It is more than just its position in the calendar that makes the Australian Open the standard bearer for which the other Grand Slams follow its lead. From the players’ perspective, searing temperatures aside, they always speak glowingly about the first slam of the year, affectionately referring to it as the Happy Slam. There have been numerous winner’s speeches praising the expert way the tournament has been run and specifically Craig Tiley. Then there are the tweets that flood in from players as they depart Australia, sad to be leaving the continent but already looking forward to their return in 11 months time.
This joy is shared by the fans, just look at fan engagement levels through AO’s twitter account… #AusOpen rules the social media waves. You might think the time difference would thwart its attempts to stay relevant, but no, throughout the tournament, and for that matter throughout the year, AO’s twitter account is on point.
The Australian Open works hard to stay at the forefront of tennis: it constantly looks at how to use technology to further engage its fans, using new stats and graphics to bring tennis to life; it leads on social issues too – it’s the only slam that ensures there is gender equality around its scheduling on show courts; and it has done more than any other slam to promote wheelchair tennis.
Sure, there are always things it can improve, cough cough, its App, but Tennis Australia does an excellent job of bringing tennis into our living rooms and hopefully to a wider audience. Here is my fans’ summary on the Happy Slam, what we loved, what we questioned and how 2019 can be even happier, click here: AusOpen 2018
Sometimes it is hard to keep to the facts when discussing Nick Kyrgios, he evokes so much emotion on either end of the spectrum; there are those who love him, recognizing his incredible talent, appreciating how he has shaken up the establishment and the general flair that he brings to any court he steps on.There are those who are less enamoured but there is much written about that already.
Back in October Kyrgios was fined by the ATP for ‘tanking’ in his Shanghai match and for arguing with fans.This came a week after winning the biggest title of his career at the Tokyo ATP 500 event.All eyes of the tennis world were on him, expectations were soaring, was this the beginning of the consistency in his game that had been lacking?Was this the start of winning ways?One week later all hopes had been dashed, disappointment ran high and concerns that Kyrgios would never fulfil his huge potential were forefront for many close followers of his career.
We have a tendency to expect people, including tennis players, to behave in the same way or within the confines of what we deem acceptable.We do not want to see failure or unfulfilled potential.We don’t want to see someone having an off day – and yet – how often do we have them ourselves?And how common is it for tennis players to have a letdown after a big victory?Well quite common…
Amongst the winners from the 52 ATP 250 and 500 tour events held in 2016, 24 of those winners lost early in the next tournament they played – 14 of them went out in the first round, 10 in the second round*.However we only heard that one of them tanked – Kyrgios – and yet 16 of the 24 lost to lower ranked players (3 to players ranked on par and only 5 to higher ranked players).
By looking at the score lines it is obvious a lot of these matches (but by no means all) were hard fought matches and in no way is there any suggestions that others ‘tanked’ their match.However, it is plausible to believe that many of these players did not feel as motivated to battle on to victory in the knowledge that their trophy cabinet had just got a little fuller the week before.
After winning a tournament how natural would it be to not have quite the same motivation required to keep on winning, to turn up to the office after a great win.For those of us more fortunate not to have our every move followed by a multitude of press and each aspect scrutinized by millions of people who have never met us – without this pressure how many of us take duvet days with the comfort of knowing our actions will be a world away from making headline news?Where is the duvet on the tennis court when there are hundreds of people who have paid $$s to see you play and thousands of people waiting to see you play from the comfort of their own living rooms.
Yes I hear you say we don’t make the big bucks so we don’t have to perform.However, we are all human, we all feel the same tendencies, just because you get paid a lot doesn’t mean you are immune from natural human tendencies.Just because you are a tennis player doesn’t mean you will have learnt all the lessons in life and be a perfect human being at the age of 21.So often we forget just how young tennis players are.When I was 21 years old the last thing in the world I would have wanted is the media following my every move, the pressure to communicate with them on a weekly basis – and worse still after a bad loss.It is a downside to a job that is very well paid, but it still a downside and something that many players have to bear rather than something to enjoy.
When you look at the very top players this is a hurdle they have managed to overcome both in communicating and handling the press and also how to manage the highs and lows of competing and getting back to work immediately after a victory.However, even amongst the elite they still find it hard to maintain the consistency.Last year Nishikori, Berdych and Gasquet all lost early in subsequent tournaments after winning in Memphis, Shenzhen and Antwerp respectively.Klizan won two ATP 500 events in 2016 Rotterdam and Hamburg but lost in R1 in Dubai and R2 in Umag in the following weeks – both times in 3 set matches but to lower ranked players Kyrgios (33 at the time) and Martin (124).
Nishikori, Berdych & Gasquet all lost early in their next tournaments after winning an ATP 250 event
Perhaps other players are better at hiding the fact they feel less motivated to wind themselves back up again from a victory on Sunday to starting afresh the following Tuesday in a new city hundreds of miles away.Perhaps there is less spotlight, less expectation, less of a headline grabbing story and more empathy and acceptance.
