So Murray finally did it, he went and won Wimbledon. What a day! This, I know, is going to be a tough post for me to write. Those that know me know that I am not partial to Andy Murray at all, and it is not for lack of trying, each time I think I am okay with him as a player I quickly get reminded why I am not a fan. However I want to give credit where credit is due, plus make a few valid points, all whilst trying to keep this post from seeming bitter – easy right?! The most important thing is that at the end of the day Murray whole-heartedly deserved this win. Deep deep deep, and I mean deep down I have always wanted him to win, I think over the years he has worked incredibly hard to get to where he is, and it wouldn’t be fair to not be rewarded.
I will be honest, this year I thought I was getting over my distaste of Murray, and I actually managed to watch him up to the semi-finals with no problem at all. But it was the semi’s that did it for me – when that roof was put on, much to Murray’s horror, all those feelings of old came rushing back to me. And no it wasn’t about the roof – if anything I completely agreed with him, the roof didn’t have to go on then etc. It was just the way he went about it, the way he seemed to instantly turn into a 3 year old and whine at the guy who told him. I honestly wish someone had just thrown him a dummy and told him to zip it. There are other, much better, more mature ways of expressing your disapproval and I just found it unnecessary and unfortunately just typical Murray behaviour when things aren’t going his way.
If you are not sure what I am talking about here is just a little taster:
‘Un’fortunately yesterday I was not able to watch the finals but did get home in time to see the presentation of the trophy and the interviews of both players. Quick question – did anyone else notice that Murray completely ‘forgot’ to congratulate Djokovic on a great tournament? I mean I can’t even begin to grasp how absolutely overwhelming that moment must be, having tried for so long, to finally win it must be mind-blowing. I know you are bound to forget things – I mean he forgot to hug his Mum for goodness sake! All this is completely understandable. What doesn’t sit well with me and, I think, incredibly disrespectful is forgetting to properly congratulate your opponent. For me it is THE number one unwritten rule in sport, show good sportsmanship, be gracious in victory, be a gentleman and make sure such a simple gesture of acknowledgement is not forgotten. Djokovic said some amazing things about Murray, what exactly did Andy Murray say about Novak Djokovic straight after the match? Maybe it was something that the interviewer could also be rapped for. She should have guided him into it and subtlety reminded him to say well done to Novak.
I keep wondering if I am too harsh on Mr Murray, I mean at the end of the day I don’t know the guy, and I am certainly not a saint. In my opinion Murray has grown a lot over the years, his attitude is not nearly as bad as it used to be. But it is not quite there yet, for me anyway. I have come to realise that I only feel like this when I watch him play tennis, so the best thing for me to do is not to watch. There it is – problem solved.
Something I have enjoyed about Murray is quite the stir he has caused throughout social media and I’ve been very interested to see how many friendships have been tested over the last few days…they should seriously make his slogan: Andy Murray – testing friendships since 2005. So there you have it, my thoughts on the win yesterday, and Andy Murray in general, please understand these are all my opinions, I don’t expect everyone/anyone to agree with me, if you want to have your say please leave a comment – I’d love to hear your thoughts either way. Are you team Andy Murray or team Anti Murray?
On another note I believe he donated his entire winnings from Queen’s to charity – if true that is hugely impressive and deserves a mention & respect.
Surely I am not alone 