[Ruthie]

I don't read the torygraph tj but do recall around Wimbledon time Simon Briggs was writing really positive pieces about Andy - or is he one of those fairweather journalist friends?

[Ruthie]

well to be fair it's not usually the journalist who writes the headline I think but the subeditor - who will know even less about tennis

[Ruthie]

I agree about the article tj though it wasn't Briggs who wrote it.  I must have missed the negative pieces by Briggs.  I sometimes think that with Neil Harman but he did redeem himself when he wrote after Wimbledon that when Andy clenched his fists at the press box he clenched his backs and would no doubt lose his press card.  Made me think that he really does support Andy but of course journalists can't be open fans like us.

[The Gnome]

Murray Reveals Dream Match-Up

Andy Murray considers himself lucky to have faced off against a lot of greats during his career, but names Andre Agassi as the one person he wishes he could've played.
 
Murray turned pro in 2005, just one year before Agassi stepped into retirement, and the closest he got to facing the American was when they were drawn into the same quarter of the 2006 Washington tournament.
 
"I've been pretty fortunate to have got to compete with the guys that are around just now and will go down as being some of the best players that have ever played the game, so I've been lucky in that respect," Murray said on Monday in Cincinnati. 

"Getting to play Tim Henman was great. I would have loved to play Agassi. That was one player I didn't get to play. When I was growing up, I loved watching him play. I did get to practise with him a few times, but that was one guy I would have liked to play against."
 
Murray is looking to match Agassi's haul of three Western & Southern Open titles, and this week opens against the winner of the first-round match between Ernests Gulbis and Mikhail Youzhny. Gulbis defeated Murray last week in Montreal, in the British No. 1's first tournament since winning the Wimbledon title.

The Scot shared that he took a short holiday in the Bahamas following his Wimbledon triumph, and then returned to Miami to focus on his summer hard-court campaign.
 
"That was when you start forgetting about what happened at Wimbledon and concentrating on what you need to do to get ready for the hard-court season and the US Open," he said. "It was a very busy few days after Wimbledon. It was a little bit different to what I'm used to, but once the first few days were done, went back to normal and got back to training."
 
But the new 'normal' for Murray also comes with more fame. He acknowledged that he isn't immune from the spotlight even when he's away from Great Britain. "It depends really on the cities. When I'm in Miami, there's a lot of South Americans there. They love tennis there, so you know I get recognised a lot there."
 

[teejay1]

It's a shame Andy never got to play Agassi. I wonder how they would have matched up if they had met.

I can't see Andy changing however many slams he wins in the future. He's down to earth and natural, which I find refreshing.

[Caz]

^ Now that's interesting!  Thanks SM!

[snorkel.maiden]

I don't really care how well he does this week. An early exit gives him prep time and clearly did him no harm at all last year for the USO. A win might give him a boost, as Queen's did before Wimbledon (and he faced some pretty tough opponents there). So either way I won't read too much into it.

[Ruthie]

really great interview mp -many thanks for posting.  What I found very interesting was that it's the first interview I think I've read where Andy is being interviewed as a kind of ambassador of tennis as much as about his own game.  Sweet for a Brit to be asked to comment on weakness of American men's game!  And isn't it wonderful to read him being introduced as reigning USO and W champion.   Thought Andy's answers were very thoughtful.  Very honest what he said about feeling a loser until he won a slam despite winning masters etc - perhaps that is also why he still places so much emphasis on slams. And interesting how he ranks his different big wins - USO, Olympics and Wimbledon.