By contrast Kyrgios is not someone who hides his emotions well or how he feels on a tennis court.His demeanor and mood are easily discernable, his heart is emblazoned on his sleeve. This isn’t a bad thing, in fact it often makes his matches far more entertaining.His behavior is a world away from Milos Raonic who it is hard to recall showing an iota of frustration, who appears as cool as a cucumber without a hair, quite literally, out of place.Similarly Kyrgios can be quite open in press conferences, he is honest with his feelings and hasn’t been PR trained to the Nth degree, which journalists are only too grateful for.
Kyrgios has also stated “I don’t really like tennis”, whether this is still true or true all of the time who knows but it does remind us of the children who are encouraged to be lawyers or doctors or follow a certain career and feel an obligation to those around them to continue down that path.There must be so many people who have invested so much in him, who have devoted so much of their lives to his career and who want the very best for him.To be the object of such investment and to be blessed with such a talent bears responsibility and this must sometimes fall heavily on the shoulders of Kyrgios.
There are also other double standards Kyrgios has to contend with. Over the past year Djokovic has hit the ball out of the court in frustration a number of times – at the French Open nearly hitting a linesman, last week at Doha hitting the ball into the crowd to name two top of mind occasions.There are examples everywhere you look of players losing their temper and taking out their frustrations – who can forget Baghdatis destroying four of his racquets.The ATP needs to be consistent in its approach and the press needs to be consistent in its reporting of these events – many journalists are quick to jump on Kyrgios for the slightest sign of frustration – which must be one of the most natural instincts to feel on a tennis court.The reality is that a player expending a level of frustration is a daily occurrence at any given tournament.
Another double standard is the touching of an umpire – Djokovic, Del Potro and Kyrgios have all touched an umpire in the past but the reporting around it has been very different.If the rule exists that no players can touch an umpire then this should be consistently upheld.Obviously there is a difference in the manner in which an umpire is touched – and perhaps the rules need to reflect this but either way the controversy that Kyrgios caused compared to other examples is out of proportion.
Federer has admitted that when he was a teenager he was temperamental, that he found it hard to manage his frustrations on court.Perhaps our early impressions of Federer himself would have been different had he grown up under the spotlight that social media has placed on the young players of today.So many courts now have TVs on them, everyone has their own personal camera it is impossible to avoid the spotlight.
Once a player has created a reputation it is hard to shift it.Clearly the player is responsible in the first instance for the reputation being created, unfortunately for them they are often young when this is formed.And for the headlines it is so much more exciting, news grabbing to have a bad boy of tennis than another PR trained tennis ambassador.We have had a long line of ambassadors recently so Kyrgios fills the vacuum left by McEnroe, Hewitt (in the early days) and Safin.But it is our responsibility as fans to ensure that we are able to recognize the growth, acknowledge the positive and see the change in behaviour.
Kyrgios should be admired for many aspects of his personality.He is a promoter of the Elena Baltacha foundation, he points out injustices and most recently wore an anti-Trump T-shirt.Whether you agree with his politics or not he is not afraid to stand up for the things he believes in.He takes time out to invest and help young tennis players and his charitable work focuses on under-privileged children.
If we look for the positives there are many to see but it requires fresh eyes, open eyes and balanced eyes.It is possible to end the double standards so perhaps this is something worth doing in 2017.
*First or second round is defined as the first or second round they played – rather than the first or second round of the tournament.In some instances players are given byes and in one instance this was a QF when the player had been given a bye in the first round of the tournament.
In a blog earlier this year I questioned whether the fantastic results British players achieved in Australia were a sign of things to come in 2016. At the time I stated it was a stretch to call these halcyon times for British tennis but pointed to a promising future. Fast forward 10 months and now there is little doubt that 2016 has been the most successful year British Tennis has seen in the Open Era, possibly ever.
At the end of 2015 Britain raised the Davis Cup aloft for the first time in 79 years. This was a sign, perhaps even a catalyst, of the success that was to follow. For in 2016 three Brits, or more precisely three Scots, reached the top of their rankings for the first time in their careers: Jamie Murray reached the top of the ATP doubles ranking in April, Gordon Reid followed suit in September reaching the ITF Wheelchair number one spot in singles and Andy, after a 7 year wait from first reaching number 2, finally saw his ranking climb that one spot more to reach the summit in November.
Jamie Murray led the way in 2016 winning his first Men’s doubles title in Melbourne with partner Bruno Soares, they then backed up the win with victory at the US Open in September. Impressively Jamie has now reached 4 of the last 6 Grand Slam doubles finals which helped to ensure that he and partner Soares ended the year as ATP Number 1 Doubles Team.
Andy Murray’s roll since the start of the clay court season has been nothing short of sensational. In 2016 he has surpassed many of his career best: most titles won in a season (9), longest winning streak (24), career high ranking (1). Since June his dominance on first grass, then in Rio and Asia, followed by the indoor European hardcourts has been profound and resulted in 8 titles to add to his Rome Masters (compare this to Djokovic’s one in the same period, which occurred at Toronto, an event Murray did not play). At the World Tour Finals over the course of 5 days Murray has beaten the world number 7 (Cilic), 5 (Nishikori), 3 (Wawrinka) and 2 (Djokovic), emphatically underlining why Murray stands at the top of the ATP rankings.
