Knowing I am through to the final of Wimbledon fills me with so many emotions, but all of that will count for nothing unless I come away with the title.
The only thing I can afford to focus on is my game and Roger Federer. He is a player I've beaten in the past, and I can do it again.
My coach Ivan Lendl and hitting partner Dani Vallverdu will sit down to study his matches so far this fortnight and some of my previous meetings with him, then we'll talk tactics.
Wimbledon 2012 match stats
I don't like watching my matches back - things change very quickly in tennis and you have to look forward - but I will reflect on what I've done well against Roger in the past and certain performances at the latter stages of Grand Slams.
He is arguably the best player of all time. There are a few guys who have a decent claim, but I'd say Roger and Pete Sampras. Sunday will be a great challenge and one that excites me.
Although it's my first Wimbledon final, I was in this position at the 2008 US Open and the Australian Open in 2010 and 2011. I know how it's going to feel and although there will be nerves, I know how to deal with them and use it as a positive.
Of those finals, losing to Novak Djokovic in Melbourne last year was the most painful, and it's one of the factors motivating me to lift the trophy this time round.
Since I left for Spain 10 years ago and decided I wanted to become a professional tennis player, these are the moments I've spent every day working towards.
I moved away from my family at the age of 15, lived and trained in another country. I had to do that to get where I am today, challenging for the sport's biggest prizes.
Moment Murray ends GB's 74-year wait
It hasn't been an easy journey and after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semi-finals on Friday I was quite emotional.
Before doing my post-match interview I went to the bathroom and just sat there, splashed water over my face and calmed myself down. My attention then switched to the final.
When you make it to this stage of a tournament it can be easy to get distracted, but I've kept things as normal as possible. A spot of practice, plenty of physio, chats with my team and walks with the dogs.
On Sunday I'll wake up at around 9am, have some breakfast, make my way in and warm up for the last time before packing my bags in the locker room and changing into match kit.
Eventually, the wait will be over. The one thing I can guarantee is that I'll fight my absolute heart out. I need to give everything I have from the first point to the last.
Roger won the the first of his 16 majors at Wimbledon in 2003. I was playing in the juniors that year, hoping one day I could do the same. Now I have my chance.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Wimbledon 2012: Andy Murray beaten by Roger Federer in final - BBC News
Andy Murray's bid to win Wimbledon was ended by Roger Federer as the Swiss claimed a record-equalling seventh SW19 triumph and 17th Grand Slam title.
Murray, 25, was aiming to become the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to lift a major singles trophy.
But 30-year-old Federer won 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 on Centre Court to match the mark set by Pete Sampras and reclaim the world number one ranking.
A tearful Murray has now lost all four of his Grand Slam finals.
Murray's tears in defeat
He was the first Briton to contest the Wimbledon men's singles final since Bunny Austin in 1938, but fell just short of the ultimate goal.
"Everybody always talks about the pressure of playing at Wimbledon, but it's not the people watching - they make it incredible," said a tearful Murray in the wake of his defeat.
"There are mixed emotions. Most of them are negative. The reaction from the crowd was great. I felt like I was playing for the nation and I couldn't quite do it."
Federer fully deserved his victory, which not only sees him level Sampras on seven Wimbledon titles, but also secures him a record 286th week as world number one.
He is the second-oldest man to occupy top spot, goes away with a cheque for £1.15m and will head to the Olympics - also being staged at the All England Club - as clear favourite.
Match analysis
"I have been in the same position as Murray at the Australian Open. I couldn't make a speech and it's really tough. Andy played great tennis. The match was played at an unbelievably high standard. Murray will win this title. I said it might not be this year but I wouldn't put money against him next year. He is improving all the time."
Murray, who collects the £575,000 runner-up prize, now shares his coach Ivan Lendl's unenviable record of losing his first four Grand Slam finals.
Having made poor starts in each of the previous three - all of which ended in straight-sets defeats - Murray knew it was vital to secure the early momentum.
All was going to plan as a couple of pummelling backhands down the line, a tactic many highlighted pre-match, helped Murray break in the opening game and then consolidate the advantage for a 2-0 lead.
Federer looked uneasy with the pace his opponent was setting and began deploying sliced groundstrokes to slow things down.
A backhand landed on the baseline to engineer a break-back point in game four, and he converted it when Murray found the net.
Both men needed to serve their way out of trouble as the pressure mounted and, crucially, Murray produced a sensational volley at his feet to save the second of two break points in a 13-minute game eight.
