Andy may refer to:

• Andy (given name)
• Andy (typeface), a monotype font
• Typhoon Andy (disambiguation)
• Andy Lee (disambiguation)

Fictional characters[link]

• Andy Bernard from the U.S. version of The Office television series
• Andy (Toy Story) in Toy Story
• Andy Larkin in What's With Andy?
• Andy Panda in classic cartoons

Music[link]

• Andranik Madadian - Well-known Armenian singer, known as Andy
• Andy (album), a 1976 album by Andy Williams
• Andy (Frank Zappa song), a song by Frank Zappa

See also[link]

• Andi (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Andy McKee
Performing live in February 2008.
Background information
Born	(1979-04-04) April 4, 1979 (age 33)[1] Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Genres	Folk, Instrumental, Fingerstyle guitar
Occupations	Guitarist
Instruments	Guitar, baritone guitar, harp guitar
Years active	2001 – present
Labels	Razor & Tie, CandyRat Records
Website	www.andymckee.com

Andy McKee (born April 4, 1979, in Topeka, Kansas) is an American fingerstyle guitar player, currently signed to the American record label Razor & Tie.

His style of playing and his compositions have earned him a considerable international fanbase. In late 2006, a live performance of his signature song "Drifting" became a Featured Video on YouTube and MySpace, achieving over 48 million views on the former to date and remaining one of its highest-rated music clips. A handful of McKee's other songs have experienced notable success on YouTube, such as "Rylynn" with over 22 million views. Similarly, McKee's cover of "Africa" reached over 9 million views before suddenly being removed by Candyrat Records.

Life and career[link]

McKee played his first guitar, an Aria nylon string bought by his father, at age 13. Initially underwhelmed by his guitar lessons, McKee's electric guitar-playing cousin inspired him to continue learning, taking him out for his 16th birthday to see a guitarist named Preston Reed perform live at a clinic. McKee later bought an instructional videotape from Reed and began to learn more complex guitar techniques from it, also earning his GED that year in order to quit attending high school. He began to draw influence from guitarists such as Michael Hedges, Billy McLaughlin, Pat Kirtley, and from Passion Session by Don Ross, as he continued studying the instrument on his own.

Nocturne (2001)[link]

In 2001, McKee independently released his first album, Nocturne. That same year, he was placed third at the National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition in Winfield, Kansas.^[2] In 2003, McKee toured in Taiwan with Jacques Stotzem, Isato Nakagawa, and Masaaki Kishibe, and earned first place in the Miscellaneous Acoustic Instrument contest of the Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships with a Ron Spillers harpguitar he purchased from Stephen Bennett in 2002.^[3],[4] The instrument can be heard in a number of his songs, such as "Into The Ocean" and "Gates of Gnomeria". Only 1,000 copies of Nocturne were ever produced and the album is now out of circulation.

Dreamcatcher (2004)[link]

McKee released his second album, Dreamcatcher, in 2004. The album includes his cover of "Africa", as well as "The Friend I Never Met", a song written in tribute to Michael Hedges. McKee used the title track to win the opportunity to perform with bassist Michael Manring, with whom he has since toured. Additionally, he placed second in the Fingerstyle Guitar Competition of the Canadian Guitar Festival that year.^[5] The album was later re-released by McKee's label in response to the popularity he garnered on YouTube.

Art of Motion (2005)[link]

McKee's third CD, Art of Motion, was released on Candyrat Records in November 2005 and earned considerable praise from established acoustic guitarists such as Don Ross, with whom McKee is currently on the same label, and has noted as one of his favorite artists. Most of the songs that McKee is known for on YouTube appear on the album, which has a handful of tracks carried over from Dreamcatcher as well. During the early stages of McKee's success on YouTube in late 2006 and early 2007, Art of Motion was the only album of his carried by Candyrat Records, and saw the most mainstream exposure as a result. In a couple of his songs he plays a harp guitar shown down and to the right.

Gates of Gnomeria (2007)[link]

After his popularity due to his performances on YouTube and touring extensively throughout much of 2007, McKee returned to the studio to record his fourth CD, Gates of Gnomeria. The album contains six new songs, one of which had already been seen on YouTube ("Gates of Gnomeria"), as well as two cover songs. McKee spent the majority of 2008 on tour throughout the world, performing with other Candyrat artists and promoting both Gates of Gnomeria and his collaborative album with Don Ross, The Thing That Came From Somewhere. He released a split DVD that same year with labelmate Antoine Dufour, each artist contributing eight songs to the disc; two of McKee's from Gates of Gnomeria.

Common Ground EP (2009)[link]

In between touring extensively, and helping promote his duo guitar record with Don Ross, McKee recorded an EP of 2 re-recordings of songs from his Dreamcatcher album, and a cover song by Japanese guitarist Masaaki Kishibe. The album was released digitally only, along with videos available on iTunes that include his performance of his 2 compositions, a video each that either does or does not include commentary.

Joyland (2010)[link]

McKee announced in May 2009 that he was intending to finish touring in the second half of the year and concentrate on recording his upcoming album. He stated in July 2009 that it will most likely be titled "Joyland", the title track of the album which originally went under the name "Music For A Vacant Amusement Park". The album was completed in November 2009 and was released in iTunes on March 23, 2010, and in stores on March 30, 2010 on Razor & Tie Records. According to McKee, "On this album I've branched out a bit and included some instrumentation on a couple of songs. There's also a new harpguitar tune and a couple of covers such as "Layover" by Michael Hedges and one of my favorite 80's tunes." (That one is Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World".) The album also features a DVD full of 75 minutes worth of additional video material, including a documentary called Andy McKee: Joyland, and four new performance music videos. All four music videos have been released on YouTube and can be found at:

• "Never Grow Old"
• "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
• "Hunter's Moon"
• "Joyland"

The documentary is currently only available for purchase as a part of the Joyland album CD/DVD.

Career progression[link]

Self-described as "just this guy from Topeka, Kansas who kind of blew up on the Internet about a week before Christmas", McKee became one of Candyrat Records' best-selling artists after their video of "Drifting" was massively upvoted by users at Digg.^[6] In the wake of this exposure, he appeared by invitation on Woodsongs as well as Last Call with Carson Daly, and his online store completely sold out of his various guitar tablature books. Due to the increased demand, he began to offer sheet music for nearly all of his songs on his official website. He also contributed to Josh Groban's 2007 Grammy-nominated Christmas album, Noël, playing guitar on the song "Little Drummer Boy". Groban's album went on to become the best-selling CD of 2007 in the U.S.,^[7] hitting #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200.^[8]
In 2010 McKee contributed to Lee Ritenour's highly acclaimed CD 6 String Theory that also features guitarists like Steve Lukather, Slash, Neal Schon, Tal Wilkenfeld, and Mike Stern.