However, whilst 2016 will clearly go down as the year of the Murray’s, and rightfully so, success has been more widespread… Gordon Reid filled his trophy cabinet like never before winning the Aus Open & Wimbledon singles titles, Roland Garros and Wimbledon doubles titles, an Olympic gold and silver.
Jo Konta backed up her breakout 2015 year with a superb 2016. She showed no signs of the insecurity that some players go through in the year that follows their breakthrough. In fact she built on it further, becoming the first Briton to reach the top 10 since Jo Durie in 1984, winning her first title in Stanford and being named WTA Most Improved Player of the Year. There is clearly more to come from Jo Konta in 2017.
Heather Watson won her third title in Monterrey and then followed up a disappointing first round loss at Wimbledon by claiming her biggest prize to date – the Mixed Doubles Wimbledon title with partner Henri Kontinen.
Kyle Edmond won 2 challengers, played the central role in Britain’s quarter final victory over Serbia in the Davis Cup and secured victories over top class players: Ferrer, Bautista Agut, Isner, Gasquet & Simon. Dan Evans won three challengers and had significant wins over Zverev, Dimitrov and Dolgopolov .
In doubles Dom Inglot picked up 2 ATP doubles titles in Nottingham and St Petersburg. Jordanne Whiley won the doubles titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, then secured Bronze in Rio with partner Lucy Shuker (doubles). Whilst Alfie Hewett was also on the winners podium at Wimbledon (doubles) and secured two silver medals in Rio (singles and doubles). Naomi Broady ended the year in the top 100 helped by her victory Midland (ITF). And there were many more victories and impressive performances from Brits that suggest that 2016 is not the end but possibly just the start.
For many reasons people may look back at 2016 and wish to see the back of it, but as a British tennis fan there has been no greater time, certainly in my lifetime, to follow the sport. So I am eternally thankfully for the British tennis players and their teams who have filled 2016 with so much joy and delight. And forever in awe of the commitment and dedication it takes to reach the heights of their sport.
Earlier this year, in June, Paris witnessed Novak Djokovic fulfil a lifetime’s ambition winning the elusive Coupe des Mousquetairesat Roland Garros and in the process achieve the career slam. But today, in another quarter of Paris, it was finally Andy Murray’s turn to triumph.
Back in March, Novak already looked like he was a shoe in to end the year as number 1 and well on track to match his magnificent 2015, fresh off the back of victories in Melbourne, Indian Wells and Miami. He had banked 4340 ranking points in the first quarter of 2016, compared to Murray’s 1290, and in the ATP’s rankings released on 4th April reigned a staggering 8725 points clear of the pack. Anyone questioning whether Djokovic would end the year number one would need their head examined.
Whilst Murray had reached the final in Australia, he had not played in February after the birth of his daughter Sophia, and in March had two early exits in Indian Wells and Miami. However, from April Murray has put in the most consistent period of his career – first backing up his impressive 2015 clay court season, then going on to repeat his 2013 grass court season before finishing his season with strong performances in Asia (as seen in 2011) and repeating his winning form of 2014 in Europe, when he needed to qualify for the World Tour Finals. Murray has managed to string all these results together to achieve his best ever winning streak 22 this season and is still on path to beat that with his current streak at 18.
From Monte Carlo (April) to Bercy (November), Murray has either won or made the final in all but two of the 12 tournaments he has played (Monte Carlo SF, US Open QF). He has collected a career best seven trophies this season and still on course for an eighth in Paris, demonstrating the consistency required to reach the number one spot. For some Murray fans the wait may have felt like an eternity but the sudden speed at which Murray has found himself in the position to snatch the top spot away from Djokovic at the end of this season has surprised many, even Murray himself.
Murray’s initial progress to the tennis elite was rapid. In his early career he soared up the rankings breaking the Top 100 as an 18 year old and the Top 1o whilst still a teenager – a feat that has yet to be surpassed by the next crop of rising star – today’s #NextGen. However, after reaching world number 2 at the age of 22, Murray has had to wait more than 7 years to see his career high rise just that one spot more.
So what was it about 2016 that was different? The rankings on 4th April were interesting not only because of Djokovic’s huge lead but also because it was the day Jamie Murray became the ATPs World Number 1 in doubles for the first time. A fantastic achievement for the elder brother and recognition of the fact that Jamie had reached the previous three men’s doubles grand slam finals winning his first title in Australia. Who knows how motivating it was to see Jamie reach the top spot but we know from Judy Murray that they have a highly competitive relationship. It is not hard to believe that Jamie’s success did in some part motivate Andy to charge down the number 1 spot, in the same way that Andy’s grand slam success may have motivated Jamie to stay in the game when he considered leaving.
There are many factors alongside sibling motivation that will have played a role: becoming a father for the first time, the significant impact Jamie Delgado has played, reuniting with Lendl, but also prior to April the work with Mauresmo to bring him back to the top of the game after his back surgery. Murray’s pathway to number one has also been cleared of some of his long standing rivals.
