Distraction? A new baby will just spur Murray on
AS SIR ANDY MURRAY won his Wimbledon title last year, his proud grandmother declared his new baby daughter Sophia his “lucky charm”.
This year, Murray can test that theory once more after confirming his wife Kim is pregnant again, pledging the happy family news will not distract him on court.
The world number one, and two-time Wimbledon winner, will play his first match today, coming back from a hip problem to defend his title.
The 30-year-old declined to reveal any details about the pregnancy but said the couple, whose daughter Sophia is 17 months old, had known for a while.
Asked whether it would be an “added stress”, he said: “No, I wouldn’t have thought so. We’re both obviously very happy and looking forward to it.”
Pressed on whether he would be able to stop thinking about his family life long enough to play, he added: “Well, I mean, I’ve had family the whole time I’ve been playing tennis so yeah, I’ll be fine dealing with that. It’s certainly not a distraction in the slightest.” Mrs Murray, he said, would be coming to Wimbledon to cheer him on again.
Murray has previously endured criticism that baby Sophia had knocked his form, with one commentator last year saying he looked “exhausted”. The proud father hit back, claiming that blaming his daughter for losing a match was a “horrible thing to say”, and insisting parenthood was more important than his career.
Murray silenced any doubters with his subsequent Wimbledon performance. Ellen Murray, his grandmother, told a newspaper at the time: “I think she is his lucky charm. And she’s a beautiful one.”
Murray will today play Alexander Bublik, a 20-yearold Russian-turned-kazakh who is ranked 134th in the world.
The Briton returned to the court on Friday, but looked far from fully recovered and continued to hobble between points during practice sessions over the weekend.
“I’ll be fine to play the event and play seven matches,” he said. “Things can happen, obviously, when you’re playing. But, if I feel like I am today, I’d be delighted and have no issues getting through.
“If necessary, I can take some anti-inflammatories if my hip flares up. Hopefully that’s not the case.”
Murray revealed he has suffered with hip problems since he was very young, saying: “It’s not something new to me. It’s just been very sore the last few weeks.”
He only made it to the quarter-finals when he first defended the title in 2014, his worst performance since 2008. He said: “Obviously I’ve got a little bit more experience, I’m a bit older now. Hopefully I’m able to deal with things better this time round.”
When the country feels discomfited by political upheaval and economic uncertainty we can always rely upon the fixed points of the summer season to give us all a lift. Today is the opening day of the Wimbledon championships, the only major tennis tournament still played on grass and by players attired in white kit. As with Ascot and Henley, or cultural events like Glyndebourne, maintaining the traditions is as important as the events themselves. They provide a sense of permanence in times of change. In recent years, Wimbledon has also provided a British men’s winner to lift the national spirits. Can Andy Murray do it again? Given his recent form it is a lot to ask. But what matters more than who wins is that Wimbledon remains the pictureperfect showcase for what we do well.