Federer's winning moment and reaction
He then struck with the help of a forehand pass that Federer ducked to avoid being hit - reminiscent of the aggression shown by Lendl during his career - and comfortably served out the first set.
Statistically, Murray actually improved in almost every area during the second, but the key difference was that he could not take his chances.
Whereas the 25-year-old converted both break points that came his way in the first set, he let two slip at 2-2 and another two at 4-4.
Federer held for 6-5 before going on the attack, and he came from 40-15 down to level the match with a sensational backhand drop volley.
Heavy rain arrived at at 16:14 BST with Federer 40-0 up in game three of set three, and the prospect of further downpours saw the roof closed.
Match stats
When play resumed 35 minutes later the Swiss, who destroyed world number one Novak Djokovic indoors on Friday, was vastly superior and put Murray under the cosh in a marathon game five.
Murray was reeled in from 40-0, Federer moving to deuce when the Scot took a heavy tumble at the net, and he slipped again before finally succumbing on a sixth break point.
Federer served out with a crunching ace and averted danger early in the fourth set before striking for 4-2 with a cross-court backhand pass.
He wrapped up his first Grand Slam title since the 2010 Australian Open when Murray hooked a forehand into the tramlines.
"This fortnight was a step in the right direction. I won't go back on the court until my mind is right and I am over the loss," added Murray of his future plans.
"The Olympics is a special event and I want to make sure I am ready. If I play like I did this week I have a good chance of winning a medal."
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Wimbledon 2012: brave Andy Murray succumbs to brilliance of Roger Federer in men's final - Daily Telegraph
Murray played at a completely different level to his previous three grand slam finals, two of which he also lost to Federer, but the result was the same, and he joins coach Ivan Lendl in having lost his first four slam finals.
The consolation for Murray is that Lendl went on to win eight.
The names in the Royal Box showed just what a momentous day this was for British sport.
Prime Minister David Cameron and the Duchess of Cambridge were in the front row, while David Beckham and wife Victoria had travelled over from the United States.
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond and Mayor of London Boris Johnson were also in attendance and there was a huge roar as the players walked out onto court.
Andy Murray led their head-to-head 8-7 going into the match but knew he had lost the two most important matches. The Scot had started nervously on both those occasions but today he was aggressive from the first point.
Instead it was Federer making the simple errors and it cost him as a forehand volley over the baseline handed Murray a break in the opening game.
Federer quickly settled and took his chance to level at 2-2, drawing a backhand error from Murray.
The Swiss forced two break points in the eighth game but Murray held firm, finding the corner with a pinpoint volley on the second, and he got his rewards in the next game.
The fourth seed played a shot straight out of the book of his coach Ivan Lendl when he drilled a shot right at Federer's head, and Murray broke to lead 5-4 when his opponent netted a forehand.
The crowd were on their feet, and the home hope served it out confidently.
But, as big as winning the first set was, there was still an awfully long way to go, and Federer came out firing at the start of the second with a hold to love.
The Swiss then engineered another break point on the Murray serve but, once again, the 25-year-old showed a cool head when it mattered most, forcing an error on the Federer backhand.
It was a big hold for Murray, and he continued to make life very difficult for Federer, creating break points in the fifth and ninth games but coming up just short.
The crowd sensed their man was close to taking a real stranglehold on the match, but Federer is not the most successful grand slam player for nothing and, with Murray serving at 6-5 behind, he forced a set point.
The Swiss usually lifts his game at such moments and he did so again, playing a perfect point, finishing it with a sublime drop volley.
It was a very painful set to lose for Murray so it seemed to the advantage of the Scot when the heavens opened at 1-1 in the third and the players were forced off for around 40 minutes while the roof was closed.
The general view before the match had been an indoor final would suit the Federer, taking the wind out of the equation and allowing him to take the ball even earlier.
He certainly looked fired up, and Murray was not helped by two heavy falls in the sixth game.
The second gave Federer a break point and, although Murray saved that one, the pressure was relentless and on his sixth chance of an epic game, the Swiss broke through.
Murray's second serve had been one of the keys to his run to the final but he was struggling to win points with it against Federer and needed to improve his first-serve percentage.
The Scot threw everything at his opponent when he served for the set but it was not enough and Federer held to go two sets to one in front.
Murray faced a massively uphill struggle, especially the way Federer was playing. The Swiss had only lost one grand slam final from two sets to one up, against Juan Martin del Potro at the US Open in 2009.
Murray almost made the perfect start to the third set when he had a chance to break in the second game but he missed an attempted pass by millimetres.
