Andy Murray in High Spirits Ahead of Grand Slam Double-Header
They say that behind every good man there’s a good woman, and in Andy Murray’s case that certainly seems to be true.
The Scottish star married his long-term partner Kim Sears in April in a ceremony in his hometown of Dunblane.
The holy matrimony has coincided with Murray’s best ever form on clay, and not content with picking up his first ever trophy on the surface in April’s Munich Open, he followed that up with victory in the recent Madrid Masters too – dismantling Rafael Nadal, one of the game’s greatest ever players on clay, in straight sets.
It was a victory that saw the world number three’s odds of winning the French Open slashed by the bookmakers.
To celebrate, Murray was captured scrawling ‘marriage works’ on a TV camera, and even his mum Judy – a renowned tennis coach in her own right, has been quoted as saying that her son is playing ‘the best tennis of his life' at the moment.
Grand Slam Goal
So whether putting a ring on it has helped take Murray’s game to the next level, or whether it is because he is finally free of the niggling back injury that he had surgery on at the tail-end of 2014, the signs are good heading into May and June’s Grand Slam double-header.
The 28-year-old has hardly had the best record at Roland Garros – with just a handful of semi-final and quarter-final appearances to his name – but his clay court game seems to be hitting its stride at just the right time.
Whether the new Mrs Murray has had anything to do with that is anyone’s guess, but it’s fair to say that the Scot isn’t a natural clay court specialist. Standing at a gangly 6ft 3in, he doesn’t have the hustle and agility of other players with a lower centre of gravity, which puts him at a distinct disadvantage.
But one thing he does have at the moment is a winning touch – and that cannot be overlooked.
Domestic Bliss
One surface that Murray prospers on is grass, and that is never more evident that his dominant performances on the hallowed turf of the All England Club.
The Scot is never short of support in his native Grand Slam event, and in his last seven appearances at the event he has progressed to the last eight at least each and every time.
And who can forget when he lifted the famous trophy in 2013 – the first Brit to do so since Fred Perry in 1936.
If he can continue his current run of good form, there is absolutely no reason why Andy Murray cannot be crowned Wimbledon champion for a second time.
