The Murray Thread

[jonffm]

Me thinks he deserves his own thread now he's in the top 100 :p

Anyone else getting really excited about tennis suddenly now that Murrays here? Before, i'd casually glance at Henman if he was playing, but I sit here now taking a sicky from college to watch him play in the QF of the Thailand Open! Great stuff.

The boy started the year somewhere in the 400 seeds, now he's in the top 100, and right now, playing equally with the semi-finalist of the US Open. So refreshing to have a young british sportsman that we can actually get behind. I personally hated Henman...not because he rarely won anything, because he gave it his best, but because he was a pompus shite...you can't relate to people like that. Murray though, not a game goes by where he isn't roaring his head off or throwing his raquet around. Great entertainment value, and actually recognises that the crowd can be used to your advantage, and they shouldn't be treated as if they wern't there. You don't mind when he loses either, because at least you can see he always gives 100%.

I can really see him going on to being one of, if not the worlds best in a few years. He's going to make Wimbledon very interesting next year, and i'm definatly going to stick a few tenners on him reaching the QF or SF.


Great game on right now on Sky Sports Extra. Playing Ginepri in his first ever ATP QF. One set all, the thirds quite tight.

EDIT: Broken him in the third set! Great stuff! If he takes this set, Ginepri will be under huge amounts of pressure. If Murray can hold his nerve, theres no reason he can't take this set and match.

EDIT 2: GET IN THERE! Murray through to the Semi Finals! You freaking beauty!

COME ON MURRAY!

The madness of King Edit III: Hewitts pulled out, so Murray will face the homeland guy for a place in the final! He's not as good as his opposition today, and if he pulls off a preformance like this morning, it'll be Murray V Federer in the final...how great would that be?

[jonffm]

GET IN THERE!!

Another very calm and collected comeback from Murray, and he's in the freaking final! Of an ATP tournie?! Madness!

Murray v Federer....what a game that's going to be. If he plays as well as he has the last two games, theres no way Federer will run away with it. At the very least, I can see him giving Federer a run for his money.....and just possibly...he's gotta lose sometime, right?

It doesn;t matter what happens now...whatever, he's in the freakign final of an ATP tournie aged 18, and that's pretty damn impressive.

Good on ya, lad.

[basstard]

Hooray for Murray! It's been a fast rise to the top, and [unlike a certain Mr Henman] it looks like he might actually win something at some point.

Being 18 and all, he has plenty of playing time in front of him too, to mature and get even better.

When's the final / what channel on TV? I'll be sure to watch it.

Now, just to ensure that it's Scottish and not Union Jack flags flying to support him...:p

[jonffm]

Tommorow at around 8am, on Sky Sports Xtra

And his fans are dressed in kilts and have big flags saying 'Tartan army', so I think you're safe :p

[basstard]

Tommorow at around 8am, on Sky Sports Xtra

And his fans are dressed in kilts and have big flags saying 'Tartan army', so I think you're safe :p

Darn, don't have Sky. Ah well, it'll be on the radio I'm sure. Or streamable over the 'net. Good show on the kilty side, mind.

Here's an interesting thought - Murray vs Henman. I don't think they've played each other before. You could bill it as a "best of british" exhibition or charity match, would be fun to watch...

[jonffm]

Yeah, and theres highlights on BBC1 at 10-ish at night.

And yeah..would be fun to watch, but Murray would win, IMO. Murrays already close to surpassing Henman and he's only 18...plus he's alot more likeable.

[freddiestarfish]

:( I thought this was the [murray] thread.
I'm very dissapointed.

[Thomp]

You can make a cheese bin [murray] thread if yo wish to, Freddie :)

Back on topic, congratulations to Andy. He's played extremely well, and deserves to be in the final. Is this Britain's chance at last at re-gaining the men's Wimbledon title from the much acclaimed Federer?