And his hopes took another huge blow when Federer broke again to lead 3-2, nailing an imperious backhand pass that left Murray rooted to the spot.
The crowd willed their man to a break when Federer served for the match, but it was not to be, the 30-year-old clinching victory on his second match point after three hours and 24 minutes when Murray hit a return just wide.
The Scot sat in his chair disconsolate as Federer savoured being back on top of the world, joining Rod Laver and Arthur Ashe in winning the Wimbledon title past his 30th birthday.
Murray was close to tears on Centre Court, saying: "[I'm ] getting closer. I'm going to try this and it's not going to be easy.
"Firstly I'd like to congratulate Roger... he's not bad for a thirty year-old. Congratulations, you deserve it."
Thanking his family and the fans, he said: "The support's been incredible, so thank you."
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Wimbledon 2012: Serena Williams beats Agnieszka Radwanska to claim fifth Wimbledon title - Daily Record
Jul 8 2012 By Colin Duncan
serena williams wimbledon 2012 women's singles grand slam
SERENA WILLIAMS dedicated her fifth Wimbledon triumph to her family after they nursed her back to health following a life-threatening illness.
The American beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1 5-7 6-2 to cap a fairytale comeback from the blood clot which nearly killed her.
Williams spent a year on the sidelines after slashing her foot on a shard of glass during a tournament in Munich.
The injury led to complications which saw a blood clot develop on her lungs.
But she made a full recovery and yesterday etched her name on the All England Club roll of honour once more with a trademark display of raw power to see off Radwanska.
The 30-year-old said: “I can’t even describe it as I almost didn’t make it a few years ago. I was in hospital, had a tube in my stomach and it was draining constantly.
“Right before I had a blood clot I had lung problems and then two foot surgeries.
“It was the lowest of the lows but it makes this all the sweeter. I never even dreamt of being here again.
“Just never give up because you can continue. I want to thank daddy, mum, Isha, Lyndrea – you were there for me every day.
“I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I thank Jehovah for getting this far.”
Williams also had an extra special word for Venus after equaling her big sister’s record of five Wimbledon crowns.
She said: “I’ve always wanted everything she had and I had to go and copy her again. I don’t know what I would do if Venus didn’t exist.
“Aggie played so well and that’s why she’s had such a great career. She was amazing.”
The Polish star climbed out her sick bed and threatened to pull off one of the most remarkable comebacks in SW19 history after being obliterated in the first set.
But, after struggling with flu all week, her energy levels dipped in the decider enabling Williams to close out the match.
Radwanska spent the 24 hours prior to the final in bed and seemed to be sleeping during a completely one-sided first set.
The 23-year-old then rallied before coming up just short and Radwanska admitted she was proud of her efforts.
She said: “I had the best two weeks of my life but Serena was just too good. I have a lot of happy memories of winning junior Wimbledon in 2005 but it just wasn’t my day this time.”
● The Williams sisters last night clinched their sixth ladies’ doubles crown after they defeated Czech pair Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 7-5 6-4.
Source: www.dailyrecord.co.uk
London 2012 Olympics: Ryan Giggs to captain Team GB football side - Daily Telegraph
He said he hoped to bring his “winning mentality” to the side, who face their first match against Senegal on July 26, before the official opening ceremony.
Pearce said the appointment was “one of the easiest of my life”. He is also “pretty confident” Daniel Sturridge, who was diagnosed with viral meningitis last week, will recover in time for the Games.
The Chelsea forward was taken for tests at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington after notifying Stamford Bridge doctors he was feeling unwell. He will not join the Team GB squad for their preparation in Spain but doctors will assess his condition when the rest of the side move into the athletes’ village.
Casey Stoney, captain of the England women’s squad, will also take the role for the Olympics.
Meanwhile, Tottenham are set to complete the signing of Ajax captain Jan Vertonghen after the club announced they had agreed terms. Spurs have been tracking the Belgium defender since last season as he helped Ajax claim their second consecutive Dutch title. Vertonghen is due to undergo a medical this week.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
FACTBOX-Tennis-Wimbledon champion Roger Federer - Reuters UK
LONDON, July 8 |
LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) - Factbox on Switzerland's Roger Federer who won a record-equalling seventh Wimbledon men's singles title on Sunday.
MAKING HIS NAME
* Born Aug. 8, 1981 in Basel, Switzerland.
* Bursts on to the scene in 2001 when he ends Pete Sampras's 31-match winning streak at Wimbledon in the fourth round before losing in the quarter-finals.
