Tennis icon Sir Andy Murray says he regrets not playing in Scotland more often during his illustrious career.
The three-time grand slam and double Olympic gold medal-winner took part in Battle of the Brits – Scotland v England at P&J Live in Aberdeen on Wednesday and Thursday.
Although Team England had already secured the bragging rights by the closing rubber of the three-session, six-match showdown, it didn’t make Sir Andy and Jamie Murray’s straight-sets doubles victory for the Scots against Neal Skupski and Dan Evans any less special, for the veteran brothers or the raucous 7,000-strong crowd backing them.
The event was the first time the now-veteran Murrays had played in Aberdeen since 2006.
While Sir Andy, 35, has secured his place as the nation’s greatest sportsperson over the last 15 years and is an icon to his fans on these shores, his Granite City visit followed just a handful of exhibitions and Davis Cup appearances in Scotland’s central belt during the golden years of his career.
He said: “Me and Jamie, and my mum, have spoken at times about trying to put on events in Scotland – whether that was a tour event or an event like this.
“I sort of regret not doing this a little bit sooner in our careers, or maybe trying to do it more.
“But this event has happened because of Jamie. There was a big team behind him helping him, but it was because he wanted to do it – and he’s had to work extremely hard to put it on and it’s his drive and passion to do it that’s carried it off.
“Like I say, I wish we’d done more of it during our career, but it’s also taken Jamie a lot of work to put it on, so it wouldn’t have been easy for us to do it more, unless someone else was putting the event on or doing that sort of work.
“I hope we can do it more in the future together and it becomes a more permanent fixture on our calendar.
“A lot of the guys who are here would like to do it as well, as a way of giving back, too.”
The hint of further Scottish playing appearances going forward will be music to the ears of fans, with a big portion of the Aberdeen crowd hanging back for close to an hour after Thursday’s finale to get autographs and pictures with Sir Andy and Jamie, as well as, to a lesser extent, the rest of the Scotland and England players.
Jamie Murray’s chilled Christmas after Battle of the Brits dual-role
Both Murrays looked exhausted by the time it came to final media duties, with Sir Andy playing in all three sessions across the two days and Jamie playing matches in both the afternoon and evening on Thursday.
Jamie’s energy had also been sapped by his other role as Battle of the Brits tournament director.
The 36-year-old said his week in Aberdeen had been “a lot of work”, and he was looking forward to Christmas back in Dunblane with the family, where he could “catch up on some sleep”.
Ended on a high for Team Scotland but not to be overall. Cheers to the guys for making this event competitive, was special to play in Scotland 🏴 @BattleofTheBrit pic.twitter.com/gh86GOoKJQ
— Jamie Murray (@jamie_murray) December 22, 2022
At the end of Battle of the Brits – Scotland v England, the question of whether the now-veteran Murrays will actually ever play in front of a Scottish crowd again, together or individually, loomed large.
Earlier on Thursday, with his organisational hat on, Jamie said there was “no reason” he would not take live tennis back to Aberdeen in the future.
And, with his playing hat on, like his younger brother, he wasn’t quite ready to close the door and say the poignant doubles victory in the Granite City would be their last outing in Scotland, adding: “If it is, it was really special for us to get the chance to do it.
“Playing doubles together at the end there was really nice and who knows what the future holds.”
Murrays feel ‘very fortunate’ to experience event in Aberdeen
Both brothers – who will be in Australia in January for the start of their respective 2023 seasons – were delighted with how they played together in their doubles match and hailed the Aberdeen crowd for their part in Battle of the Brits – Scotland v England.
Jamie said: “It wasn’t the result the team wanted, but I think it was a successful couple of days.
“People seemed to enjoy themselves, we’ve had a lot of good feedback, and the players had a good time, got a lot out of the two days, got a chance to compete and have some fun as well, play in front of a lot of people.
“Everyone seemed to be right into it, so I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Sir Andy said: “To play with Jamie again was brilliant. I actually thought we played well and gelled very quickly as a team, and it’s quite natural for us to play together, we know each other’s games and we can play off instinct quite a lot.
“I know what to expect from him. I know where he wants to hit the ball, when he’s going to move to the net and things like that, so it’s always good to play with him.”
The 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon champion added: “I’m very proud we were able to come and pretty much sell out three sessions in a couple of days.
“With everything that’s been going on as well, it’s not an easy time for people, but I hope the ones that came we were able to give them some joy, entertainment, happiness and everything.
“I felt very fortunate we were able to do that.”
Conversation