Tennis is a funny old game. Supporting Andy Murray over the years has certainly accounted for at least a few of the spatterings of grey hairs on my head. Even at the sharp end in the majors and at the Olympics, sometimes the super-human effort involved in five-set matches played over several high-intensity hours can make a mere mortal used to marvelling at their own 5km running feats on Strava feel, well, very human.
Aside from the strawberries, cream and Pimms, there is awhole range of emotions: the ups, the downs, the sideways, back and forths; frontrunning and comebacks involving tantrums, smashed racquets, berating the player’s box, remonstrating with the rowdier spectators; no shortage of audacious skill and maybe a few too many unforced errors – and that’s just in a single point where Murrayis concerned.
At times, Murray has looked dead and buried on court only to summon seemingly miraculous powers of recovery. Take yesterday’s marathon match at the Australian Open against home player Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round. After losing the tiebreak in the second set to go 2-0 down, you’d have forgiven 35-year-old Murray, who has had two hip resurfacing operations, for grabbing the old Head holdall and heading for an early bath.
