I’m feeling groggy today. As I haven’t got Sky Sports and neither British Eurosport nor BBC were showing the Men’s Final of US Open (why do I pay my licence fee? Don’t get me started!) So I ended up trying to follow the score on my phone while I was in bed!
After two tight sets Murray was leading 2 – 0 and so I thought it was in the bag. But Djokovic wasn’t going to roll over and came storming back to take the next two sets and level at 2 – 2. By this time my eyes couldn’t stay open any longer. I woke up with at start at 3am to find that Murray had taken the fifth set 7 – 5 and so had indeed won his first Grand Slam.
Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!
Now perhaps the media will give him a break. I used to quite dislike him – he always came across as dour and morose and on court as a bit of a brat. But not a loveable brat. But I think that a lot of that was the pressure he was put under, like Henman before him, as the only half-decent tennis player of his generation. Every April we would all know that summer was on its way as the “Can he win Wimbledon this year?” articles started and every time he played leading up to the tournament he’d be asked if he was going to win and then every interview afterwards he was asked why he hadn’t.
Tennis is a tough sport. Yes, young men like Murray earn a huge amount not just on the court (if they’re any good) but also in sponsorship deals. But as another favourite of mine, Andy Roddick, said in his retirement press conference last week, “You make mistakes in front of thousands of people and then you have to go and explain yourself.”
So now, Andy Murray has nothing to prove. He IS a Grand Slam winner and let’s hope the press give him a break. And even if he never wins Wimbledon, so what? He’s got an Olympic Gold and a Grand Slam under his belt. And the admiration and respect of millions of people. And let’s stop all the “He hates the English nonsense, too.”
Well done, Andy! Enjoy your victory because you deserve it.