Much has been written about the golden age of tennis and the hold of the Big 4, some have questioned whether it should be a Big 3 and some will continue to question Murray’s achievements today. But as Murray points out the rankings do not lie. Here is a player whose consistency over time is testament to Murray’s determination and work ethic. Since 2008 he has remained in the Top 5, only dropping out of it briefly in 2014 after his back surgery. He has won 42 career titles including 3 grand slams, 2 gold meals and 13 Masters titles (14 with a win in Paris on Sunday). He has ranked inside the top 20 for over a decade and he has consistently provided a challenge to Federer, Nadal & Djokovic and ensured that all four continued to raise their level and compete at their very best.
For, any true tennis fan, it is hard not to delight that Murray’s patience, hard work and determination have finally paid off today. Across the globe 2016 has been the year of the underdog – be it Leicester City, Western Bulldogs, Cronulla Sharks, Chicago Cubs and for any Murray fan this feels like our very own underdog moment too.
So it was Djokovic on Sunday that lifted La Coupe des Mousquetaires aloft, cementing himself firmly into the history books and at the same time further adding to his claim to be the GOAT.
For Andy Murray it was another gut wrenching loss to the Serb. But all is not lost, throughout the European Clay Court swing Andy has reaffirmed his clay court credentials, proving that 2015 was not a one off.
Furthermore over the last two months Murray has made significant progress on closing the gap between himself and Djokovic in the rankings. Whilst it will not look this way in the new rankings out this week with Djokovic gaining another 2000 point for his Roland Garros title – if you look more closely at the ranking points achieved between April and June Murray is only 500 points behind – and given the lead Djokovic achieved between January and March (3050 points) and September to November in 2015 (3915) – this can be seen as a significant improvement for Murray.
For the past two years, to the surprise of many, even himself, Murray has had incredibly strong results on the red clay. It is clear that Davis Cup away matches on European clay – Croatia, Italy and Beligum – have played a significant role in building his confidence on the dirt. Importantly they have enabled him to learn how to quickly transition between the different surfaces. Murray said, after leading Great Britain to victory in the Davis Cup Final in Ghent last year, that he would take the memories of his matches against Belgium and David Goffin into the next season, his ability to hang tough and dig deep, and indeed that has been demonstrated throughout his Roland Garros campaign. It is these characteristics that define him as a player, for it all could have been so different if Stepanek had converted those two points deep in the fifth set of round one, but once again we saw Murray create another Houdini act.
Despite the solitary nature of his sport and the single minded determination that is required, Murray is by nature a helper (probably type 2 in the 9 Enneagrams) and a team player. He loves team sports and he loves to help his friends. It is also evident in his family, this desire to give back to the community, to help others, to support the sport – one only needs to look at Judy’s twitter feed to see the passion she has for helping others. It therefore feels like just reward that his dedication to playing for his country, supporting his team mates and devoting time and effort to the cause, has paid dividend this year at Roland Garros. Whilst he did not win the ultimate prize, he did something that no British male has done for donkey’s years (yes that old chestnut – 1937 to be exact) he made the final in Paris.
Murray’s solid performance since April has set himself up well for the rest of the season with so much still to play for: Wimbledon, defending his Olympic crown and the US open. His attention will at some point turn to how to break the conundrum he finds himself in each year at Melbourne Park and working out how to disrupt Novak’s love affair with the Plexicushion. Whether Murray finally manages to turn the tears of sorrow he has shed on so many occasions inside Rod Laver Arena into tears of joy in 2017 only time will tell. But if he carries on the form he has shown since April this year, and manages to gain a few more victories over Djokovic as he did in Rome, it is not inconceivable to think that he could find himself not only battling for the Norman Bookes Challenger Cup in January but also the number one ranking. Preposterous I hear you laugh… and yes it will surely take a Herculean effort but the stats say it is a possibility – and I’ll take that for now!
Since the European Clay Court swing began in April Andy Murray has backed up the clay court form he showed in 2015 where he went 15/1 (W/L). This season Andy has reached the SF in Monte Carlo, the final in Madrid and has now taken the title in Rome, bringing his Win/Loss to 12/2 since April.
Whilst Djokovic is still the overwhelming favourite for Paris, Andy is showing the form, control and skills to make Paris even more interesting than it already was. So what will the stories be in Paris…
Will Roger be fit to play or will his 65 Grand Slam appearance streak come to an end?
Will Stan be able to find regain the form he showed in 2015 and defend his Roland Garros title?
Will Kei go one step further than his 2014 US Open Final run?
Will Rafa, the undisputed King of Clay, make it to double figures in titles?
Will Novak finally get the break through he so desperately wants and achieve his career grand slam?
Or will it be Andy who continues to surprise with his clay court credentials and ends up holding the La Coupe des Mousquetaires aloft?
Compassion and empathy are two characteristics that distinguish us as human beings. It is one of our greatest gifts, the ability to feel for other people, for animals, even for objects, this makes us the unique incredible species that we are today.