Only time will tell

[Dingbat]

:( I thought this was the [murray] thread.
I'm very dissapointed.
I'm more 'disappointed' myself. :p

[NinjaPenguin]

Get in there!! finally a person representing the UK (just too bad hes not english) has finally sucseeded in a Tennis tournament, which also brings out the question henmann... who? Come on Murray beat that Swiss cheese into the ground! :D

[jonffm]

I don't think anyone EXPECTED Murray to win, and it was a huge ask.

However, a great, brave preformance by Murray. Broke him in the second, had him really worried coming to the end of the set, it's just a pity he couldn't hold his serve. What lost it for him was losing his first game in both sets. Still, a bloody good preformance against possiblity the greatest tennis player of all time.

[Thomp]

I take it Murray lost then...

Unlucky, but he is up against the world's best player for a long time, and for Murray to perform so well against him is some achievement in his own right. Let's hope for bigger and better things :)

[NinjaPenguin]

All respect to the lad, he gave as good as he got, and he tried his best. But you cant really compare him (at the moment anyway) to the wordls best tennis player, but good luck to him in the future he looks an interesting prospect.

[jonffm]

Murrays playing in a challenger, the Ethias Trophy today, for anyone thats interested.

Any anyone who is super-interested, like mweee, he's a lovely GOD-LIKE site I found after hours of searching.

http://users.telenet.be/PatatRiek/male/challengerbergen/index.htm

Live updates of all the matches. Murrays on next. When he is on, click the flashing red/green 'Live' link, and you get the scoreboard with lovely updates.

[jonffm]

MEGA BUMPAGE!

Anyone else depriving themself of sleep and preparing for a long day tomorrow...just to be up at 4-5am to watch Murray?

No? Just me? :D

Chela is his opponent, and his prize will be a probable face-off with Hewitt in the next round! Can't think too far ahead though...Chela is a very respectable top 50 opponent, and will be difficult.

I've missed Murray-Mania since it's been away. Glad its back :D

Oh..and Henmans out...what a suprise -_-;

[basstard]

I've missed Murray-Mania since it's been away. Glad its back :D

...spoke a bit too soon!

Was a bad game on his part, and he's blamed all the massive pressure from press etc. Fair enough.

People are allowed an off-day or an off-game once in a while...let's just hope he's back to form for the next big tournament, so the shiny trophies can come home to Scotland! Or spain/portugal, where he lives.

[Aside - Maria Sharapova is hot, fact. So why do all the photos of her from her game make her look worse than Jade Goody?]

[jonffm]

I stayed up till 4am to watch that game.

I wasn't amusseedd. ¬___¬

[[murray]]

I nearly had a heart attack when i opened sports and bets and saw this thread :p

I didnt recall playing any sports and i was dreading why people would want to bet on me.

Tell the truth im a little disappointed :p

Maybe this is what it feels like to die a little inside...

[jonffm]

I promiced myself I wouldn't be awake at this hour supporting Murray...but here i am -__-;

No TV either...just refreshing a live score update...from here -> http://www.sapopentennis.com/index2.html

Murray vs Roddick, for a place in the final of the San Jose open, against Hewitt :D

Murray has JUST taken the first set, 7-5...against RODDICK....Murray....winning...against RODDICK....the highest seed in the competition...RODDICK :D!

Go Murray! One set of greatness, and it's his second ATP final....and against the man of a million excuses, Hewitt, I reckon he'll do well....hell, if he can beat Roddick, theres no reason why he can't beat Hewitt...

Roddick first though...COME ON!

EDIT:

Murray Murray Murray....you arsing beauty.

Murrays rise continues, ashe knocks out the top seed in the San Jose Open...Roddick....RODDICK! :D 7-5 7-5...straight sets victory...

Biggest win of his career by a long way...and Murrays first real chance of winning something. Federer was a very VERY small chance...Hewitt...well, he's not as good as Roddick...so why not?

Tonight at 11pm on Eurosport, I think. Watch it. I command thee.

[jonffm]

GET IIINNN!!!