RECORD 17 GRAND SLAM TITLES Wimbledon, 2003-2007, 2009, 2012; U.S. Open 2004-2008; Australian Open 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010; French Open 2009.
* In 2003, becomes the first Swiss man to win a grand slam after beating Mark Philippoussis in the Wimbledon final.
* Is the only man to win five consecutive titles at two different grand slams - Wimbledon and U.S. Open.
* Is the first man to win Wimbledon-U.S. Open double four years in a row.
* Is the only man in the professional era to win three consecutive majors twice in his career when he captured the 2007 Australian Open title.
* Equalled Bjorn Borg's record of five consecutive Wimbledon titles in 2007.
* His run of reaching 10 consecutive grand slam finals is snapped by Novak Djokovic in the 2008 Australian Open semi-finals.
* The 2008 five-set epic at Wimbledon is regarded by many as the best ever tennis match. He lost the match to Rafael Nadal.
* His 2009 French Open crown made him the sixth man - after Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Andre Agassi - to have won all four grand slam titles during his career. Nadal has since become the seventh to achieve the feat.
* Breaks American Pete Sampras's record of 14 grand slam titles with his 15th win in the 2009 Wimbledon final to reclaim the world number one spot from Nadal.
* In 2009, becomes the first man to reach seven successive Wimbledon finals since the abolition of the Challenge Round in 1922. Reaches a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon final in 2012, extending his overall major final appearance record to 24.
* His record run of reaching 23 consecutive grand slam semi-finals is snapped by Robin Soderling in the last eight of the 2010 French Open. That record is widely considered as one of the most astonishing in sport as it means Federer finished in the top four at a major for almost six successive years. His streak is more than double the previous record held by Ivan Lendl, who reached 10 consecutive major semis.
OTHER CAREER MILESTONES
* Becomes the 23rd man to top the ATP rankings in 2004, and keeps the ranking for a record 237 consecutive weeks. By winning his seventh Wimbledon title, he also matches Sampras's record of spending 286 weeks as world number one.
* Holds a record run of 24 consecutive final victories, which was snapped when he lost 2005 Masters Cup final to David Nalbandian. Finished the season with an 81-4 win-loss record.
* In 2006 he reached all four grand slam finals, winning in Australia, Wimbledon and the U.S. among a haul of 12 titles and a 92-5 win-loss record.
* Has a professional era record of 65 consecutive wins on grass, which was ended by Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon final.
* Won an Olympic men's doubles gold medal with Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Beijing Games.
PERSONAL LIFE
* Suffered from a bout of glandular fever at the start of the 2008 season which affected his form.
* Married long-time girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec in April 2009 and celebrated the arrival of twin daughters three months later. (Compiled by Pritha Sarkar, editing by Ed Osmond)
Source: uk.reuters.com
Wimbledon 2012: Andy Murray's father Will on bringing up his boys alone and his nerves on momentous day - Daily Mail
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Will Murray will walk unnoticed through the massive crowd at Wimbledon to take his seat on Centre Court today.
Yet there will not be a prouder father in the land as his son, Andy, steps on court in front of an estimated national TV audience of 20 million to try to win the Wimbledon championship that has evaded every male British tennis player for 76 years.
Murray, 57, will be casually dressed as usual. While cameras will concentrate on his former wife Judy Murray, Andy’s coach Ivan Lendl, a former great champion, and his manager Simon Fuller, the creative inspiration behind the Spice Girls and David Beckham’s fortune, Murray will slide into the back row of the best seats in the house with minimal fuss. It is his preferred style.
Nervous: Andy Murray's father Will Murray, pictured standing by a picture of his sons Jamie and Andy will be shaking with nerves when he watches the latter in Wimbledon finals action today
‘I’ll be like a swan,’ says Murray. ‘I’ll appear calm on top, but underneath my legs will be going like the clappers. Emotion takes over when I see Andy walk out to play really big matches. I well up.’
On Friday after Andy had beaten Jo- Wilfried Tsonga to claim his place in the final, Murray could be found dabbing tears from his eyes as he left Centre Court. ‘I don’t think it can get any better than contesting a Wimbledon final if you are British,’ he says. ‘Frankly, I am lost for words. I am so proud.’
His older son Jamie, a doubles specialist, is already a Wimbledon champion, having won the Mixed Doubles title with Jelena Jankovic five summers ago. Will Murray smiles at childhood memories of his two sons, brought up by him for a handful of years in the family home in Dunblane, Scotland, after his marriage to Judy ended in divorce.