In 2012 McKee supported Prince on his Welcome 2 Australia tour, opening the show with a solo performance. McKee also played with Prince's band during the concert on Purple Rain.

Response to filesharing[link]

McKee has, at least once in the past, personally commented on BitTorrent websites hosting his music, chastising downloaders for their actions. Posting to The Pirate Bay under the name "AlteredTuning" (which is the same handle he uses in all his internet message board appearances as well as on his own website's message boards), McKee sarcastically echoed other commenters' thanks to the original uploader of his album and urged people to purchase his work legitimately. His comments were met with approval while some pointed out that the exposure on The Pirate Bay might lead to increased sales.

"Yeah thanks a lot for uploading! It's not like I need to make a living with my music or anything. 8,676 thieves. If you really appreciate what I am doing, buy my CD legitimately so I can continue to compose music rather than work at K-Mart. I'm not Metallica. I don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars, much less millions. Andy McKee"

Equipment and influences[link]

McKee currently uses the following equipment:^{[citation needed]}

• Greenfield G4 and GB Guitars
• Greenfield HG1.2 Harp Guitar
• Lance McCollum Baritone Guitar
• Ron Spillers Harp Guitar
• K&K Sound Pickups (internal)
• DTAR Solstice Pre-Amp
• D'Addario Phosphor Bronze Medium Gauge
• Shubb Capos

McKee's influences include: Eric Johnson, Dream Theater,^[4] Michael Hedges, Preston Reed, Billy McLaughlin, Tommy Emmanuel, Björk, Steve Lukather, Metallica, Joe Satriani, Iron Maiden, Pantera, Steve Erquiaga, Vince Di Cola, Toto, Peter Gabriel, Imogen Heap, King Crimson, Primus, Pat Metheny, and Don Ross,

McKee began listening to metal, such as Dream Theater, at the age of 13. He described on Woodsongs how he was a "metal freak" during childhood, even performing a Metallica song in his high school talent show. It was not until he saw Preston Reed that his influences began to shift towards acoustic songwriters such as Don Ross and Michael Hedges. Both walks of music continue to influence him, though he has stuck with acoustic music in his professional life.

In response to certain comments regarding the source of his creative talent, McKee has proudly admitted to have never taken any recreational drugs in his life—a fact lauded by many of his fans online, including fellow guitarist Don Ross. Commenting on McKee's MySpace, Ross wrote:

"I too have never touched weed, pills, blow or needles. I'm always insulted when people find that hard to believe. 'How can you write such insane music straight?!?' Frick! Some of us are just creative using only the chemicals already present in our bodies. That goes for almost any musician I've had a close association with, contrary to the stereotypes. Hell, Zappa was sober all the time!

Bravo, Andy. I appreciate the fact that when you and I tour together, there's no junk going around, no smokes, no nothing. Keeping it clean. And we always have a fabulous time."

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• McKee's Official Website
• Andy McKee's MySpace
• Andy McKee @ Razor & Tie
• McKee @ Candyrat Records
• Interview @ InstruMentalCase
• 2011 Andy McKee Interview on FingerstyleGuitarists.com

This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may only interest a specific audience. Please help relocate any relevant information, and remove excessive detail that may be against Wikipedia inclusion policy. (December 2011)

Andy Murray

Andy Murray at the 2011 Japan Open
Country	Great Britain
Residence	London, England
Born	(1987-05-15) 15 May 1987 (age 25) Glasgow, Scotland[1][2]
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	84 kg (190 lb; 13.2 st)
Turned pro	2004
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$20,376,752[3]
Official web site	www.andymurray.com
Singles
Career record	345–114 (75%)
Career titles	22
Highest ranking	No. 2 (17 August 2009)
Current ranking	No. 4 (28 May 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	F (2010, 2011)
French Open	SF (2011)
Wimbledon	SF (2009, 2010, 2011)
US Open	F (2008)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	SF (2008, 2010)
Olympic Games	1R (2008)
Doubles
Career record	45–53
Career titles	2
Highest ranking	No. 51 (17 October 2011)
Current ranking	No. 70 (28 May 2012)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	1R (2006)
French Open	2R (2006)
Wimbledon	1R (2005)
US Open	2R (2008)
Other Doubles tournaments
Olympic Games	2R (2008)
Last updated on: 28 May 2012.

Andrew "Andy" Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a Scottish professional tennis player, ranked No. 4 in the world,^[3] and was ranked No. 2 from 17 to 31 August 2009.^[4] Murray achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on 16 April 2007. He has been runner-up in three Grand Slam finals: the 2008 US Open, the 2010 Australian Open and the 2011 Australian Open, losing the first two to Roger Federer and the third to Novak Djokovic. In 2011, Murray became only the seventh player in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments in one year.^[5]

Early life[link]

Andy with his brother Jamie (left) at the 2011 Japan Open.

Andy Murray was born to Will and Judy in Glasgow, Scotland.^[1][2] His maternal grandfather, Roy Erskine, was a professional footballer who played reserve team matches for Hibernian and in the Scottish Football League for Stirling Albion and Cowdenbeath.^[6][7][8][9] Murray's brother, Jamie, is also a professional tennis player, playing on the doubles circuit.^[10] Following the separation of his parents when he was nine years old, Andy and Jamie lived with their father.^[11] Murray later attended Dunblane High School.^[12][13] Murray is in a five-year relationship with Kim Sears, who is regularly seen attending his matches. The relationship ended briefly in 2009 before they reconciled a short time later in 2010.^[14][15][16]

At 15, Murray was asked to train with Rangers Football Club at their School of Excellence, but declined, opting to focus on his tennis career instead.^[17] Murray's tennis idol is Andre Agassi.^[18]

Murray was born with a bipartite patella, where the kneecap remains as two separate bones instead of fusing together in early childhood.^[19] He was diagnosed at the age of 16 and had to stop playing tennis for six months. Murray is seen frequently to hold his knee due to the pain caused by the condition and has pulled out of events because of it,^[20] but manages it through a number of different approaches.^[21]

