Fairytales of New York
BIG APPLE HOLDS SO MANY MEMORIES FOR JUDY MURRAY .... FROM ANDY AND JAMIE’S US OPEN TRIUMPHS TO A CAMEO FROM ICONS ALEX AND SEAN
NEW York, New York. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. The Murrays know this through experience. There have been six major triumphs by the brothers in the city that never sleeps.
Andy has won the big one at Flushing Meadows, of course, the US Open in 2012, preceded by the US juniors (2004), while Jamie has lifted the men’s doubles (2016) and the mixed doubles (2017, 2018, 2019).
This amounts to a story of remarkable triumph, but the background to these major victories is gaudily intriguing. It contains requests for the Bay City Rollers, a melting credit card, the double act of Sir Alex Ferguson and Sean Connery being blown in amid a storm warning, and the secret to mixed-doubles success.
It is told by Judy Murray, coach, mother and witness to the most remarkable of tennis stories.
As the US Open prepares to start next week, the Murray success story can be traced back to the beginning of a new century...
Sunday, September 12, 2004 Andy Murray defeats Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine 6-4, 6-2 to win the US Open juniors.
Judy takes up the story .... ‘I suppose it really started the year before. We had been there and so knew some of the ropes, where to get your credentials and so on.
‘But I decided that we had to approach 2005 with everything we could.
‘I was taking three boys (Andy, Jamie and Jamie Baker) who were in the top 25 in the world in juniors. Alan MacDonald, who still works with Jamie, came along as a hitting partner. But, crucially, we took a video analyst provided by sportscotland.
‘She took footage of the boys playing and filmed opponents. I was trying to do it all properly. On the night before the final, I was sharing a room with Andy but I couldn’t sleep. I got up and went down to the lobby with my laptop and worked again on the Stakhovsky footage. I was there until 6am.
‘Andy played well and won well. But that is where the problems started. I was handed a sheet detailing media requirements for that night and the next morning. But I had booked us all out of our hotel and our flight was at 8pm. But we were expected to do all the media... Bloomberg, Reuters and so on.
‘I was in a cold sweat. I was faced with booking back into the hotel and paying for new flights. I thought: “My credit card can’t handle this. It will melt”.
‘I phoned Tennis Scotland and they sorted it out. Andy was oblivious to the crisis because I wanted him to enjoy the victory. In elite tennis you can play, win, do media and move on to the next tournament. I wanted him to enjoy that moment.
‘That night we went to Ellen’s Stardust Diner in Manhattan. It is where aspiring actors and actresses serve the food and sing for tips. We love it. I asked if they knew any Bay City Rollers but ....
‘The next day we did all the media, some of the tourist stuff and headed home. Approaching the automatic doors at arrivals in Edinburgh, we saw all these flashes going off. Andy said: “Mum, there must have been an accident”.
‘We walked through the doors and the place went mad. I said: “This is for you”.
‘It was an immediate sign that the outside world thought this was massive. My parents had come to collect us at the airport and said we might not want to go straight home because our drive was full of reporters.
‘I thought then that our lives were going to change and it was never the same again.’
September 10, 2012
Murray defeats Novak Djokovic 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 to win the US Open, his first major seniors title
‘The massive memory from that year, of course, is Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Sean Connery,’ recalls Judy.
‘The semi-final against Tomas Berdych was obviously a big match but it was a strange one, too. It was incredibly windy and that helped Andy because, growing up in Scotland, he had learned to play in all kinds of weather conditions. The match was interrupted with courtside chairs blowing on to the court.
‘I was watching when Sir Alex sent a text saying he was in a hospitality box and I should come for a drink after the match. I said I would if Andy won but if he loses...
‘So after the match I go up and have a drink with Alex and he asked: “Can we go down and see him”? So we went down the stairs towards where Andy was doing his press duties. Now, it was so windy that the site was being evacuated because of a hurricane warning. Security was ushering us all out of the ground but we were allowed to go towards the press area.
‘We then bumped into Sean Connery, as you do, and decided to wait outside the press room.
‘After a while, Alex said: “Ach, let’s just go in”.
‘So that is how the press conference became something of a story. I remember Andy saying: “Mum, you have been drinking .... ” He can smell alcohol from a mile away.
‘So that was a big, wonderful, funny memory. The final was tough to watch. It always is. Andy was playing so well but it’s Novak. When it came back to two sets all, Andy took his bathroom break.
‘When he came back, I knew he had the bit between his teeth just
by the way he got out of his chair and headed to the side we were on. He shouted “C’mon” at us. I could tell he was ready. You can never be sure, of course. But I felt he could win it.
September 10, 2016 Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares defeat Pablo Carrena Busta and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2, 6-3 to win the men’s doubles at the US Open
Judy says: ‘It was Jamie’s third major win (he won mixed doubles Wimbledon 2007 and the men’s doubles with Soares at Australian Open earlier that year) but it doesn’t make you any less nervous. It was made worse for me by watching it on television as I wasn’t in New York that year.
‘The nerves were because Jamie had been in a few men’s finals and hadn’t got it over the line until Melbourne that year.
‘There is something so hard about that. Losing in finals is very, very difficult and can have a huge impact. It is so much worse than unexpectedly losing in the first round.
‘But 2016 was simply wonderful. It was the first year for Jamie and Bruno together and it was a tremendous success. They were such a great partnership, they got on so well on and off court and they were fun to watch.
September 9, 2017 Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis defeat Michael Venus and Chan Hao-Ching 6-1, 4-6, (10-8) to win US Open mixed doubles
September 8, 2018 Murray and Bethanie Mattek-Sands defeat Nikola
Mektic and Alicja Rosolca 2-6, 6-3 (11-9)
September, 8 2019 Murray and Mattek-Sands defeat Venus and Hao-Ching 6-2, 6-3
‘Jamie has been very successful in both mixed and in men’s doubles,’ says Judy. ‘He has a game that is suited to doubles as he is a great volleyer among others things. But the key to the success in mixed doubles (Jamie has won seven grand slams, five in mixed doubles) is that he is likeable and has great people skills. This is important.
Louis Cayer (the great doubles coach who still advises Jamie) said in 2007 when Jamie teamed up with Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon: “The secret to a successful mixed doubles partnership is to keep the lady smiling.” Jamie did that and they won the tournament.
Bethanie and Martina are different people, different players but Jamie found success with both. They are great players with brilliant cvs so it was telling that they chose to team up with him. But, remember, Venus Williams has played with him, too. He has found success in that area but he has made it enjoyable too. That’s tough to do.
2022
Asked about her hopes for the boys this year, Judy replies: ‘Pretty simple. I hope they stay fit and healthy and have a great time.’
■ Judy Murray was speaking at an event to seek volunteers for next year’s UCI Cycling World Championship in Scotland: www.cyclingworldchamps.com/ volunteer