Smiling Murray has plenty of brotherly love once more
Andy Murray was reminded of the showbiz adage that it is best never to work with animals or children when he made his first post-U.S. Open public appearance on Monday.
Coaching eight-to-13-year-olds in London as part of the David Lloyd Clubs’ ‘Road to Andy Murray’ training scheme, one of his charges had some unfiltered advice for the new world No 4.
‘They say exactly what they think and one of them told me to smile more, which is good,’ said Murray, obliging with a grin. ‘It kind of brings you back down to earth.’
Child¿s play: Murray passes on tips to promising juniors in south west London
He has already hit the ground with a thud by beginning preparations with Great Britain’s Davis Cup team for the three-day match against Austria at Wimbledon, which will determine who participates in next year’s elite 16-nation World Group.
Murray was sporting a clean-shaven look for the first time since the opening ceremony of the Olympics, having deemed the razor a bit ‘time consuming’.
Last Saturday, a week after the start of his epic semi-final victory over Rafael Nadal, he swapped Flushing Meadows for The Valley and a team outing to watch Charlton versus Wolves, the passion of Davis Cup captain John Lloyd.
Murray did not find it too much of a culture shock. ‘I’ve been used to watching Scottish football for a very long time,’ he reflected drily.
It is back to serious business in a few days’ time, no more so than on Saturday when Murray is expected to partner brother Jamie in the doubles rubber which may decide the outcome of the whole tie.
Up against them are likely to be former Wimbledon finalist Julian Knowle and Austria’s top singles player Jurgen Melzer, who came so close to knocking him out of the U.S. Open third round.
It was, therefore, reassuring to hear Murray Jnr speak warmly of his brother following the froideur that developed between them after they lost in the second round of the Olympic doubles.
Jamie, who made the U.S. Open mixed final, chose to come home from New York rather than watch his sibling’s singles semi, but, according to Andy, their apparent spat following a bitterly disappointing exit in Beijing is nothing new.
‘Since we’ve been young Jamie and I have always argued and fought and it’s not a problem at all,’ he said. ‘From the first time we played together we’ve had arguments and it won’t be a problem come the weekend.’
Murray’s biggest headache has been the adjustment from hard courts to grass. Changing surfaces was behind his controversial decision to withdraw from February’s away tie against Argentina, although he stressed again how much he enjoys the team format.
‘It’s not about not loving the competition, I’ve always enjoyed playing in the Davis Cup but players have to look after their health,’ he said.
‘When you continually change surfaces, that’s when it starts to hurt. Your lower back and hamstrings get very tight changing to grass because the ball bounces so low. It takes four or five days for my muscles to get used to it and hopefully I will be ready by Friday.’
