Andy Murray’s professional tennis career is finally over. 19 years, 3 Grand Slams, 2 Olympic gold medals, a bunch of ATP titles and a Davis Cup, the latter won with one of his greatest ever lobs. But those stats so do not tell the full story of his career, nor what it’s like for people like me who have been Andy Murray fans all that time.
Why am I a fan? Maybe it’s because, for me, Andy played the game in the way that I fantasise I would have played it – had I shown any innate tennis ability in my younger days and then been bothered to practise for years and years, of course – never giving up, always chasing, occasionally ranting at his coach and every so often losing his rag, mainly with himself.
Or is it more likely stuff like this:
Becoming the first British men’s winner at Wimbledon in 76 years. I didn’t think it would happen in my lifetime. But Andy did. I should have trusted him. I was so anxious about it that I was actually driving around the M25 at the time. When I got home and watched the replay, I was even more anxious in that fiendish final game, despite knowing he’d won. That’s how being an Andy Murray fan can mess with your head.
At the Rio Olympics in 2016, Andy played Juan Del Potro for the gold medal, which he’d won four years earlier in London. For four hours they slugged it out, like the longest boxing match in history. It was a perfect example of what an Andy Murray match was all about: utterly exhausting, even from my sofa. But Andy won, and he and Del Potro embraced at the net with what looked like barely enough energy to stand up. You can watch the whole match on YouTube, should you be mad enough to.
Just watching Andy Murray play is exhausting
At the end of the year ATP Finals in 2016, Andy contested the longest three-setter in the tournament’s history, 3 hours and 38 minutes, in the semi-finals against Milos Raonic, saving a match point in the process. In the final, he played Novak Djokovic, who had beaten Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-1 in his semi-final. Andy won 6-3 6-4 and became World Number One. In the fifth game of the second set, he hit a backhand so stunning I yelped at the television.
At the Australian Open in January 2023, he started a match at 22.20 local time. He lost the first two sets. By a mixture of skill and bloody-mindedness he won the tie break in the third set, began to assert himself and took the fourth. Finally, after another 81 minutes, he prevailed in the final set. The match lasted 5 hours 45 minutes and it finished at 4.05 am local time. He was 35 and had a metal hip. Watch this ridiculous point from that match and you will understand everything there is to know about Andy Murray.
Perhaps what hooked me was just that throwaway comment he made in 2006 about supporting anyone England were playing in the World Cup. He got flak for that, but I just thought it was funny.
Without doubt it’s also the fact that he seems like a good bloke. He has always been vocal about his dedication to social justice causes and he has spoken up about sexism in the sport, arguing that all players should be paid the same amount in winnings, regardless of gender.
But isn’t Andy Murray boring?
As for the notion that he is boring. Utter tosh. Have you seen him play? There is nothing boring about his tennis. Ask anyone who’s been a fan over the years. At times, it has been hellish watching him play, but that’s very much part of what we love about him. Sure, he hasn’t won as many slams as Federer, Nadal or Djokovic, but that made it all the more special when he did. Likewise, any other victories over those three great players.
Somebody said to me once that Andy is boring during post-match interviews. Again, nonsense. He has a great sense of humour and an even greater capacity for poking fun at himself. At the end of the 5 and ¾ hour marathon in Australia mentioned earlier, despite clearly being shattered, he duly went through the obligatory interview and at the end just said “Let’s just all go home to bed.”
Let’s not forget, of course, that match, and all the matches he played after 2019, were played with a metal hip, after career-saving surgery. To come back from that took remarkable resilience and dedication. In some ways, the European Open in Antwerp in October of 2019 was arguably his most remarkable victory as it was his first after the operation.
Hooked…
So, to answer the question of why Andy Murray hooked us and drew us into his world, it’s not just because of the lobs, the backhands, the Grand Slams, the gold medals, the quips, the shouting at Ivan Lendl and all the other coaches he’s had. It’s because he represents the best of what it means to be a human being: driven, kind, and dedicated to making the world a better place, not just the tennis world.
Finally, just a reminder of his humour. Last week, on the day the curtain finally fell on his stellar career, Andy Murray posted on social media:
“Never even liked tennis anyway.”
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