Murray overcomes, overpowers, and generally outplays Hewitt, and takes his first title :D

Well done Andy. Deserved it, without a doubt. :)

[Thomp]

Yay :)

If you can beat Roddick, the guy with the fastest serve in the world, and then go on to beat a good all-rounder then you HAVE to win SAPs like that

Hope his temperament doesn't let him down though... watching him getting angry can't be good for his stress levels. True, it can psyche him back up... but it can also prove to end his career early if he doesn't control it

[AngryPaul]

\o/

Hoooooray for teh Murray!

Only 7 behind Henman now, he's gunning for him!

[Dingbat]

Well done to wee Andy indeed.

Glad to see "Brit Wins Tournament"; I dreaded "Hewitt Beats Scot" :p

[jonffm]

Murrays already surpassed Henman in every way, in my opinion. He's beaten him, he's proformed better than him, he's winning trophys, he's 4 years ahead of him (Tim's first title came when he was 22, Murrays - 18) and he's generally alot more likeable.

Roddick can hold his own against Federer, and his the third seeded player in the world. Hewitt used to be number 1, and is just coming back into form. To beat them both, is something that even Federer would be proud of.

Alot of the time, when someone young and british comes through, we hype them and want them to win, but in our head, we don't really think they can do it. Murray is good enough that has me, at least, thinking that he has the ability to win a Grand Slam tournie this year.

After all, I heard that in something like the last 4 or 5 winners of the SAP open, only one player has then not won a Grand Slam in the following 12 months. It's a nice foothole to bigger and better things.


Murray = Possible US Open winner?

[Dingbat]

Much as I love young Andy, I don't think he will win the US Open this year.

The worrying thing is that the public have to stop building all their hopes on him, otherwise he'll crumble like Henman did. Yes, he has potential; but he's not the full article quite yet. He's not far off, but he's not there yet.

I can, however, see him being a major tennis star within two or three years.

[jonffm]

He has to prepare to cope with the pressure of carrying a nations hopes, because in Wimbledon, he IS going to be hyped up as a possible winner (I though, don't think his grass-court game is nearly as good as his hard-court game).

He needs to be ready for it.

The US Open is a real possibility, because of how well he plays in the US. He doesn't have the entire crowd screaming on every shot but they still like him alot, he is most at home on hard-court or clay surfaces and his record in the US for his age is brilliant.

Roddick is one of the US' most refined players, and he beat him through superior tactics. Hewitt is one of the worlds best, and he beat him through sheer skill. If he can do it once, he can do it again...I mean..who here honestly thought he was going to beat them both? I knew he could, and he's proved it.

If he can beat the 3rd best in the world, then prove it wasn't a fluke by beating another of the worlds best a couple of days later (also taking into account that Hewitt was playing very very well, barring the 8-9 double faults), then he CAN take any challenge the US Open throws at him. Whether he WILL, is another matter.

The big hurdle, which every Grand Slam entree will fear though....how to beat Federer...what a task that is..

[Dingbat]

Personally, I don't see how ANYONE is going to beat Federer...

...but I do think that Murray will be the one to do it.

[basstard]

Murray's done great, no doubt about it. But the one thing he does need to watch out for is what affected Henman, the media hype, the "he's gonna win Wimbledon, the US open and Euro 2006" stuff that appears in the tabloids.

To have that kinda expectation on you really can wear you down and pressure you.

Having said that, if he learns to ignore it and play at his best, we've got a fun year of tennis watching ahead of us! What with him hopefully doing well, and Sharapova hopefully wearing less...

[jonffm]

As much as I hate to say it, Murray has a very very slim chance of winning Wimbledon.

He's too young to cope with the pressure of Wimbledon, where every member of the crowd is screaming for you to win..

But the US Open, as Murray has said himself, is his most favored competition.

[Dingbat]

I don't think he'll win Wimbledon for at least five years. Pressure, wrong type of court and his developmental needs all put paid to that.

[jonffm]

Possibly never, but alot of people forget that Wimbledon isn't the ONLY grand Slam of the year...seems alot of the British public think tennis players just sit around for the other 50 weeks of the year.

Wimbledon would be brilliant, but he's got much more chance in the US Open...but hay, maybe he'll surprise us..he's being doing just that all year.