Murray attended Dunblane Primary School, and was present during the 1996 Dunblane school massacre.^[22] Thomas Hamilton killed 17 people before turning one of his four guns on himself. Murray took cover in a classroom.^[23] Murray says he was too young to understand what was happening and is reluctant to talk about it in interviews, but in his autobiography Hitting Back he says that he attended a youth group run by Hamilton, and that his mother gave Hamilton lifts in her car.^[24]

Career[link]

Junior tennis[link]

Murray began playing tennis at age 5.^[25] Leon Smith, Murray's tennis coach from 11 to 17,^[26] said he had never seen a five-year-old like Murray, describing him as "unbelievably competitive". Murray attributes his abilities to the motivation gained from losing to his older brother Jamie. He first beat Jamie in an under-12s final in Solihull, afterwards teasing Jamie until his brother hit him hard enough to lose a nail on his left hand.^[27] At the age of 12, Murray won his age group at the Orange Bowl, a prestigious event for junior players.^[28] He briefly played football before reverting to tennis.^[29] When Murray was 15 years old he decided to move to Barcelona, Spain. There he studied at the Schiller International School and trained on the clay courts of the Sánchez-Casal Academy. Murray described this time as "a big sacrifice".^[13] While in Spain, he trained with Emilio Sánchez, formerly the world no. 1 doubles player.^[13]

In July 2003, Murray started out on the Challenger and Futures circuit. In his first tournament, he reached the quarterfinals of the Manchester challenger. In his next tournament, Murray lost on clay in the first round to future world top-tenner Fernando Verdasco. In September, Murray won his first senior title by taking the Glasgow Futures event. He also reached the semifinals of the Edinburgh Futures event.^{[citation needed]} In July 2004 Murray played a Futures event in Nottingham, where he lost to future Grand Slam finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round. Murray then went on to win events in Xàtiva and Rome.

In September 2004, he won the Junior US Open by beating Sergiy Stakhovsky, now a top-100 player. He was selected for the Davis Cup match against Austria later that month;^[30] however, he was not selected to play. Later that year, he won BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.^[31]

2005[link]

Murray began 2005 ranked 407 in the world.^[32] In March, he became the youngest Briton ever to play in the Davis Cup,^[33] as he helped Britain win the tie with a crucial doubles win. Following the tie, Murray turned professional in April,^[34] as he played his first ATP tournament. Murray was given a wild card to a clay-court tournament in Barcelona, the Open SEAT, where he lost in three sets to Jan Hernych.^[35] Murray then reached the semifinals of the boys' French Open, which was his first junior tournament since the US Open.^[36] In the semi finals Murray lost in straight sets to Marin Čilić,^[37] after he had defeated Juan Martín del Potro in the quarter-finals.^[38]

Given a wild card to Queen's,^[39] Murray progressed past Santiago Ventura in straight sets for his first ATP win.^{[citation needed]} He followed this up with another straight-sets win against Taylor Dent. In the last 16, he played former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson, where he lost the match in three sets. After losing the opener on a tie-break, Murray won the second on a tie-break, but the onset of cramp and an ankle injury sealed the match 6–7, 7–6, 5–7 in Johansson's favour.^[40][41] Following his performance at Queen's, Murray received a wild card for Wimbledon.^[42] Ranked 312, he defeated George Bastl and 14th seed Radek Štěpánek in the opening two rounds in straight sets, thereby becoming the first Scot in the open era to reach the third round of the men's singles tournament at Wimbledon.^[43] In the third round, Murray played 2002 Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian^[44] and lost 7–6, 6–1, 0–6, 4–6, 1–6.

Following Wimbledon, Murray played in Newport at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, where he lost in the second round. He had a wild card for the US Open, as he was the Junior champion. In the run-up to the tournament, Murray won Challengers on the hard courts of Aptos, which sent him into the top 200, and Binghamton, New York. He also experienced his first Masters event at Cincinnati, where he beat Dent again in straight sets, before losing in three sets to world no. 4 Marat Safin. Murray played Andrei Pavel in the opening round of the US Open. Murray recovered from being down two sets to one to win his first five-set match,^[45] despite being sick on court.^[46] He lost in the second round to Arnaud Clément in another five set contest.^[47] Murray was again selected for the Davis Cup match against Switzerland. He was picked for the opening singles rubbers, losing in straight sets to Stanislas Wawrinka.^[48] Murray then made his first ATP final at the Thailand Open. In the final, he faced world no. 1 Roger Federer, losing in straight sets. On 3 October, Murray achieved a top-100 ranking for the first time.^[49] In his last tournament of the year, an ATP event in Basel Murray faced British no. 1 Tim Henman in the opening round.^[50] Murray defeated him in three sets, before doing the same to Tomáš Berdych. He then suffered a third-round loss to Fernando González. He completed the year ranked 64 and was named the 2005 BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year.^[51]

2006[link]

2006 saw Murray compete on the full circuit for the first time and split with his coach Mark Petchey^[52] and team up with Brad Gilbert.^[53]

Getting his season under way at the Adelaide International, Murray won his opening match of 2006 against Paolo Lorenzi in three sets, before bowing out to Tomáš Berdych. Murray's season then moved to Auckland, where he beat Kenneth Carlsen. Murray then lost three matches in a row including a first round matche at the Australian Open. Murray stopped the run as he beat Mardy Fish in straight sets when the tour came to San Jose, California; going on to win his first ATP title, the SAP Open, defeating world no. 11 Lleyton Hewitt in the final.^[54] The run to the final included his first win over a top-ten player, Andy Roddick,^[55] the world no. 3, to reach his second ATP final, which he won. Murray backed this up with a quarterfinal appearance in Memphis, falling to Söderling. Murray won just three times between the end of February and the middle of June, the run included a first round defeat to Gael Monfils at the French Open, in five sets.^[56] After the French Open, where Murray was injured again, he revealed that his bones hadn't fully grown, causing him to suffer from cramps and back problems.^[57]

