[Ruthie]

well how sad that anyone should define themselves as an andy hater - says it all really and now i think we should ignore the little scumbag

[jsantackas]

You played an awesome tourament, continued success and you'll be winning majors soon.

[Naomi_Parker]

Hi guys and thanks for the welcome I received.

I'm posting the following...which I replied to on MSN...though I don't often post on there, couldn't ignore what some of the posters were saying replying to an article with the heading...

Andy Murray: a hero, if not a champion

First the above article is fairer than some so thank you.  Andy didn't lose anything at all...you can't lose something you never had in the first place!

He gained far more than anyone on here realises...but I'm sure he does.  He reached the final...gain...he believed for awhile he was as good as Federer...which he is...gain...though some people are forgetting the stats between these two...before the final...8-7 to Murray.

I don't know if the occasion got to him (he maybe thought all the support would go to Federer, it didn't) but I think the support he received got to him and he crumbled because he was overwhelmed.  When you persistently get negative feedback by the media etc you begin to expect it and deal with it accordingly...what he wasn't expecting...I'm pretty sure... was the support of so many, win or lose.  Under those circumstances I would have crumbled too.

Andy is resilient when it comes to negativity...he's learnt to overcome that.

He is obviously a sensitive guy who has tried his best to hide it...probably so he wouldn't be taken advantage of.  Here he has gained again...showing your vulnerabilities is harder than any tennis match he could be in.  Because now his wall has come down he can deal with that now.  All his demons are gone and he is going to come back so so strong the world of tennis won't know what's hit them.

Andy Murray - Braveheart 

[Naomi_Parker]

 Hi Deb, thanks for the welcome  .  I knew I shouldn't have read the posts, saw the article after signing out of email...I try not to respond to MSN but erm it kind of got the better of me eek!

Anyway,  waving backatcha Deb can't find the little man lol  ooo I better go and have my lunch...a very late one.

[tamila]

This article should be splashed across all the newspapers.  It is brilliant.

[teejay1]

The problem with Andy, I always think, is that he is from a country that really only embraces tennis for two weeks, or rather three, a year, i.e. for Queen's and Wimbledon, so people don't see what he does and how hard he works all the time. I think in terms of his tennis he is very often criticised by people who only watch it during Queen's and Wimbledon, who don't really understand the sport and can't see how Andy's game is developing right in front of our eyes. For example, this year Andy got to his first Wimbledon final. Now sure, he didn't win, but he fought so hard, didn't back down and didn't stand and give the match away. He took his first set in a major final over a player who up to that moment had won 16 majors, six at Wimbledon. Taking that set, the way Andy stood up to Federer, is such a massive step in the right direction for him, but all certain people can see is that he lost 3 sets to 1.

I think people are lazy as well, blindly accepting of some of the stuff the media has perpetuated about him, i.e. that he is miserable, boring, not to mention that terrible 'racist' slur that has somehow stuck and taken on a life of its own. I've lost count of the number of times I've told people, including my own brother, that it was a joke, but they just won't have it. I hope Andy has learned not to care.

I really do think Andy does incredibly well to keep his head, especially at this time of the year, when he effectively becomes the whipping boy for British tennis. The expectation Andy has to carry is phenomenal. The way that John McEnroe even acknowledges the level of pressure Andy is subjected to says it all.

I do feel though that something has changed now. I must admit that at the end of the match on Sunday I was momentarily a bit cross with Sue Barker for making Andy aware that he hadn't always been embraced, or words to that effect, by tennis fans, I felt it was the wrong time to say something like that to him, but I'm sure he is well aware of what people think. But I do think in playing as he did on Sunday, in fighting every step of the way with Federer, and then in showing that crowd his feelings so openly, people saw the real Andy Murray, rather than the one the media perpetuates. I really do think he will have gained a lot of support as a result.

I must say that personally I would rather have Andy's honesty, his obvious emotions, providing of course they don't boil over to too much frustration when he is playing, which can be a negative thing for him, and also Andy's dry wit, than all Federer's showy media patter. For my money it makes Andy seem more real.

[Naomi_Parker]

Let's try a little satire of our own..

Me: Hi Andy

Andy: Hi Naomi

Me: Your smiling and joking, you know they won't like that.

Andy: Why not?

Me: Well they'll say you're not taking the game seriously.

Andy drops bottom lip and scowls

Me: They won't like that either.

Andy: Why not?

Me: They'll say you're a drama queen.

Andy Laughs profusely...

Me: They won't like you doing that either.

Andy: Why not?

Me: They'll say you're taking the Mickey

(Sorry Mickey)

Andy gets angry...

Me: They definitely won't like that!

Andy: Why not!

Me: They'll accuse you of spitting your dummy out!

Andy relaxes and shrugs his shoulders...

Andy: What can I do then?

Me: Listen my little cherub *gives him a motherly hug* you can be your fantastic self to those who like and love you (and there is many who do) and to the others...well they should just get a life and check out there own stuff.

Andy: What do you mean...own stuff?

Me: They're projecting hun...they need our sympathy.