On a side note...great win for Murray tonight. He was made to work for a 2-1 set victory over a slight unknownish (I knew who he was, but he's not exactly up there with the big boys)...the match lasted like..over 2 and a half hours for gods sake...quite long for 3 sets :|

Soderling next, which he beat last week...I reckon he'll do him. He knows his game, and his style (when he gets into it) is very well suited to beat these kinds of players. If he does...it's into the Semis, against someone lower seeded than Soderling, because all the top seeds have gone out in Murrays side of the bracket....

He has a great chance to even win this one too...and this is a massive tournie, Federer won last year..

Put it this way..San Jose won Murray $42,000-ish...the winner of this takes home $128,000 o___o

[jonffm]

Anndd I suddenly don't give a shit about Murray.

After all the support english fans have given him....myself, I watch him every time he's on TV....his sodding fansite is done by an english person....I personally take it as a MASSIVE slap in the face that he would come out and say that in the World Cup, he will support every team that England play against.

I expect it off the average scot, but someone whos career was helped along by the massive support from the entire nation....sorry Andy, but who the hell do you think you are? You don't have to support us, but you didn't have to say that, now did you?

Minus one fan, at least.

[Shave]

beating the number 3 seed in straight sets. now that's what I call impressive :D

[Dingbat]

Anndd I suddenly don't give a shit about Murray.

After all the support english fans have given him....myself, I watch him every time he's on TV....his sodding fansite is done by an english person....I personally take it as a MASSIVE slap in the face that he would come out and say that in the World Cup, he will support every team that England play against.

I expect it off the average scot, but someone whos career was helped along by the massive support from the entire nation....sorry Andy, but who the hell do you think you are? You don't have to support us, but you didn't have to say that, now did you?

Minus one fan, at least.
I'm gonna go ahead and suggest that he probably doesn't care slightly. Frankly, the whole media's 'British/Scottish' thing will come into play anyway when he wins/loses.

I'll bet you that the rest of the country will support him anyway, especially now.

Great win for Andy today, quality tennis player and he really is a contender now. Tim who? :D

[dogincognito]

Tim who? :D
Henman, the man Murray cites as the reason he is playing tennis now.....

[Dingbat]

Henman, the man Murray cites as the reason he is playing tennis now.....
Suppose you've got to have something to aim at. ;)

[dogincognito]

Yep, if Murray spends as long in the World's Top 10 and is as successful as Henman he'll have done well. Hopefully for him Federer won't be as untouchable when Murray is in his prime as Sampras was during Henman's.

[Dingbat]

Yep, if Murray spends as long in the World's Top 10 and is as successful as Henman he'll have done well. Hopefully for him Federer won't be as untouchable when Murray is in his prime as Sampras was during Henman's.
To be honest, I think Murray will play a role much like Nadal/Roddick in the next year or so - the opportunist who takes advantage of Federer's slip-ups to win the odd tournament.

Pretty similar to the Sampras era :-/

[Gromit]

That'll be a match he looks back on whens he's 50 and thinks "DAMN i was good"

[DangerMouse]

Murray? I hope the anti-English git crashes out ASAP.

Serious question, why have we only managed to produce one top class English player in my entire lifetime?

[Shave]

I laugh

when we're "Great Britain", for example: the olympics, we all support and cheer each other and cheers each other on regardless of scott, english, welsh or N. Irish (are they included in GB, or is it only UK?)

however, as soon as we split up into are separate countries we're at each other's throats. why? so what if Murray is Scottish, he still plays for team GB, he's by far the most exciting tennis play that england can support. Henman, imo, has been nothing but let down's, so it's nice to have someone who can win the big games to support. so let's all just play nice :)

[basstard]

I laugh

when we're "Great Britain", for example: the olympics, we all support and cheer each other and cheers each other on regardless of scott, english, welsh or N. Irish (are they included in GB, or is it only UK?)

however, as soon as we split up into are separate countries we're at each other's throats. why? so what if Murray is Scottish, he still plays for team GB, he's by far the most exciting tennis play that england can support. Henman, imo, has been nothing but let down's, so it's nice to have someone who can win the big games to support. so let's all just play nice :)

http://www.heady.co.uk/b3ta/bbc_guide.gif

[dogincognito]

It's funny because it's innaccurate. http://209.85.12.234/html/emoticons/mellow.gif

In some sports we compete under the Great Britain/UK flag, and in some we don't. That's all.