At the Nottingham Open, Murray recorded consecutive wins for the first time since Memphis, with wins over Dmitry Tursunov and Max Mirnyi, before bowing out to Andreas Seppi in the quarterfinals. He progressed to the fourth round at Wimbledon, beating Nicolás Massú, Julien Benneteau, and Roddick, before succumbing to Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis. Murray reached the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, defeating Ricardo Mello, Sam Querrey, and Robert Kendrick, with his first main tour whitewash (also known as a double bagel). He exited in the semifinals to Justin Gimelstob. Murray then won a Davis Cup rubber against Andy Ram, coming back from two sets down, but lost the doubles alongside Jamie Delgado, after being 2 sets to 1 up. The tie was over before Murray could play the deciding rubber. His good form continued as the tour moved to the hard courts of the USA, where he recorded a runner-up position at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic losing to Arnaud Clément in the final. Murray then reached his first Masters Series semifinal in Toronto at the Rogers Cup, beating David Ferrer, Tim Henman, Carlos Moyá, and Jarkko Nieminen along the way, before exiting to Richard Gasquet in straight sets. At the ATP Masters Series event in Cincinnati, Murray defeated Henman, before becoming only one of two players, alongside Rafael Nadal, to defeat Roger Federer in 2006. This was followed by a win over Robbie Ginepri and a loss to Andy Roddick. He also reached the fourth round of the US Open losing in four sets to Davydenko, including a whitewash in the final set.^{[citation needed]} In the Davis Cup, Murray won both his singles rubbers, but lost the doubles, as Britain won the tie. As the tour progressed to Asia, he lost to Henman for the first time in straight sets in Bangkok. In the final two Masters events in Madrid and Paris, Murray exited both tournaments at the last-16 stage ending his season, with losses to Novak Djoković and Dominik Hrbatý.

2007[link]

Murray at the US Open with Gilbert

In November Murray split with his coach Brad Gilbert^[58] and added a team of experts along with Miles Maclagan, his main coach.^[59] Ahead of the first event of the season Murray signed a sponsorship deal with Highland Spring worth £1m. It was reportedly the biggest shirt-sponsorship deal in tennis.^[60] The season started well for Murray as he reached the final of the Qatar Open. He defeated Filippo Volandri, Christophe Rochus, Max Mirnyi and Nikolay Davydenko, before falling to Ivan Ljubičić in straight sets. Murray reached the fourth round of the Australian Open.^[61] After defeating Alberto Martín for the loss of one game, then beating Fernando Verdasco and Juan Ignacio Chela in straight sets, in the round of 16 Murray lost a five-set match against world No. 2 Rafael Nadal, 7–6, 4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 1–6.^[62] He then successfully defended his San Jose title, defeating Kevin Kim, Kristian Pless, Hyung-Taik Lee, Andy Roddick and Ivo Karlović to retain the tournament.^[63]

Murray then made the semi-finals of his next three tournaments. Making the semis in Memphis, he defeated Frank Dancevic, Pless and Stefan Koubek before a reverse to Roddick. In Indian Wells, Murray won against Wesley Moodie, Nicolas Mahut, Nikolay Davydenko and Tommy Haas before falling to Novak Djoković. At Miami, Murray was victorious against Paul Goldstein, Robert Kendrick, Paul-Henri Mathieu and Roddick, before going down to Djokovic for the second tournament running.

Before the clay season Murray defeated Raemon Sluiter in the Davis Cup to help Britain win the tie. In his first tournament in Rome, Murray lost in the first round to Gilles Simon in three sets. In Hamburg, Murray played Volandri first up. In the first set, Murray was 5–1 when he hit a forehand from the back of the court and snapped the tendons in his wrist.^[64]

Murray missed a large part of the season including the French Open and Wimbledon.^[65] He returned at the Rogers Cup in Canada. In his first match he defeated Robby Ginepri in straight sets^[66] before bowing out to Fabio Fognini. At the Cincinnati Masters Murray drew Marcos Baghdatis in the first round and won only three games. At the US Open Murray beat Pablo Cuevas in straight sets before edging out Jonas Björkman in a five-setter. Murray lost in the third round to Lee in four sets.

Murray played in Great Britain's winning Davis Cup tie against Croatia, beating Marin Čilić in five sets. Murray hit form, as he then reached the final at the Metz International after knocking out Janko Tipsarević, Michaël Llodra, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Guillermo Cañas. He lost to Tommy Robredo in the final, despite winning the first set 6–0. Murray had early exits in Moscow and Madrid; falling to Tipsarević after winning against Evgeny Korolev in Moscow and to Nadal after defeating Radek Štěpánek and Chela in Madrid.

Murray improved as he won his third ATP title at the St. Petersburg Open, beating Mirnyi, Lukáš Dlouhý, Dmitry Tursunov, Mikhail Youzhny and Fernando Verdasco to claim the title. In his final tournament in Paris, Murray went out in the quarter-finals. He beat Jarkko Nieminen and Fabrice Santoro before falling to Richard Gasquet. With that result he finished at No. 11 in the world, just missing out on a place at the Masters Cup.

2008[link]

Murray on his way to becoming a finalist at the US Open

Murray re-entered the top-ten rankings early in 2008, winning the Qatar ExxonMobil Open with wins over Olivier Rochus, Rainer Schüttler, Thomas Johansson, Nikolay Davydenko and Stanislas Wawrinka for the title. He was the ninth seed at the Australian Open but was defeated by eventual runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round.^[67]

Murray took his second title of the year at the Open 13 after beating Jesse Huta Galung, Wawrinka, Nicolas Mahut, Paul-Henri Mathieu and Marin Čilić. But Murray exited to Robin Haase in straight sets in Rotterdam. In Dubai Murray defeated Roger Federer in three sets before doing the same to Fernando Verdasco and falling short against Davydenko. At Indian Wells Murray defeated Jürgen Melzer and Ivo Karlović in three sets and crashed out to Tommy Haas, before a first-match exit to Mario Ančić in Miami.

On the clay courts in Monte Carlo Murray defeated Feliciano López and Filippo Volandri before winning just four games against Novak Djoković. Ančić then handed Murray another first-match defeat in Barcelona. In Rome Murray first played Juan Martín del Potro in an ill-tempered three-set match. Murray won his first match in Rome^[68] when Del Potro retired with an injury. Murray was warned for bad language and there was disagreement between the two players where Murray claimed that Del Potro insulted his mother, who was in the crowd, and deliberately aimed a ball at his head.^[69][70] In the next round Murray lost in straight sets to Wawrinka. In his last tournament before the French Open Murray participated in Hamburg. He defeated Dmitry Tursunov and Gilles Simon before a defeat against Rafael Nadal. At Roland Garros he overcame local boy Jonathan Eysseric in five sets and clay-courter José Acasuso, where he lost just four games. He ended the tournament after a defeat by Nicolás Almagro in four sets in the third round.