‘The urge to win was something Andy had from a very young age,’ he recalls. ‘I filmed the two boys when they played in Solihull in an under-12 tournament. It didn’t matter that he was playing his older brother, Andy didn’t just want to win, he wanted to crush Jamie. He was so little, the racket was as big as him.
Back in the day: Andy Murray aged 11 playing snooker on holiday - with dyed ginger hair!
‘Andy was always so competitive. We used to go to North Berwick on holiday and there always seemed to be a tournament on. He played against adults and beat them relatively easily. Once he was playing a much older boy, and it was usual to call your own lines. The big guy didn’t like being beaten by the little guy, so he started calling some balls out that were in and vice versa. Andy gradually got more and more furious. Then it all kicked off. The big lad was maybe six years older and a good foot taller. It was just an early indicator of Andy’s competitive will to win. He wouldn’t let anyone climb all over him. He isn’t afraid of any reputation – and he carried that with him into professional tennis.’
Will Murray is now in a long-standing relationship with Sam Watson, 46, an optician, who will be next to him at Centre Court this afternoon. But he spent years alone, so as not to further distress his sons, after his marriage to Judy failed. His story is a heartfelt one.
‘I had to tell them their mum was leaving home. It ripped me apart to have to hurt them by telling them what I did. They were distraught. They are very different personalities, but they both took the news in much the same way, and I remember they were very upset.’ Murray, 57, an area manager for Scottish newsagent chain RS McColl, added: ‘I worked full-time, but I cooked when they came home from school. I did the washing and ironing. I wouldn’t say I was a single parent, because Judy stayed in Dunblane and she was around. She still took them to tennis, but I was the one in the family home with the boys.’
Brotherly love: Andy Murray, left, aged two, with his elder brother and former Wimbledon mixed doubles winner Jamie, right
The past has been buried now. Jamie is married, and has a flat in Wimbledon where his father and Sam are staying. Andy lives with his girlfriend Kim Sears in a 5 million mansion, a 20-minute drive into Surrey from Wimbledon.
Murray Senior, a good-natured man, gets along with them all. Andy has paid for him to watch him play in the US Open and at the Australian Open. He can trust his father to always disappear into the shadows. Yet Will knows more than most just how hard his younger son has worked, and how much he has sacrificed to place himself on the threshold of history.
At 15, Andy left home to broaden his tennis education at a specialist academy in Barcelona. He knew no one and spoke no Spanish. ‘The night before Andy went, he was really looking forward to going,’ says his father. ‘He had seen the long line of his peer group who had gone down to England, including his brother, to do the LTA [Lawn Tennis Association] thing without great success. He said that was not for him, so he was prepared to go abroad.’
Andy’s 18-month stay in Spain at a cost of 40,000 was paid for with a contribution from the LTA, some sponsorship driven by Judy, and personal family sacrifices.
Support: Judy and Will Murray, pictured arriving on Wimbledon's Centre Court
‘People who come to watch Andy now see a star,’ says Murray. ‘But they don’t see the effort and sacrifice that he made to get to this stage. He has given up a lot, because he was so focused on what he wanted to do. Now when I walk behind him and hear fans shouting his name, or wanting an autograph, I remember when Andy was just like that.’
Murray flew to Israel when Andy played his first match for Great Britain – a Davis Cup doubles tie.
‘That was like going into the lion’s den,’ he says. ‘People booing and whistling at my son as if he was the enemy.
‘He was just 17. Seeing him in that environment that day I knew he would be all right. A lot of players freeze, or become intimidated in situations like that; but Andy never flinched.’
He has never accepted that tennis is a middle-class sport, the province of those with a privileged education and monied background.
‘I am classless, so are my sons,’ says Murray. ‘Tennis is not an elitist sport. To succeed you need a mindset to work hard, which is what two little guys from Dunblane have done. How many people in British tennis have done what Andy has done?’
And how will his son cope with the eyes of the nation, of the world, on him today? ‘Before matches, Andy always looks very calm,’ says Murray. ‘He seems relaxed, and that’s down in part to the people around him doing a good job.’
And this afternoon, when history beckons for Andy Murray, his father will do his best to convey an air of serenity. It will be a lie, of course; because his heart will have never beaten faster, and he will be fit to burst with pride.