[Dingbat]

D'you know, I think I've seen "You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to the basstard again" more than anything else in the last week or so.

It's funny because it's innaccurate.

In some sports we compete under the Great Britain/UK flag, and in some we don't. That's all.
Nah, I remember very specifically when David Coulthard was the only successful Brit in Formula 1 - every race he won was a win for Britain, but every race he spun out of was a disappointment for Scotland.

[basstard]

It's funny because it's innaccurate. http://209.85.12.234/html/emoticons/mellow.gif

In some sports we compete under the Great Britain/UK flag, and in some we don't. That's all.

Whilst of course what you say about competing under flags is true, sadly the pic isn't inaccurate.

Take, for example, Alain Baxter, who won a bronze in skiing at a Winter Games representing the UK. He was hailed as British in the press. Then he failed a drug test due to an allergy - he's Scottish.

Look at the women's curling team from the 2002 Winter Games. They were British when they won, and when the skip [team leader] Rhona Cameron was declared bankrupt, she's Scottish.

Andy Murray has expressly declared his Scottishness - his sweatbands have Saltires on them, for crying out loud - yet he is British in the eyes of the London-based media.

Then there are the inevitable headlines tomorrow - "A nation mourns", "the country weeps", "We all want Ronaldo to at the very least suffer a massive guilt trip and mild constipation". Assuming that everybody who read the papers or watched the news in question was English.

[Shave]

I don't disagree with you

The thing is, I'd probably support scotland or wales in the world cup, partly because they're "home" nations and partly because they're underdogs . It makes no difference to me if Murray is scottish or british, I'm supporting him. I think, once again, most of the problem lies in the media and not the average sports fan

[dogincognito]

Well, looks like Scottish hopes have crumbled.

;)

[Dingbat]

Aye. He was awful. Deserved to lose.

To go out and play the game of your life on Saturday, then lose so badly on Monday?

Seems young Andy already has Henmanitis.

[Reine Marge]

I do respect Andy Murray. In the interview with Sue Barker after the match he said he played badly, and he did not give any excuses. He even apologised to the fans. Very decent.

I look forward to him coming back to Wimbledon next year;. :)

[jonffm]

My problem with Murray wasn't that he was a declared Scot. Yes, he's proud of his country...great, you should be. The problem I personally have with him now, is the fact that I was awake untill the early hours some days to watch him play, even though most of the tyime he put in a pretty dire preformance. I watched every single Murray game that was on TV,

However. I won't take putting that level of commitment in, to them have it throw in my face. The fact is, most the support Murray gets is from English people, because he enters things as a BRIT and England happens to have a much larger population than Scotland...thus, more support.

He's now made it perfectly clear to me that he doesn't give a shit about his English fans. I mean, there was no need at all to make that comment he did, whether in humour or not (as I doubt he would see the funny side of Henman coming out and saying he is going to support every player he plays against. Same standard.) and it's lost him alot of respect and support. I think he's forgetting that the only reason he's got big sponsorship deals, is because of the extra 10-odd million English fans (Which is double the amount he would have if every man, woman and child in Scotland supported him).


All i'm saying, is don't shit on your own doorstep. Henman may be abit crap, and a pompus arse, but i'd rather support that than someone with the loyalty, and frankly, common-sense of a stray dog.

[Dingbat]

You probably should read his interview where he said that England winning the World Cup would have been great for British sport and it's a shame they lost.

[jonffm]

Bit late for that. In fact, it's more patronising than anything to say what he did, and then to say that the second we go out.

It's probably dawning on him, after seeing the English support at Wimbledon, how disrespectfull what he said was. Unfortunatly, what's done is done.

