Doubles gold with Jamie would be best, insists Andy
Murray brothers gearing up for Olympic bid
IT IS not the thought of becoming Britain’s first male Wimbledon champion in 76 years that sends a shiver down Andy Murray’s spine. Nor is it the prospect of being one of the favourites for an Olympic gold medal in the singles that causes his palms to sweat. Instead, it is the dream of winning a doubles medal with his brother Jamie that makes his pulse race and his heart skip a beat.
For all the fame and fortune, for all the singles trophies won – 22 of them so far – and the three appearances in grand slam finals, it is the memory of winning things with his big bro that Murray treasures most. To date, they have won two titles – in Valencia in 2010 and Tokyo last year – but if they were to win an Olympic medal at Wimbledon in August, Murray believes it would be the proudest moment of his life.
“I don’t think it could get any better than that, really,” Murray said. “But it’s so far, so far away. I know what it was like watching Jamie winning the Wimbledon mixed doubles when I wasn’t even playing, and that was fairly emotional for me so I can’t imagine what it would be like winning an Olympic medal.
“There’s very few brother or sister combos that could say that they’ve won titles at the highest level before. It’s a difficult thing to do. Always when I play doubles with Jamie, I want to do well. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well because I know it can help him and it’s also his career, as well. To get the chance to play with him at an Olympics is going to be great but, at the same time, it is going to be fairly stressful. Hopefully, the doubles goes well because if it doesn’t then the singles will become a bit tougher.”
Murray, who was officially named as a member of Team GB yesterday, speaks from experience. Four years ago in Beijing, he was wide-eyed with excitement when he moved into the athletes’ village and he loved the whole business of being part of the British team and mixing with elite sportsmen from around the world. Indeed, he was so blown away by the whole experience that he forgot about the day job and lost in the first round in the singles and lost a miserable second-round doubles with his brother. Despite the heat and the humidity of the Chinese summer, the atmosphere between the two brothers was ice-cold.
“I was sharing a room with my brother,” Murray recalled with a wry smile. “It wasn’t a fun place to be after we’d lost in the doubles, that’s for sure.”
But those poor performances galvanised the Scot – “It gave me a kick up the bum,” he said in his own, inimitable way – and a couple of weeks later, he beat Rafael Nadal to reach his first major final at the US Open.
Since then he has grown, matured and learned from his mistakes. When the Olympics rolls around again, he will be a