At Queen's Murray played just two games of his opening match before Sébastien Grosjean withdrew. Against Ernests Gulbis Murray slipped on the damp grass and caused a sprain to his thumb.^[71] He won the match in 3 but withdrew ahead of his quarter-final against Andy Roddick.^[72] Any thought that he would pull out of Wimbledon was unfounded as he made the start line to reach the quarter-finals for the first time. Murray defeated Fabrice Santoro, Xavier Malisse in three sets and Tommy Haas in 4, before the one of the matches of the tournament. Murray found himself two sets down to Richard Gasquet who was serving for the match. Murray broke and took the set to a tie-break, before the shot of the tournament on set point. Murray hit a backhand winner from way off the court, when he was almost in the stands.^[73] Murray progressed through the fourth set before an early break in the 5th. Gasquet failed to break back in the next game and made a complaint about the light. But Murray completed a 5–7, 3–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–4 win.^[74] In the next round Murray was defeated by world No. 2 Nadal in straight sets.

In his first tournament after Wimbledon, the Rogers Cup, Murray defeated Johansson, Wawrinka and Djokovic before losing to Nadal in the semi-finals. The Nadal loss was Murray's last defeat in ATP events for three months. In Cincinnati Murray went one better than in Canada as he reached his first ATP Masters Series final. He beat Sam Querrey, Tursunov, Carlos Moyá and Karlovic to make the final. Murray showed no signs of nerves as on debut he won his first Masters Shield, defeating Djokovic in two tie-breakers. At the Olympics, which is ITF organised, Murray was dumped out in round one by Yen-Hsun Lu,^[75] citing a lack of professionalism on his part.^[76]

Murray debuted at the season ending Masters Cup in 2008

Murray then went to New York to participate in the US Open. He became the first Briton since Greg Rusedski in 1997 to reach a Grand Slam final. Murray defeated Sergio Roitman, Michaël Llodra and won against Melzer after being two sets down.^[77] He then beat Wawrinka to set up a match with Del Potro;^[78] he overcame Nadal in the semi-finals after a four-set battle, beating him for the first time, in a rain-affected match that lasted for two days.^[79] In the final he lost in straight sets to Roger Federer.^[80][81]

Murray beat Alexander Peya and Jürgen Melzer in the Davis Cup tie against Austria, but it was in vain as Great Britain lost the deciding rubber. He returned to ATP tournaments in Madrid, where he won his second consecutive Masters shield. He defeated Simone Bolelli, Čilić (for the first time in 2008) and Gaël Monfils before avenging his US Open final loss against Federer in three sets, and taking the title against Simon. Murray then made it three ATP tournament wins on the bounce with his 5th title of the year at the St Petersburg Open, where Murray beat Viktor Troicki, Gulbis, Janko Tipsarević, without dropping a set, before thrashing Verdasco for the loss of just three games in the semi-final and Andrey Golubev for the loss of two games in the final. He thus became the first British player to win two Master tournaments and the first Briton to win five tournaments in a year.^[82] Heading into the final Masters event of the season, Murray was on course for a record third consecutive Masters shield.^[83] Murray defeated Sam Querrey and Verdasco, before David Nalbandian ended Murray's run, of 14 straight wins, when he beat him in straight sets. This was Murray's first defeat on the ATP tour in three months, since Nadal beat him in Canada.^[84]

Now at No. 4 in the world, Murray qualified for the first time for the Masters Cup. He beat Roddick in three sets, before the American withdrew from the competition. This was followed by a win over Simon to qualify for the semi-finals.^[85] In his final group match against Federer, Murray defeated him in three sets.^[86][87] In the semi-final Murray faced Davydenko, but after leaving it all on the court against Federer, Murray succumbed to the Russian in straight sets.^[88]

Murray ended 2008 ranked fourth in the world.

2009[link]

Murray made the quarter-finals of the 2009 French Open

Murray began 2009 by beating Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to win the exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi. He followed this with a successful defence of his title at the Qatar Open in Doha, defeating Andy Roddick in straight sets to win the final.^[89] At the Australian Open, Murray made it to the fourth round, losing to Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round.^[90] After the loss to Verdasco, Murray was delayed from going home, as he was found to be suffering from a virus.

Murray got back to winnning ways quickly though as he won his eleventh career title in Rotterdam. In the final, Murray faced the world no. 1, Nadal, defeating him in the third set.^[91] However, an injury, sustained in the semifinal forced his withdrawal from the Marseille Open, which he had won in 2008.^[92] Returning from injury, Murray went to Dubai and withdrew before the quarterfinals with a re-occurrence of the virus that had affected him at the Australian Open.^[93] The virus caused Murray to miss a Davis Cup tie in Glasgow. Returning from the virus, Murray made it to the final at Indian Wells. Murray defeated Federer in the semifinal but lost the final against Nadal, winning just three games in windy conditions.^[94] However a week later and Murray made another final in Miami and defeated Novak Djokovic for another masters title.

Murray got his clay season underway at the Monte Carlo Masters. With a series of impressive performances, Murray made it to the semifinals losing in straight sets to Nadal. Murray then moved to the Rome Masters, where he lost in the second round, after a first-round bye, to Juan Mónaco in three sets. Despite an early exit of the Rome Masters Murray achieved the highest ever ranking of a British male in the open era when he became world no. 3 on 11 May 2009.^[95] Murray celebrated this achievement by trying to defend his Madrid Masters title, which had switched surfaces from hard to clay. He reached the quarterfinals, after beating Simone Bolelli and Robredo in straight sets, before losing to Del Potro. Murray reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 French Open, but was defeated by Fernando González in four sets.

Murray won at Queen's, without dropping a set, becoming the first British winner of the tournament since 1938. In the final Murray defeated American James Blake. This was Murray's first tournament win on grass and his first ATP title in Britain.^[96] Murray was initially seeded third at Wimbledon, but after the withdrawal of defending champion Nadal, Murray became the second-highest seeded player, after Federer and highest-ever seeded Briton in a senior event at Wimbledon.^[97] Rain meant that Murray's fourth-round match against Stanislas Wawrinka was the first match to be played entirely under Wimbledon's retractable roof, also enabling it to be the latest finishing match ever at Wimbledon. Murray's win stretched to five sets and 3 hours 56 minutes, resulting in a 22:38 finish that was approximately an hour after play is usually concluded.^[98] However Murray lost a tight semifinal to Andy Roddick, achieving his best result in the tournament to date.