As i've said...I think there are only a few of us on this forum supported him to the point of staying awake till 2-3am to watch his matches, and what he said was such a major kick in the nuts for me, I use interactive and watch another match when he's on court now.


It's abit like if the Scotish national football team did it to you. You'd supported them through thick and thin, and wouldn't mind losing sleep to watch them...and then they come out and say "Thanks for your support, appart from Rangers fans. We fucking hate Rangers, and I hope every team they play against beats them."

Even if they came back a month later and said "Actually, we're sorry, we didn't mean it." It wouldn't make a difference.

[Dingbat]

It amuses me that you expected more from a Scotsman.

[jonffm]

Are you saying that I should just default every Scot to being a bitter nonse with a chip on their shoulder?

Thats abit unfair, and I know it's untrue. Why are you saying that? o_O

[Dingbat]

Non[c]e? Bit harsh. I don't think Andy Murray touches children.

I'm not saying ALL Scots are anti-English - just a lot of them.

[jonffm]

Not ALL Scots have a brilliant lifestyle because of money given to them by English sponsors and English supporters buying their merchandise and watching them on TV, either.

[Dingbat]

Not ALL Scots have a brilliant lifestyle because of money given to them by English sponsors and English supporters buying their merchandise and watching them on TV, either.
And of course his success is entirely based on his English fans - nobody else, hmm?

[jonffm]

The majority of his money is. Who said anything about success? Nobody had a say in that...Scotish fans didn't either...I think there where about 13 in the crowd when I was watching him win in San Jose. Most of them where just locals who where cheering him on. His success is down to him, and to a certain extent, his coach. Nothing else. tennis isn't a sport where the crowd really has much say at all.

Theres only so much money you can make from a country with a population of 5 million, compared to one of 60 million that also happens to host probably the most famous tennis competition in the world, don't you think?

[The Grandmaster]

Jeese, he only said he wouldn't be supporting England in the World Cup. I don't see how you think that he's disrespecting his English support.

Did you really expect him to support England anyway?

[Dingbat]

Brilliant! Should I call you out on the population excuse? ;)

Wasn't it you, though, who pointed out that he was playing under the British flag - not a Saltire or a St. George's?

Frankly, I don't think many really care if he supports England's football team or not. They just want to see British tennis do well.

[jonffm]

*Sigh*

Kay, I would PM, but it would take like 5, and it's too sodding boiling for the effort. Spoilered instead.


Jeese, he only said he wouldn't be supporting England in the World Cup. I don't see how you think that he's disrespecting his English support.


Actually, he said he would be supporting every team England plays against. If he said he wouldn't be supporting England, that would be fine and dandy, and I would be puzzled if he did support England to be honest.


Population plays very little part, in my well-opinion, in how well a nation is at sport. Scotland have a better tennis player than than England, yet we have 10x more people living here. The same, in theory, should apply to all sports, which was why I could pick you up for using it to justify lack of sporting talent compared to england solely being because of population. Murry instantly proves it incorrect. It makes no difference.

However, to say i'm being the same as you by bringing up that he makes most his cash from English fans, is stupid, because money, unlike skill, is absolute. Scotland and England are both modern countrys, and are basically the same really...just England is on a larger scale. A ten-fold larger scale. You can't argue that there are more Murray fans in England than Scotland. He is the most popular tennis player in England, and we have what...55 million more people living here?

More fans = More revenue. Fact. Not to mention his biggest sponsorship deal, Robinsons, only came about because he is popular in England, Robinsons largest customer-base. End of for that.

I supported him when I was under the impression that he was entering under the united banner. The second he started pointlessly (I mean, the question he was asked wasn't "will you be supporting every team England plays against". He decided to give that bit of info by himself.) ripping into people that supported him, he lost my respect, and many others. In that moment, for me, he changed frim a Brit playing for Britain, to a Scot playing for Britain. He clearly sees himself as a Scot, not a Brit...yet he represents Britain.

End of the day, I was as big a supporter as anyone, but he insulted me enough to make me really not give a shit anymore, and I don't do that lightly.