Over the years our ability as humans to evolve into a more peaceful society has coincided with the increasing growth of the emotions of compassion and empathy. Today we see significantly less barbaric events than we did say in the 16th century. This is clearly a good thing, it means that more and more of the population on earth are living in a peaceful, respectful society.
And yet here in Australia, today, there is still a significant lack of empathy and compassion towards our fellow human beings born in other parts of the world. There is still the ability to define people based on their birth country, their skin colour, their accent, their religion, and in doing so ignore the fundamentals – that we are all human, we are all born to a mother and father. Instead many Australians make distinctions between who deserves the right to a peaceful, respectful life and who does not. They define this by where an individual is born – as if each of us has any control over where we are born, as if each of us makes a decision as to the country we will become citizens of.
We have no control over that, we are lucky if we are safely delivered at the Royal Hospital for women in Randwick, Sydney, lucky indeed. But we ourselves have no power over this decision.
Today a beautiful 21-year-old Somali woman, Hodan Yasin, set herself alight in an attempt to end her intolerable stay on Nauru. The details will of course be sketchy because the government doesn’t want us to know about the barbaric nature and horrendous conditions of the detention centre. But one can only imagine in horror what her life must have been like to date to reach such a distressing point where her perceived best option was to end it all. She has been waiting for three years for her asylum seeker application to be processed. A wait that in Nauru must feel interminable.
It was two nights ago that I watched the movie Suffragette – the movie reminded me of the actions of Miss Emily Davison who threw herself in front of a horse on Derby day in front of the King to gain the media’s attention that something had to be done to give women the right to vote. The movie specifically focused on the need for the media to devote attention to the cause. And ultimately her high profile actions had an impact but what a tragedy that her life, and that of other suffragettes, had to be lost to achieve the right to vote.
Regarding women’s rights Australia was one of the forerunners, giving women the vote in 1908. What a shame that same foresight and open-mindedness is so lacking in today’s society with regards to its opinion of refugees and asylum seekers.
What can the refugees in Nauru do to make Australians both the public and the politicians take note and do something, ANYTHING, to end the situation in Nauru. It cannot go on.
What makes it so hypocritical is that 97.5% of the population in Australia is not indigenous – the majority of us are migrants or descendants of migrants. We have all been the beneficiaries of either our own or our forbearers’ luck to land on these great shores. I myself am a migrant from the UK. When I applied for my citizenship it was straightforward. I thought to myself how lucky am I that two countries are willing to give me the right to be their citizen. Today I have the choice: I can choose to live here or move as I like around the world, I have freedom of movement. If I want to live in Australia, I can for the rest of my days. If I decide to return home, I can decide to live in any one of a number of European destinations. I am lucky. Australians are lucky. But what of those who are not… what freedom of movement do they have? What choices of country do they have? Which safe havens can they choose from? And how will they pay to get there?
For many Syrians just a few years ago they were living a peaceful life, for many they were not impacted by war, bombings, their homes were safe havens, and then their worlds fell apart. It reminds us that our world can change pretty quickly – for the better and sadly for the worse. We should all be mindful of that. For it is for the grace of good fortune that we continue to live in this peaceful environment girt by sea.
An argument I have heard a few times is that we have too many asylum seekers – we don’t have the room…. Really Australia, really??? Is this truly a genuine argument? Have you looked at the population density statistics? The facts are this: of the 244 countries in the world Australia’s density ranks at 236 (only ahead of 8 other countries including Greenland, Western Sahara, Mongolia and Namibia). There are only 3.13 Australians to every km2. Compare this to Bangladesh: 1,113 people /km2. Think about it. That’s three people in every km2 compared to 1,113. And maybe now you are thinking of the terrible slums in which some Bangladeshi’s have to live and how that isn’t a helpful argument to put forward. So what about the countries that are developed – the extreme example of Monaco whose population density is 18,713 people per km2! And the less extreme example of the Netherlands with 408 people /km2, the UK with 262 people/km2 and Germany with people 228/km2. And yet all of these countries, despite their population density, took in significantly more refugees in 2015 than Australia.
Yes of course there is the argument that much of Australia’s land is uninhabitable. But there are great swathes of it that have not been developed that could be. I travel around Australia and I see vast oceans of uninhabited space and I’m not talking about the red centre. Yes, it is a beautiful landscape that is untouched, yes there is always a balance, but Australia is very blessed and it could open its arms and invite more in to enjoy the richness of this country. Remembering as always that we are a nation of immigrants. Australia could take on a whole new city and still not be crowded. Taking in refugees could ultimately even boost the economy! Building new homes, new towns, new infrastructure and the jobs that could spawn. Now there is a (not very novel) idea for your #ideasboom Mr Turnbull.
But it is easy to blame the politicians – really it is the public. The politicians speak this anti refugee, anti-asylum talk because they know that will get them elected. We therefore need to take a good look at ourselves and ask why we should deny those less fortunate than ourselves, those who need our help the most, those who have already suffered way more than we will ever in our lives, why they can’t be gifted a chance of hope, a chance for a better life, at the very least a chance for a future.