Murray returned to action in Montreal, defeating del Potro in three sets to take the title.^[99] After this victory, he overtook Nadal in the rankings and held the number two position until the start of the US Open.^[100] Murray followed the Masters win playing at the Cincinnati Masters, where Federer beat him for the first time since the US Open in straight sets. At the US Open, Murray was hampered by a wrist injury and suffered a straight-sets loss to Čilić.^[101] Murray competed in the Davis Cup tie in Liverpool against Poland. Murray won both his singles matches, but lost the doubles as Britain lost the tie and was relegated to the next group. During the weekend, Murray damaged his wrist further and was forced to miss six weeks of the tour, and with it dropped to no. 4 in the world.^[102]

Murray returned to the tour in Valencia, where he won his sixth and final tournament of the year.^[103] In the final Masters event of 2009, in Paris, Murray beat James Blake in three sets, before losing to Štěpánek in three. At the World Tour Finals in London, Murray started by beating del Potro in three sets, before losing a three-set match to Federer. He won his next match against Verdasco, but because Murray, Federer, and del Potro all ended up on equal wins and sets, it came down to game percentage, and Murray lost out by a game,^[104] bringing an end to his 2009 season.

2010[link]

Murray reached his second Grand Slam Final in Australia.

Murray and Laura Robson represented Britain at the Hopman Cup. The pair progressed to the final, where they were beaten by Spain.^[105] At the Australian Open Murray progressed through his opening few matches in straight sets to set up a quarterfinal clash with the world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. Murray led by two sets and a break before the Spaniard had to retire with a torn quadriceps. Murray became the first British man to reach more than one Grand Slam final in 72 years when he defeated Marin Cilic.^[106] Murray lost the final to world no. 1 Roger Federer in straight sets.^[107]

At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Murray reached the quarterfinals. He was defeated by Robin Söderling in straight sets. Murray next played at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, but lost his first match of the tournament, afterwards he said that his mind hadn't been fully on tennis.^[108][109]

Switching attention to clay, Murray requested a wild card for Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. He suffered another first match loss, this time to Philipp Kohlschreiber. He also entered the doubles competition with Ross Hutchins and defeated world no. 10 doubles team Cermak and Meritmak, before losing to the Bryan Brothers on a champions tie-breaker. Murray then went on to reach the third round in the Rome Masters 1000, where he lost to David Ferrer in straight sets. At the Madrid Masters, he reached the quarterfinals, where he subsequently lost to Ferrer again in a closely fought battle. Murray completed his preparations for the second Grand Slam of the year by defeating Fish in an exhibition match 11–9 in a champions tie-breaker.^[110] At the French Open, Murray was drawn in the first round against Richard Gasquet. Murray battled back from two sets down to win in the final set.^[111] In the third round, Murray lost a set 0–6 against Marcos Baghdatis, something he had not done since the French Open quarterfinals the previous year.^[112] Murray lost in straight sets to Tomáš Berdych in the fourth round and credited his opponent for outplaying him.^[113][114]

Murray's next appearance was at the grass courts of London. Attempting to become the first Briton since Gordon Lowe in 1914 to defend the title successfully,^[115] Murray progressed to the third round, where he faced Mardy Fish. At 3–3 in the final set with momentum going Murray's way (Murray had just come back from 3–0 down), the match was called off for bad light, leaving Murray fuming at the umpire and tournament referee. Murray was quoted as saying he (Fish) only came off because it was 3–3.^[116] Coming back the next day, Murray was edged out by the eventual finalist in a tie-breaker for his second defeat to him in the year.^[117] In Murray's second-round match at Wimbledon, he defeated Jarkko Nieminen,^[118] a match which was viewed by Queen Elizabeth II during her first visit to the Championships since 1977.^[119] Murray lost to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals in straight sets.^[120]

On 27 July 2010, Andy Murray and his coach Maclagan split, and Murray replaced him with Àlex Corretja just before he competed in the Farmers Classic as a wild-card replacement for Novak Djoković.^[121] Murray stated that their views on his game differed wildly and that he didn't want to over-complicate things.^[122] He thanked Maclagan for his 'positive contribution' and said that they have a great relationship. Jonathan Overend, the BBC's tennis journalist, reported that the split happened over Maclagan's annoyance at what he saw as Corretja's increasing involvement in Murray's coaching. But Murray had no intention of sacking him,^[123] despite the press report that Murray was ready to replace him with Andre Agassi's former coach Darren Cahill.^[124]

Starting the US hard-court season with the 2010 Farmers Classic, Murray reached the final. During Murray's semifinal win against Feliciano López,^[125] whilst commentating for ESPN, Cahill appeared to rule himself out of becoming Murray's next coach.^[126] In Murray's first final since the Australian Open, he lost against Sam Querrey in three sets This was his first loss to Querrey in five career meetings and the first time he had lost a set against the American.^[127] In Canada, Murray successfully defended a Masters title for the first time. He became the first player since Andre Agassi in 1995 to defend the Canadian Masters. Murray also became the fifth player to defeat Rafael Nadal (the fifth occasion that Murray has beaten the player ranked world no. 1) and Roger Federer (Murray had achieved this previously at the unofficial 2009 Capitala World Tennis Championship exhibition) in the same tournament. Murray defeated Nadal and Federer in straight sets. This ended his title drought dating back to November 2009.^[128][129] At the Cincinnati Masters, Murray complained about the speed of the court after his first match.^[130] Before his quarterfinal match with Fish, Murray complained that the organisers refused to put the match on later in the day. Murray had played his two previous matches at midday, and all his matches in Toronto between 12 and 3 pm.^[131]

The reason given for turning down Murray's request was that Fish was playing doubles. Murray had no option but to play at midday again, with temperatures reaching 33°C in the shade. Murray won the first set on a tie-breaker, but after going inside for a toilet break, he began to feel ill. The doctor was called on court to actively cool Murray down. Murray admitted after the match that he had considered retiring. He lost the second set, but forced a final-set tie-breaker, before Fish won.^[132] At the US Open, Murray played Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round. Murray bowed out of the tournament, losing in four sets.^[133] However, questions about Murray's conditioning arose, as he called the trainer out twice during the match.^[134]