[The Grandmaster]

ripping into people

He wasn't ripping into people, he stated that he would not be supporting England at football - that's what Scottish people do.

I don't see whats wrong with him wanting to be seen to be specifically representing Scotland and not Britain. Scotland is a small country that never really has any sporting success - he feels proud to be Scottish and wants it to be represented in the sporting world. And remember, him not wanting to be seen as British not only detatches himself from England, but N. Ireland and Wales too (so don't feel so hard done by).

(Taking into account that I am Scottish and most people who disagree with me are English, we are all bias, therefor we will most likely never come to a conclusion on this topic, rendering this argument pointless)

[Dingbat]

But how many of his fans will actually care, Jonny? Perhaps 10% or so. Many of his fans do not even care about football, so it's of no consequence to them as to whether he hates the English football team or not.

It also intrigues me that you mention money, yet when you asked me to explain something else relating to Scottish sporting acheivement, you told me I couldn't make excuses about finances.

An interesting point: Do you see yourself as British, or English? Straight question, one answer or the other.

[jonffm]

I see where you're coming from, and it's fair enough. Sport in Scotland isn't exactly on the world map, and it's natural that he wants that to happen.

I also know that it's also against Wales and N.Ireland, but to be honest, neither nation really follow tennis. It's really more of a Scotland/England thing nowdays.

What I mean though, is that most of his supporters are English sports fans. Most of them, also support the English national team. He could still put Scotland on the map....it's obvious in his matches thathe is indeed Scottish, because of the small gathering of kilt-wearing ginger-beardies that somehow manage to attend every one of his games...theres also the fact he wears the Scottish flag on every item of clothing :p

However, the fact is that he is under the british flag, and through his comments, I personally feel robbed of being able to enjoy any success he may have. He didn't single out Wales or Ireland, it was England he was specifically anti about...and as I said, it wasn't just a "I won't be supporting England", which would be fair enough... it was more than that.

I think he has to get used to being a British player, not a Scottish one. The gold-medal curlers where all Scots, but they always talk about it being great for Britain, and they recognised the support from the whole of Britain, not just Scotland.

EDIT: It's rather unfair to think in the way that "It's the minority, so who cares." Murray being the player which is actually here trying to big-up the 'minority' by only representing Scotland.

Thats like me saying "Who would care if all Scots weren't allowed to vote. Only about 10% of Brits are Scots, so who cares what they think?"

Theres no one answer. I see myself as both, because I am both. I am from England, which is part of Britain, therefore I am an English Brit. Ultimatly, I am British. It's on my passport, it's how I answer nationality questions. For example, i've posted before how much i'm behind Team GB football team for the olympics, as we enter the Olympics as one, and shouldn't let petty rivalrys get in the way.

It would be nice if Scotland and England would be like Liverpool and Chelsea fans. When they're against eachother, the rivalry is great, and its fair enough...however, when it comes to England playing, they forget that they are Liverpool and Chelsea fans, and unite as England fans.

[Dingbat]

Ah, but here lies the formula that so many British sportsmen (and women) fall foul to when competing under the British banner.

When Alain Baxter won his Bronze Medal at the Winter Olympics, it was given as a great triumph for Britain.

After he was stripped for the Vick's inhaler, he was described nearly always as Scottish. No longer was Alain a British success - he was a Scottish failure. Likewise, the curlers were described similarly after they failed to get past the first round in the Winter Olympics this year.

I accept it is the media who propels this, but this may be a source of agony for Murray.

He didn't single out Wales or Northern Ireland because a) neither were in the World Cup, and b) neither have rivalries with Scotland.

The fact that he is still only 19 (20?) also probably doesn't help - he doesn't know how to deal with the press properly yet and therefore he speaks his mind, rather than doing the 'sensible' thing and allowing the PR machine to help him speak.

[jonffm]

The media don't only propel it, they create it. It's like with England going out...some papers say that Beckham is to blame, but i've been around hundreds of England fans lately, and not one of them blame Beckham.

End of the day, you must have read it from somewhere, so they made their money...so they're happy. It's all about selling papers. The media have no soul, and you would assume that a Scot of all people would know this.