It would be great if we could as a nation spend a few moments of our day to think of this 21-year-old Somali girl and imagine it was your daughter, your sister, your friend, even imagine it was you. For she is the same as us – she comes from a family – a mother who gave birth to her and loved her, she may have siblings too, one day she could be a mother. She wants the same things as us – happiness but unlike us she also needs freedom and a safe haven.
How would you feel if you had to take her place? What would you want us to do? I struggle to know what I can do to help. I know that opinions have to change, I know that her taking this action is an attempt to change our opinions. Please let her attempt be successful.
And for those of you who already feel this way, those of you who are in positions of power, tell us what we can do to help and keep telling us, tell us what steps we can take. Something needs to change and it surely is in our power to change it – if we can just change our mindsets and find a little compassion and empathy.
Clearly good things come in threes and over the past three weeks British Tennis has had much to celebrate. Topping it off with Jamie Murray making it third time lucky in his quest for his maiden Grand Slam men’s doubles title.
It may be a stretch to call these halycon times for British tennis but I’d like to think it will be in the not too distant future, either way the future looks promising.
British born and living in Sydney for the past decade has separated me from the British, or more specifically English, population’s slow but increasingly strong adoption of Andy Murray into their hearts (Scots have always loved him). It has been quite a journey for Murray with ups and downs along the way: a promising young junior champ, a successor to Henman, a hot headed teenager who supposedly ‘hated the English’, to the eternal ‘nearly guy’: Tennis’ Colin Montgomery. But then emerged the British hero: Olympic Champion, US Open Champion, and the pinnacle of tennis grand slams: the Wimbledon crown and to top it off with the true seal of national acceptance the 2013 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Although it hasn’t been all plain sailing since then… in 2013 there was the surgery, then the doubts about whether he could regain his Wimbledon winning form, the infamous Scotland tweet and at the end of 2014 surprising question marks over his hiring of a woman (of all things)! In 2015 he sought to prove his critics wrong and yet again he succeed ending the year as the Davis Cup Champions and once again being voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
In Australia, the most engaged tennis fans may have followed this progress, but for many other Aussies Murray remains ‘that dour Scottish bloke’ who has the occasional melt down on court. It is perhaps not totally surprising that this is the prevailing perception if their only interactions with Murray are watching him lose an Australian Open final or seeing clips of his press conference interviews.
It is at this point that I find myself wanting to convert each and every one of them, not necessarily into Andy fans, but to at least give them a more accurate picture of Murray the Man. So here below are 7+ reasons why they should think again:
Celebrating with his team after his victory at Queens
The support Murray offers to others
Australians talk about mateship all the time, it is fundamental to their DNA. And Murray personifies this with his relationships: be it his friends back home, fellow Brits or tennis’ rising stars. When one of his best friends Ross Hutchins was diagnosed with cancer Murray went out of his way to show support, dedicating his victory in Brisbane in 2013 to his friend, offering support both on a personal level and a very public level through the Rally for Cancer held in June 2013. Ross Hutchins was known on the ATP tour as one of the nicest blokes so it is significant that he chose Murray to be his best man at his wedding.
Over the years Murray has taken a keen interest in many British players including James Ward, Kyle Edmund, Dan Evans, Liam Broady to name just a few. He will regularly follow live scores of their matches, getting excited about their results and tweeting encouraging messages of support. He invests in them too by inviting promising British players to train with him.
It is also clear that Murray has a great rapport with Australian tennis players. The Australians and Murray regularly practice together before big tournaments, there is banter over social media about video games, locker room humour etc. There is recognition and praise from Murray of both Australia’s rising stars and acknowledgement of its past greats (he’s named his dog after Rusty Hewitt). Prior to Nick Kyrgios’ breakthrough victory over Rafa Nadal at Wimbledon 2014 Murray tweeted:
Welcome to twitter @lleytonhewitt former world number 1 and multiple slam champ..and current number 1 in the commentary box #rusty
More recently Murray was by far and away the most empathetic of all the big players towards Kyrgios recent troubles. He knows what it is like to be young and have the eyes of the tennis world on you. In return Kyrgios clearly holds Murray in high regard and is supportive in return, last night tweeting:
Murray is supportive of all British sports stars not just tennis stars. There are tweets acknowledging cyclists, boxers, footballers, athletes, Winter Olympians. He is engrossed in British sports and is quick to outwardly praise individuals when impressed by their skill and work ethic.
When it was well past midnight after a long day of both playing and, perhaps more mentally exhausting, watching James Ward’s marathon match versus John Isner in the Davis Cup in March, Murray still found time to tweet a message of congratulations to Katarina Johnson-Thompson. Katarina had earlier that day won gold in the European Indoor Pentathlon breaking the British record. It didn’t end there, shortly after Murray sent a second tweet questioning why such a huge achievement didn’t warrant a more high profile position on the BBC’s website.