His next event was the China Open in Beijing, where Murray reached the quarterfinals, losing to Ivan Ljubičić.^[135] At the Shanghai Rolex Masters, Murray reached his seventh Masters Series final.^[136] There, he faced Roger Federer and dismissed the Swiss player in straight sets.^[137] He did not drop a single set throughout the event, taking only his second title of the year and his sixth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title. Murray returned to Spain to defend his title at the Valencia Open 500 but lost in the second round to Juan Mónaco.^[138] However in doubles, Murray partnered his brother Jamie Murray to the final, where they defeated Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi. The victory was Murray's first doubles title and the second time he had reached a final with his brother.^[139][140] Murray reached the quarter finals at the BNP Paribas Masters losing to Gaël Monfils in three sets.^[141] Combined with his exit and Söderling's taking the title, Murray found himself pushed down a spot in the rankings, down to no. 5 from no. 4.^[142] At the Tour finals in London, Murray opened with a straight-sets victory over Söderling.^[143] In Murray's second round-robin match, he faced Federer, whom he had beaten in their last two meetings. On this occasion, however, Murray suffered a straight-sets defeat.^[144] Murray then faced David Ferrer in his last group match. Murray lost the first two games, but came back to take six in a row to win the set 6–2 and to qualify for the semifinals. Murray closed out the match with a 6–2 second set to finish the group stage with a win,^[145] before facing Nadal in the semifinal. They battled for over three hours, before Murray fell to the Spaniard in a final-set tie-breaker, bringing an end to his season.^[146]

2011[link]

Murray started 2011 by playing alongside fellow Brit Laura Robson in the 2011 Hopman Cup. They did not make it past the round-robin stage, losing all three ties against Italy, France, and the USA. Despite losing all three ties, Murray won all of his singles matches. He beat Potito Starace, Nicolas Mahut, and John Isner . Murray, along with other stars such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djoković, participated in the Rally for Relief event to help raise money for the flood victims in Queensland.^[147]

Murray reached his second Australian Open final.

Seeded fifth in the Australian Open, Murray met former champion Novak Djoković in the final and was defeated in straight sets. Murray made a quick return, participating at Rotterdam. He was defeated by Marcos Baghdatis in the first round.^[148] Murray reached the semifinals of the doubles tournament with his brother Jamie. Murray lost in the first round at the Masters Series events at Indian Wells and Miami. Murray lost to American qualifiers Donald Young and Alex Bogomolov Jr. respectivly. After Miami, Murray split with Àlex Corretja, who was his coach at the time.^[149]

Murray made a return to form at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, where he faced Nadal in the semifinals. Murray sustained an elbow injury before the match but put up a battle losing to the Spaniard after nearly three hours.^[150] Murray subsequently withdrew from the 2011 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell due to the injury.^[151] Murray played at the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where he was then beaten in the third round by Thomaz Bellucci.^[152] After Madrid, Murray proceeded to the Rome Masters where he lost in the semifinals against Novak Djoković.^{[citation needed]} At the 2011 French Open, Murray twisted his ankle during his third round match with Berrer and looked like he may have to withdraw but limped round to with the match.^[153] However Murray carried on and battled back from two sets down against Troicki in the fourth round. A ball boy inadvertantly interfered with play at a start of a game and eventually found Murray found himself broken and 5–2 down before recovering to win the set.^[154] Murray lost in the his first semifinal at Roland Garros, against Rafael Nadal.^[155]

Murray defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, to win his second Queen's Club title..^[156] At Wimbledon, Murray lost in the semifinal to Nadal, despite taking the first set.^[157] At the Davis Cup tie between Great Britain and Luxembourg, Murray lead the British team to victory.^[158]

Murray was the two-time defending 2011 Rogers Cup champion, but lost his first match in the second round, to South African Kevin Anderson.^[159] However, the following week, he won the 2011 Western & Southern Open, beating Novak Djoković, 6–4, 3–0 (ret), after Djokovic retired due to injury.^{[citation needed]} At the 2011 US Open, Murray defeated Somdev Devvarman in straights sets in the first round, and battled from two sets down to win a five set encounter 6–7, 2–6, 6–2, 6–0, 6–4 with Robin Haase. He then defeated Feliciano López and Donald Young in straight sets in the third and fourth round. He then fought out a four set encounter with American giant John Isner 7–5, 6–4, 3–6, 7–6. He reached the semi-finals for a third time in a row this year, but again lost to Rafael Nadal in four sets 4–6, 2–6, 6–3, 2–6.

His next tournament was the Thailand Open, Murray went on to win the tournament defeating Donald Young 6–2, 6–0 in 48 minutes. He only dropped one set all tournament. The following week he won his third title in four tournaments by winning the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships. His opponent in the final was Rafael Nadal who he beat for the first time in the year by winning in three sets 3–6, 6–2, 6–0. Murray dropped only four points in the final set. He then completed his domination in Tokyo by winning the doubles partnering brother Jamie Murray defeating František Čermák and Filip Polášek 6–1, 6–4. This is his second doubles title and with this victory, he became the first person in the 2011 season to capture both singles and doubles titles at the same tournament. Murray then successfully defended his Shanghai Masters crown with a straight sets victory over David Ferrer in the final 7–5, 6–4.

The defence of the title meant he overtook Roger Federer in ranking points and moved up to no. 3 in the world. At the ATP World Tour Finals, Murray lost to David Ferrer in straight sets, 4–6, 5–7, and withdraw from the tournament after the loss with a groin pull. With the early loss and withdrawal from the tournament and with Roger Federer winning the title, Murray dropped one position back in the rankings to end the year as no. 4 in the world behind Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.

