Lucy Cavendish: The Emperor's New Clothes (08/07/12)

Andy Murray is just a dour Scot, says every smooth-faced southern softie. Nonsense

Lucy Cavendish
Saturday 07 July 2012 14:42 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The first time I saw Andy Murray play tennis was at Wimbledon in 2005: he was 18 years old and facing David Nalbandian, who had been a finalist in 2002. Murray was entered as a wild card, and he lost in five sets. I thought, even back then, that there was something interesting about him. Yes, he was gangly and awkward but he snapped those backhands over the net with more than a hint of promise. He also had what every mum in the country loves – a committed, passionate, ambitious mother.

True, he was Scottish, not English like Tim Henman, and we Home County types quickly labelled him a "dour Scot" – not stereotyping or anything – but we were prepared to overlook that because he could seriously play tennis.

Murray then went on to upset virtually every English person by saying he would support "anyone but England" in the 2006 World Cup and his reputation as a dour Scot was sealed. Except, of course, none of us realised that it was a joke.

Over the years, I have been seduced by Murray. I love his commitment, his power, the way he is such an open book on court. He doesn't have the European elan of Federer or the wildness of Nadal. But surely only the daftest amongst us could describe Murray, with his grimaces, frowns, sighs, smile and – OK, occasional – laughs, as dour now.

He is brave and he is driven. He has bulked himself up over the years so that now he is that rare physical specimen – a true athlete. Where those daft few see dourness in him, I think they are really reacting to his single-minded pursuit of being the best he can be. He has that Scottish Presbyterian work ethic. He doesn't just want to get in to the Wimbledon final. That's not enough for him. He is desperate to win it.

And I, for one, love his downbeat persona off the court. He's not showy. He doesn't do celebrity events. He rarely does interviews and when he does, he doesn't mince his words. When asked how he though his family felt during the semi-final he basically said, "I don't know. It's a lot tougher for me." I thought that was genuinely very funny and refreshingly honest. Not dour in the least. Really.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in