Why is Johnson Thompson gold medal story headline number 22 on the BBC sport homepage right now? Complete joke
Which brings me nicely on to point two…
2. His promotion of women
Andy with his coach Amelie Mauresmo who is currently on maternity leave
Few Aussies know just how much Andy does to promote women in sport. In fact when presented with this fact there is disbelief. But it is not hard to find the proof. His appointment in Amelie Mauresmo speaks volumes about his perception of women as coaches. Clearly, and rightly, the gender of a coach is irrelevant to their abilities to coach but it has taken a high profile player like Murray to smash through that glass ceiling and hopefully create a big enough gap for many more women coaches to follow. It has already had an impact with the appointments last year of Lindsay Davenport (Madison Keys) and Martina Navratilova (Agnieszka Radwanska) even if brief. He tweets messages of support to these high profile coaches and in return is praised by the likes of Navratilova for helping forge the way. Journalist Catherine Whitaker described how she had to
He is also quick to praise WTA players be it established players like Agnieszka Radwanska, Caroline Garcia, rising stars like Taylor Townsend, Britain’s Johanna Konta and Naomi Broady or his Hopman Cup partner Heather Watson. He is one of the very few male ATP players to tweet about the WTA tour. And when asked who he believes is the greatest tennis player of all time he responded Navratilova.
The evidence is there to see; Murray is not blinded by gender and as a consequence will reap the benefits that Mauresmo can offer. Of course one cannot credit Murray and his attitude towards women without acknowledging the role his mother Judy must have played in nurturing this attitude from an early age.
But perhaps it is all too simplistic to see Murray as a promoter of women. Surely he is simply a promoter of people that he feels deserve recognition be it male or female and we do not need to use a gender prism at all to assess his comments.
3. Murray’s honesty
His honesty is impressive. In 2015 the British press (Mail, Telegraph, Times) interviewed Murray on his return from Australia. He opened up about his defeat in the Australian Open men’s final which he lost after levelling the match at one set all and then going a break up in the third; he states:
‘I was thinking, “Oh my God, this could be yours”…If someone is cramping in the final of a Grand Slam, the match is yours.’
The fact that he openly admits to breaking one of the fundamental mental battles in tennis – letting your mind run ahead of itself – is refreshingly frank. He also admitted that his on court rants during the final were ‘embarrassing’.
There is an integrity to Andy Murray that is so fundamental to his character. He admits his mistakes, his failings and is constantly striving to improve as a person and a player.
4. His charitable works
In 2014 Murray was honoured as the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian. This was in acknowledgement of his works for various charities of which the most high profile was the Rally for Bally in 2014, in memory of Elena Baltacha who tragically lost her battle with liver cancer earlier that year. Murray was instrumental in the event and the previous years’ Rally for Cancer where he donated the entire winnings from his Queens ATP title to the cause. In addition Murray was highly influential in creating momentum in the tennis community for the ALS Ice Bucket challenge.
At the end of last year he raised over £83,000 for Unicef through his Andy’s Aces initiatives to help Syrian refugee children. He raises awareness for United for Wildlife and Malaria No More and is happy to be the butt of the joke in sketches for Sports Relief and Channel 4’s ‘Stand Up To Cancer’ to promote their causes.
This is a player who has a clear social conscience, who wants to give back, and continues to find ways in which he can do this.
He shows his emotion
Whether in delight or defeat Murray wears his heart on his sleeve. There are the post match final interviews where the tears have rolled. How bloody great that there is a man out there that is not afraid to show his emotions, to cry in sadness, to cry in delight, to cry for a friend struggling with cancer. What a role model for all men out there.
Yes there is the more ugly side of showing his emotion, he gets furious with himself on court, rants, raves, whacks his racket, gives himself a sarcastic smile, chunters incessantly to himself and his box, totally lets it all hang out. Sometimes to his detriment, sometimes it fires him up. But always it demonstrates that he is human, he is one of us, he does feel and he does care passionately about his sport.
His humour
Murray has got a fantastic dry wit and self-deprecating humour. At the ATP World Tour finals in 2014 after Roger Federer had withdrawn he joked:
“I have to apologise because clearly I pushed Roger [Federer] too hard on Thursday,”
taking what was a humiliating defeat for Andy at the hands of Roger who had annihilated him 6-0 6-1 in the round robin stage, and finding a way to make light of it. There are many examples where Andy firmly puts the idea that he is dour to bed: his exhibition match against Lendl at Queens, his April Fool’s prank that he had got engaged, his sketch
for Stand Up To Cancer.
Murray has great awareness of who he is and how he is perceived. You will often hear him joke about the sound of his voice. When asked about a cold he was suffering from at the US Open he said:
“My voice feels like normal again. Still dull obviously”
Through his Twitter and IG accounts he comes across as a guy who likes to have fun on tour while at the same time takes his career very seriously.
His impact on his hometown
The golden post box in Dunblane to mark his 2012 Olympic win
If I haven’t wholeheartedly convinced someone to reconsider their impressions of Murray I tell them how the Murray family has changed the devastating story of Dunblane and given the people of that town a tennis legacy that they can be truly proud of. For the Murray family: Judy, Jamie & Andy have now made Dunblane synonymous with tennis and successfully countered the tragically sad memories, which the town will never be able to forget, but who can now stand taller when they say they are from Dunblane the home of the Murrays. And boy does Dunblane embrace their much loved prodigal son, so clearly demonstrated after his Olympic success when the streets were lined five people deep with young and old wanting to catch a glimpse and shake the hand of their hometown hero.
