MUCH as I would like to see a Brit win the Wimbledon men’s singles title, the Murray misery mob are not my type of heroes.
Yes, despite the fact I live in Spain, I was delighted when Rafa Nadal's exit opened the way for the Scottish sourpuss to go all way. And I felt for beaten Andy as he choked out that emotional Centre Court apology for losing last Sunday’s final.
But I switched to Federer’s side after it became apparent that the Murray entourage was shrouded in a grey cloud of depression. Even after he had won the first set.
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| Judy Murray...po-faced intensity |
Ever-dour Andy presumably inherited his semi-permanent sulk from his mum Judy, whose po-faced intensity frightened the life out of me every time the cameras focused on the old battle-axe .
And even Posh Spice’s pouted posturing was a more attractive alternative to the Scots racketeer’s expressionless girlfriend Kim Sears. To top it all we had to endure the mask-like mush of Ivan Lendl, the most miserable Grand Slam champion of all time, glaring across the court .
It was inevitable, then, that a big black cloud would bring the roof down on the Scottish sourpuss’s day. With the rain came the sun...in the form of the ever-pleasant Roger Federer and the irresistible tennis that permanently keeps the Swiss Master ahead of Murray in the world rankings.
Touching as the sour Scot’s on-court concession speech was, I found myself immersed in the smiles and waves of the Federer family. They may hail from another country but I felt as if I belonged in their world rather than Murray’s.
Give me the beaming faces of the Duchess of Cambridge and her sister Pippa savouring the action any day.
Or better still, the unbridled joy of Yorkshireman Jonny Marray (almost a Murray!) at becoming men’s doubles champion.
The 31-year-old Yorkshireman did what Murray didn’t – and you can be sure he’d also have compensated with a big smile even if he had lost.
Published in The Courier (www.thecourier.es) July 6, 2012