HE'LL ARRIVE QUIETLY IN A TINY VW - AND COULD LEAVE AS THE MAN THE WHOLE WORLD WANTS TO KNOW
For the past 74 years, this nation has hosted a glorious party. Sadly, we have never stayed around to see the last guests depart. But shortly before two o’clock this afternoon, a tall, faintly frowning young man from Dunblane will walk on to the Centre Court. And a weary tradition will be laid to rest.
Andy Murray’s presence in the Wimbledon final has provoked a swirl of daring dreams. ‘What if. . .?’ has become our favoured phrase. What if Murray should go one step further and defeat Roger Federer in today’s final? What if the likes of Jessica Ennis, Rebecca Adlington and Mo Farah should deliver a golden treasury of Olympic medals? What if Luke Donald or Rory McIlroy should win The Open golf?
And what if, wonder of wonders, Bradley Wiggins should take the Tour de France? Historians tell us that the Coronation summer of 1953, when Gordon Richards won the Derby, Stanley Matthews took his FA Cup Final medal and England secured the Ashes, represented the high-water mark for British sport.
Fired-up: Andy Murray has shown more aggression at SW19 this year
Yet, this storm-buffeted, rain-drenched summer of 2012 may be about to set its own extraordinary standards. But first, there is Murray. Yesterday, he arrived at Wimbledon for a spot of gentle practice.
He was watched by a congregation of 60 photojournalists, a dozen camera crews and 25 ball-boys and ball-girls. And yet, for all the manic intensity of the scrutiny, we know precious little about the man. We know nothing of his politics, his views on Afghanistan, the deficit, the Union, the Monarchy.
At 25, he has surely formed opinions on these matters, yet he keeps his own counsel, and he is right to do so.
And so, in the absence of solid evidence, the sages impose their own ponderous stereotypes upon his elusive personality. He is, it seems, an ‘outsider’, motivated by his Scottishness, by his distance from Middle England, the spiritual dwelling of British tennis.
This apparently explains why Murray is rabidly determined to succeed, while dear old Tim Henman was placidly prepared to compromise.
Route to the final: How Murray and Federer got there
And Murray has grown up – overnight, it would seem. Yesterday he looked like the kid convinced that the world is conspiring against him. Today, he has entered the sunlit uplands of maturity. He answers questions without swearing, deflects compliments with a deprecating waft of the hand and pats the heads of children. Today, he is a paragon.
Now all this may well be true, but we don’t know, because Murray chooses not to let us know.
But the last Briton to win Wimbledon was quite different. Fred Perry was born in Stockport, the son of a cotton-spinner who became a Labour MP. An engaging extrovert who was champion in 1934, 1935 and 1936, Fred was as free with his opinions as he was with his affections.
Marlene Dietrich took her place among his array of conquests, a fact he would concede with a stage wink and a discreet leer. In 1984, in a series of interviews with me, Fred poured out a stream of robust reflections and lusty anecdotes. He had forgotten nothing, except two of his four marriages.
Murray’s personal life proceeds on rather more conventional lines. His girlfriend Kim Sears is beautiful, and doubtless devoted to Andy and their border terriers. But I doubt she has ever stood in her underwear in a smoke-filled cellar and sung Lili Marlene.
However, times have changed – changed utterly. Like every major sport, tennis has improved beyond measure. The players are faster, stronger, infinitely more athletic. Perry would have won no more than a handful of points against a man like Murray.
Federer, however, is a different matter. In his case, elegance, grace and impeccable courtesy conceal a ravenous appetite. His six Wimbledon titles were acquired with a noble demeanour allied to the instincts of a junkyard dog. He will enter today’s contest as the properly overwhelming favourite.
For his part, Murray knows he has much to overcome, including a whiff of resentment from those who once worshipped Henman.
But as this multi-millionaire drives his little Volkswagen down the A3 to Wimbledon this morning, he may reflect that Fred Perry was not unreservedly loved as he worked his wonders. When he won his first Wimbledon title, the aristocrats of the All-England Club did not celebrate his triumph.
As he lay in the bath, revelling in his victory, he heard footsteps outside. The Wimbledon champion was awarded membership of the Club. The symbol was a club tie of green and dark blue. He emerged from the bath, draped in a towel, and he spotted the tie. ‘They just strung it over my chair in the locker room,’ he said. ‘Nobody wanted to know me.’
If Andy Murray should prevail today, he will find a warmer welcome. The whole world will want to know him.
Why, after these endless years, his reward will be a kind of immortality. And he will deserve it.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Well done Murray you did us all proud. Next year it will get better - you will win.
- cherry, bristol, 08/7/2012 20:31
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