I also think it is worthy of respect that Murray has not spoken about his own experiences on that tragic day in Dunblane. He has not courted a ‘poor me’ attitude, he has politely refrained from allowing the media into one of the more personal experiences of his childhood.
Finally
And finally there are the British journalists, not known for their positivity, yet they find it hard to remain completely objective when it comes to Murray. It is not hard to understand why, Murray will always find the time to talk to the press however late at night he finishes a match. It is not surprising therefore that the International Tennis Writers Association have just voted Ambassador of the Year, Paul Newman, co-president stating: “[Andy] Murray has become one of the most eloquent players in the men’s game. We appreciate the respect that he gives to all his questioners, knowing that there are huge demands on his time.”
The Mail on Sunday’s Oliver Holt described him as
“one of the most likeable British sportsmen there has been for a long time.”
The late David Frost who interviewed him a few years ago stated how impressed he was with this polite young man. BBC journalists Jonathon Overend and David Law passionately follow Murray and then of course there is Neil Harman, whose love for Murray is so well known it became a running joke. They cannot all be wrong.
There are other qualities I haven’t mentioned:
his fighting spirit clearly demonstrated in his victory over Milos Raonic, which must have been both mentally and physically exhuasting;
his incredibly work ethic, Hewitt again praised this in his commentary last night;
his strong desire for equality and justice;
his devotion to his wife Kim, his endearing love for their dogs and his love of family. He always makes a point of calling out the role his Dad has played and acknowledging his presence not just his Mum’s which the media tend to just refer to;
his lack of ego and pretension: he bought a Ferrari and passed it on almost immediately because he felt so self conscious driving it.
Murray is a thoroughly decent, determined, passionate individual who would never let success change him as a man. He treats people all the same and takes an interest in those around him, be it his support staff, a retiring Wimbledon groundsman or rescuing stray dogs on his way to work.
Andy at the Australian Open 2015
So I will continue trying to put across a more accurate picture of the inspiration that is Andy Murray to those in my adopted country. He will yet again try to win the Australian Open on Sunday and I’m sure many Australians will be willing him on to win…
For me I will again be on the edge of my seat, nerves shot to pieces, knowing that Andy CAN do it and just hoping that Sunday is the day that he actually does do it.
This article was originally written in September 2015 and has been updated.
Back in October Kyrgios was fined by the ATP for ‘tanking’ in his Shanghai match and for arguing with fans.
Kyrgios should be admired for many aspects of his personality.
Murray’s initial progress to the tennis elite was rapid. In his early career he soared up the rankings breaking the Top 100 as an 18 year old and the Top 1o whilst still a teenager – a feat that has yet to be surpassed by the next crop of rising star – today’s #NextGen. However, after reaching world number 2 at the age of 22, Murray has had to wait more than 7 years to see his career high rise just that one spot more.
not only because of Djokovic’s huge lead but also because it was the day Jamie Murray became the ATPs World Number 1 in doubles for the first time. A fantastic achievement for the elder brother and recognition of the fact that Jamie had reached the previous three men’s doubles grand slam finals winning his first title in Australia. Who knows how motivating it was to see Jamie reach the top spot but we know from Judy Murray that they have a highly competitive relationship. It is not hard to believe that Jamie’s success did in some part motivate Andy to charge down the number 1 spot, in the same way that Andy’s grand slam success may have motivated Jamie to stay in the game when he considered leaving.
lifted La Coupe des Mousquetaires aloft, cementing himself firmly into the history books and at the same time further adding to his claim to be the GOAT.
the gap between himself and Djokovic in the rankings. Whilst it will not look this way in the new rankings out this week with Djokovic gaining another 2000 point for his Roland Garros title – if you look more closely at the ranking points achieved between April and June Murray is only 500 points behind – and given the lead Djokovic achieved between January and March (3050 points) and September to November in 2015 (3915) – this can be seen as a significant improvement for Murray.
required, Murray is by nature a helper (probably type 2 in the 9 Enneagrams) and a team player. He loves team sports and he loves to help his friends. It is also evident in his family, this desire to give back to the community, to help others, to support the sport – one only needs to look at Judy’s twitter feed to see the passion she has for helping others. It therefore feels like just reward that his dedication to playing for his country, supporting his team mates and devoting time and effort to the cause, has paid dividend this year at Roland Garros. Whilst he did not win the ultimate prize, he did something that no British male has done for donkey’s years (yes that old chestnut – 1937 to be exact) he made the final in Paris.
ry in sadness, to cry in delight, to cry for a friend struggling with cancer. What a role model for all men out there.
re many examples where Andy firmly puts the idea that he is dour to bed: his exhibition match against Lendl at Queens, his April Fool’s prank that he had got engaged, his sketch
macfie78 