[The Grandmaster]

Meh, I guess he'll still get tonnes of support throughout is career, from english and scottish people, and I guess most people weren't offended by what he said.

You probably shouldn't get offended by what he said, i'm sure he wasn't trying to be hurtful, its just a scottish thing to not support England at football (or support every team they play, whichever). And remember, he's only a 19 year old lad, he's bound to let the odd silly comment slip.

I would be very, very suprised if he didn't appreciate his English support anhoo.

EDIT: Oh, and i ment he was singleing(sp) out Wales and N.Ireland by detatching himself from britain, not through his comments about supporting England.

[Dingbat]

To be honest, if an English sportsman who I like came out and said he supports every team who played against Scotland, I wouldn't care a jot. Frankly, I think it's a GOOD thing to want to see your rivals lose - keeps the rivalry fresh, even within a country.

Like The Grandmaster says, he is nineteen and probably isn't quite up on what it's ok to say and what he should really keep to himself. Give him a break - he's not trying to turn you away, he's just being honest.

[basstard]

However, the fact is that he is under the british flag, and through his comments, I personally feel robbed of being able to enjoy any success he may have. He didn't single out Wales or Ireland, it was England he was specifically anti about...and as I said, it wasn't just a "I won't be supporting England", which would be fair enough... it was more than that.

I think he has to get used to being a British player, not a Scottish one. The gold-medal curlers where all Scots, but they always talk about it being great for Britain, and they recognised the support from the whole of Britain, not just Scotland.

If, say, he'd been playing in the Commonwealth Games tennis tournament [if they have one], would you be supporting him though? In there each home nation is counted as a separate entity.

The thing is, in the UK tennis is governed by the LTA [Lawn Tennis Association], which is UK-wide; whilst in football the FA cover England, the SFA do Scotland, and so forth, and it's from this kind of confusion that the arguments erupt. Whether letting Murray be registered as Scottish as opposed to British [as, for example, Montgomerie is at gold, despite there only being one UK-wide golfing body, or Coulthard is in F1, and I've no idea if there's a UK-wide F1 body, but there certainly ain't regional ones for each home county] would help, I don't know.

[jonffm]

Am I imagining things, or did I see Murray beating FEDERER?!

On an american hardcourt?!

The first time he's been beaten under those conditions for 2 years?!

Nice...

I don't know what this new coach is feeding him, but I sodding want some.

[Dr_nwa]

Am I imagining things, or did I see Murray beating FEDERER?!

On an american hardcourt?!

The first time he's been beaten under those conditions for 2 years?!

Nice...

I don't know what this new coach is feeding him, but I sodding want some.

I just saw this on the BBC sport site and I was all like doubleyouteeeff mate.
It sounds like Murray has hit a nice run of form. However, Federer is right;

"Youngsters play good on the day, but if they play good for the week thats the question."

Since Murray has got Gilbert coaching him, he's definitely had an upturn in form, but I doubt its down to anything but having extra confidence. It'll be interesting to see his performances after the winter, when Murray gets some proper training in with Gilbert.
But still, promising so far. Its a shame there aren't any other young british tennis players coming through though...

[Dingbat]

Injured Murray out of Wimbledon

Great Britain's Andy Murray has pulled out of Wimbledon after failing to recover from a wrist injury.

Murray had left his decision to the last minute in order to give himself the best possible chance of playing.

But after an indoor session at Roehampton on Sunday the 20-year-old said he feared he would do further damage to his wrist if he played.

"The doctor has advised me not to play and that I probably need about 10 days to be ready," said Murray. "Unfortunately, I don't think it is going to rain for the next 10 days. I have done everything possible to get ready for Wimbledon. I have played practice sets the last few days but still cannot hit a top-spin forehand properly. It has been six weeks of really hard work but I'm not 100% ready."
A terrible shame, no doubt, but he's still young.

Also, BUMP.

[Super Weebl]

A shame, but the right decision for him. He is still is young, he should be concentrating on Wimbledons to come.