of 28, in quite probably his last self-sacrificing push for this shared global honour, the double Grand Slam winner and reigning Olympic champion will stand uncontested as the greatest tennis player in the history of the British game. To fall short would be a disappointment.
To have the opportunity disrupted or pushed back by events beyond the control of any sporting body would be unfortunate, to say the least, with the venue in Ghent just 35 miles from Brussels, which remains on its highest level of alert amid fears of an attack.
Not that anyone is going to confuse sporting inconvenience with genuine tragedy. In the current climate, conflating the two would be absurd bordering on the offensive.
So let us not pretend that the possibility — and it is only that, at the moment — of this week’s Davis Cup Final being moved, postponed or otherwise adversely affected by Belgium’s fast-changing security situation is, in itself, a cause for gnashing of teeth.
Even among those understandably obsessed by this pursuit of a prize so long beyond our reach — and you can count Murray in there among those most fixated on glory in Ghent — there is no thought of putting fans or players at risk by carrying on regardless of threat levels.
Still, having scuffed my way through three European countries over the past few days, heading to France via Brussels on Thursday and home via Frankfurt on Saturday, the anecdotal evidence — flights absolutely rammed with folk still making ‘non-essential’ journeys — suggests there is a general determination to maintain some normality following the horrific events of Paris.
That may become more difficult in the coming days, of course.
Already the Lawn Tennis Association is referring travelling fans to Foreign Office guidance on visiting Belgium. At the time of writing, with troops on the streets of Brussels and at least one football match having been called off, that advice could easily be summed up with: ‘In the name of God, don’t go.’
The International Tennis Federation is still preparing as normal for the opening singles rubber to start at lunchtime on Friday, while the British team are not expected to travel until today after delaying their journey.
So there is hope yet of a degree of calm returning to the host nation.
And then? Ah yes, and then. Murray has built his entire calendar year towards this point because he knows a rare reward — completion as an athlete and competitor — awaits if successful.
Already considered by most to have surpassed the great Fred Perry, who achieved his glories in a less competitive era and without the pressure of trying to end generations of failure by those who preceded him, Murray will finish all debate if he lifts the Davis Cup.
In reaching a first Final in 37 years, the GB team have already achieved a degree of success. It is a tale of British achievement made in Scotland, with the Murray brothers and previously undervalued captain Leon Smith adding some Caledonian grit to the cause.
He deserves huge credit for not only managing his playing resources with the touch of an alchemist — drawing one or two remarkable performances out of the ‘other’ players who have helped defeat the USA, France and Australia — but for the chemistry he’s created in the group.
This spirit has brought out the best in Murray, who has pushed himself beyond the brink of physical and emotional exhaustion on behalf of something bigger than his own glory. After choosing tennis over football at a young age, he still misses the camaraderie and joy of athletes all working together with one common aim.
He gets to recapture some of that exhilarating dynamic every time he is on Davis Cup duty.
This week has the potential to be one of the greatest in the history of British sport, climaxing in a lifetime high for a Scot without parallel in the field of athletic achievement.
We may even look back on this golden period and forget that there was a security scare in the days leading up to the Final at the Flanders Expo.
Here’s hoping.