People
always seem surprised when I say I support Andy Murray. They expect me to be a Djokovic
supporter or worse, a Nadal supporter like themselves. The very thought of
supporting Nadal gives me the jitters. I mean, he scratches his butt before
serving each time. At least it looks like he scratches his butt. And he has
this routine which goes like this – Adjust shorts/scratch butt – tuck hair
behind ears - tug at nose – tuck hair behind ears again – serve (Finally).
Anyway, enough about Nadal and his very odd, wild and disgusting habits. Back to the man who’s just won Wimbledon 2013.
3 years ago, at the 2010 Australian Open Final, Murray lost to Federer. After the match when he was asked to say a few words during which he broke down mid-way and said, “I can cry like Roger, but it’s a pity I can’t play like him.” That converted me from being a hard core Federer fan to a Murray fan. However cheesy it may sound, but those words struck a chord in me. He was acknowledging the greatness of Roger Federer. Now, after that match, the road forked into two – either he would accept that Federer was too good for him and he couldn’t ever beat him OR he would do whatever was in his capacity to overcome the loss and fight back and believe in himself. Ever since then, he’s been silently entering nearly every Grand Slam semi-final or final, but strangely he goes almost unnoticed every time. Nobody notices his consistency and persistence. Nobody thought Murray had it in him to win a grand slam. No, he isn’t supremely talented like Roger Federer and he doesn’t have the massive power that Nadal has, but he had something else in him. He had the determination to win. He never gave up. He overcame not one loss, but 5. Losing 5 Grand slam finals didn’t stop him from continuing to follow his dream. He wasn’t a defeatist. It takes so much more to lose 5 times before coming up and finally winning something. The joy of the victory is probably 5 times that of someone who’s won it in their first shot. Andy Murray inspired me, inspired more than a Federer or a Djokovic ever can. Ignoring the whole hoo-ha over the fact that he was the first Brit to win Wimbledon after 77 years and all that, he made me believe that losing isn’t a big deal; you can always pull yourself up and win the next time.He proved all those people wrong by winning Wimbledon. He had the strength to not give up and to keep fighting. He grew up, from being that cranky 22 year old who swears uncontrollably to the man who calmly won Wimbledon by beating the World Number 1 in straight sets. Not everybody has it easy for them. Murray didn’t – he didn’t have an easy straightforward, smooth road built for him. He had one with many thorns and obstacles, but he overcame them. He won. He won, despite all the hurdles.
3 years ago, at the 2010 Australian Open Final, Murray lost to Federer. After the match when he was asked to say a few words during which he broke down mid-way and said, “I can cry like Roger, but it’s a pity I can’t play like him.” That converted me from being a hard core Federer fan to a Murray fan. However cheesy it may sound, but those words struck a chord in me. He was acknowledging the greatness of Roger Federer. Now, after that match, the road forked into two – either he would accept that Federer was too good for him and he couldn’t ever beat him OR he would do whatever was in his capacity to overcome the loss and fight back and believe in himself. Ever since then, he’s been silently entering nearly every Grand Slam semi-final or final, but strangely he goes almost unnoticed every time. Nobody notices his consistency and persistence. Nobody thought Murray had it in him to win a grand slam. No, he isn’t supremely talented like Roger Federer and he doesn’t have the massive power that Nadal has, but he had something else in him. He had the determination to win. He never gave up. He overcame not one loss, but 5. Losing 5 Grand slam finals didn’t stop him from continuing to follow his dream. He wasn’t a defeatist. It takes so much more to lose 5 times before coming up and finally winning something. The joy of the victory is probably 5 times that of someone who’s won it in their first shot. Andy Murray inspired me, inspired more than a Federer or a Djokovic ever can. Ignoring the whole hoo-ha over the fact that he was the first Brit to win Wimbledon after 77 years and all that, he made me believe that losing isn’t a big deal; you can always pull yourself up and win the next time.He proved all those people wrong by winning Wimbledon. He had the strength to not give up and to keep fighting. He grew up, from being that cranky 22 year old who swears uncontrollably to the man who calmly won Wimbledon by beating the World Number 1 in straight sets. Not everybody has it easy for them. Murray didn’t – he didn’t have an easy straightforward, smooth road built for him. He had one with many thorns and obstacles, but he overcame them. He won. He won, despite all the hurdles.
To all those
people who criticised him for not smiling enough and for not being as much of a
charmer with a great sense of humour like Novak Djokovic - Yes, he does smile,
and a beautiful smile too.
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