2012[link]

Murray started the season once again ranked world no. 4 and appointed former world no. 1 Ivan Lendl as his new full-time coach.^[160] He began the season by playing in the 2012 Brisbane International for the first time as the top seed in singles. He also played doubles with Marcos Baghdatis.^[161] He overcame a slow start in his first two matches to win his 22nd title by beating Alexandr Dolgopolov, 6–1, 6–3 in the final.^[162] In doubles, he lost in the quarterfinals against second seeds Jürgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner in a tight match which ended 6–3, 3–6, 13–15.^{[citation needed]}

In the week prior to the Australian Open, Murray appeared in a one-off exhibition match against David Nalbandian at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, home of the unofficial AAMI Classic. Murray emerged victorious, defeating Nalbandian, 6–3, 7–6, after coming from a break down in the second set.^[163] At the Australian Open, Murray started off with a 4-set win against Ryan Harrison. In the second round, he beat Édouard Roger-Vasselin in three sets, and in the third round, he beat Michaël Llodra, also in three sets, to proceed to the last sixteen.^[164] Murray went on to beat Mikhail Kukushkin in the fourth round, 6–1, 6–1, 1–0 (ret), after his opponent retired due to the searing heat in Melbourne. Murray also beat Kei Nishikori in straight sets in the quarterfinals. Murray played a 4 hour and 50 minute semifinal match against Novak Djokovic, but was defeated, 3–6, 6–3, 7–6, 1–6, 5–7.^[165]

At the Dubai Open, Murray defeated Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, 6–2, 7–5,^[166] but lost in the final to Roger Federer, 5–7, 4–6.^[167] At the 2012 BNP Paribas Open, Murray lost his opening second-round match to Spanish qualifier Guillermo García López, in straight sets, 4–6, 2–6. This was the second successive time that Murray had lost his opening match at the event.^[168] Following Indian Wells, Murray made the finals of the Miami Masters, losing to Novak Djokovic, 1–6, 6–7.^[169]

In Rome, he was eliminated in the third round by Richard Gasquet, 7–6(1), 3–6, 2–6.

Major tournaments[link]

Grand Slam finals[link]

Singles: 3 (0–3)[link]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	2008	US Open	Hard	Roger Federer	2–6, 5–7, 2–6
Runner-up	2010	Australian Open	Hard	Roger Federer	3–6, 4–6, 6–7(11–13)
Runner-up	2011	Australian Open (2)	Hard	Novak Djokovic	4–6, 2–6, 3–6

Career statistics[link]

Key

Won tournament, or reached Final, Semifinal, Quarterfinal, Round 4, 3, 2, 1, played in Round Robin or lost in Qualification Round 3, Round 2, Round 1, Absent from a tournament or Participated in a team event, played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off, won a bronze or silver match at the Olympics. The last is for a Masters Series/1000 tournament that was relegated (Not a Masters Series). This table is current through to the 2012 Australian Open.

Playing style and equipment[link]

Murray is best described as a defensive counter-puncher;^[170] professional tennis coach Paul Annacone stated that Murray "may be the best counterpuncher on tour today."^[171] His strengths include groundstrokes with low error rate, the ability to anticipate and react, and his transition from defence to offence with speed, which enables him to hit winners from defensive positions. His playing style has been likened to that of Miloslav Mečíř.^[172] Murray's tactics usually involve passive exchanges from the baseline, usually waiting for an unforced error. However, Murray has been criticised for his generally passive style of play and lack of offensive weapons, prompting some to call him a pusher.^[173] He is capable of injecting sudden pace to his groundstrokes to surprise his opponents who are used to the slow rally. Murray is also one of the top returners in the game, often able to block back fast serves with his excellent reach and uncanny ability to anticipate. For this reason, Murray is rarely aced.^[174] Murray is also known for being one of the most intelligent tacticians on the court, often constructing points.^[175][176] Murray is most proficient on a fast surface (such as hard courts),^[177] although he has worked hard since 2008 on improving his clay court game.^[178]

Early in his career, most of his main tour wins came on hard courts. However, he claimed to prefer clay courts,^[179][180] because of his training in Barcelona as a junior player.^[181]

Murray is sponsored by Head and plays the YOUTEK Radical Pro with a Prestige grommet. He wore Fred Perry apparel until early 2010, when he signed a five-year £10m contract with adidas. This includes wearing their range of tennis shoe.^[182]

Image[link]

National identity[link]

Murray identifies himself as Scottish and British.^[183][184] Prior to Wimbledon 2006, Murray caused some public debate when he was quoted as saying he would "support anyone but England" at the 2006 World Cup.^[185] He received large amounts of hate mail on his website as a result.^[186] It was also reported that Murray had worn a Paraguay shirt on the day of England's World Cup match with the South American team.^[185]

Murray explained that his comments were said in jest during a light-hearted interview with sports columnist Maurice Russo,^[187] who asked him if he would be supporting Scotland in the World Cup, in the knowledge that Scotland had failed to qualify for the tournament.^[188] Sports journalist Des Kelly wrote that another tabloid had later "lifted a couple of [the comments] into a 'story' that took on a life of its own and from there the truth was lost" and that he despaired over the "nonsensical criticism".^[189]

Murray protested that he is "not anti-English and never was"^[183] and he expressed disappointment over England's subsequent elimination by Portugal.^[190] In an interview with Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live, Tim Henman confirmed that the remarks had been made in jest and were only in response to Murray being teased by Kelly^[187] and Henman.^[191] He also stated that the rumour that Murray had worn a Paraguay shirt was untrue.^[191]

In an interview with Gabby Logan for the BBC's Inside Sport programme, Murray said that he was both Scottish and British and was comfortable and happy with his British identity.^[192] He said he saw no conflict between the two and was equally proud of them. He has also pointed out that he is quarter English with some of his family originating from Newcastle, and that his girlfriend, Kim Sears, is English.^[193]

Other incidents[link]

In 2006 Murray caused an uproar during a match between him and Kenneth Carlsen. Murray was first given a warning for racket abuse then he stated that he and Carlsen had "played like women" during the first set.^[194] Murray was heavily booed for the remainder of the interview, but explained later that the comment was in jest to what Svetlana Kuznetsova had said at the Hopman Cup.^[195] A few months later Murray was fined $2,500 for swearing at the umpire during a Davis Cup doubles rubber with Serbia and Montenegro. Murray refused to shake hands with the umpire at the end of the match.^[196]

In 2007 Murray suggested that tennis had a match fixing problem, stating that everyone knows it goes on,^[197] in the wake of the investigation surrounding Nikolay Davydenko.^[198] Both Davydenko and Rafael Nadal questioned his comments, but Murray responded that his words had been taken out of context.^[199]

In 2008, Murray withdrew from a Davis Cup tie, leading his brother to question his heart for the competition.^{[200][dead link]}

See also[link]

See more Wikipedia articles related to this topic.

References[link]