Wimbledon - Murray-mania heats up

Eurosport - Thu, 02 Jul 13:09:00 2009

It was standing room only on Wimbledon's Henman Hill as thousands of fans gathered to watch Andy Murray waltz past Juan Carlos Ferrero to book his place in the semi-finals.

2009 Wimbledon Andy Murray signs autographs - 0

The Murray-mania started early, as those who pitched up first thing to secure a spot on the grassy knoll overlooking Court One were treated to highlights of the 22-year-old's marathon Monday night fourth-round match on the big screen.

Many then headed down to the practice courts, showering the world number three with cries of "We love you Andy" as he knocked the ball about with his coach in preparation for the afternoon clash with the world number 70.

Murray, who has received messages of encouragement from Queen Elizabeth, former James Bond actor and fellow Scot Sean Connery and crooner Cliff Richard, was unfazed by the hype surrounding his progress.

"It doesn't make any difference to the way you perform, the hype," he told reporters.

"If you work in the media and spend a lot of time reading the papers, watching everything on the TV...then you get caught up in it. If you ignore it you don't realise it's happening.

"I just stay away from it," he added before casually shrugging off the fact that he had been cheered on by Oscar-winning British actress Kate Winslet on Centre Court on Wednesday.

By the time the much anticipated match began, thousands of people were settled on the grass for the afternoon, sipping glasses of Pimm's as others jostled to find a perch from which to watch Murray continue his quest for the Wimbledon crown.

The hill was given its nickname in fond tribute to Tim Henman -- who many had hoped would end a drought at Wimbledon which has not seen a British men's singles winner since Fred Perry in 1936 -- but some have now begun to call Murray Mound.

Comments such as "we're never going to find a spot" and "I told you it would be packed" could be heard from people trudging past, desperately scanning the crowds for even the smallest gap.

Girls with "I love Murray" written on their faces sheltered under umbrellas as the searing afternoon heat beat down on the hill and people fanned themselves with programmes in an attempt to keep cool.

The crowd, dotted with Union Jack hats and flags, cheered at every point Murray won, erupting into rapturous applause he broke his opponent to take the first set.

"We were standing on our tiptoes," said Natasha Birnie, a 26-year-old teacher from London. "It is a fantastic atmosphere, very exciting."

As Murray won the second set the shouts of "Come on Andy" grew louder and at match point in the third, a Mexican wave rippled through the cheering crowd.

It was not long before he answered their call and as Ferrero hit a forehand long to hand Murray a place in his first Wimbledon semi-final, the crowd exploded.

Jumping up and down, they chanted "Murray, Murray" with huge grins on their faces.

"It is brilliant, you can't beat it," said Debbie Grantham from Canterbury in Kent. "I watched the whole match here, everybody was cheering."

Reuters

Comment 98 - 117 of 117

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  1. just a word of caution for murray fans, i think the­ hype is getting out of hand roddick is a quality player­ and would have won this title but for fed .
    and again­ were does this english love come for a scot

    From james t, on Fri 3 Jul 6:03PM

  2. HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS TO AMAZING ANDY MURRAY FOR MOST­ WELCOME SUCCESS

    HE HAS ~~~~CERTAINLY MADE­ MILLIONS OF SUPPORTERS VERY HAPPY

    ON HENMAN HILL­ YESTERDAY WE HAD TO STAND & WATCH BIG SCREEN ~~ NO­ SEATING LEFT ..!

    THE SPECTATORS RESPECT HIM LIKE ONE­ OF THEIR OWN FAMILY ~~ WISHING HIM GOOD FORTUNE

    From ace.firstserve, on Fri 3 Jul 10:44AM

  3. he`ll get pwn by Federer... :)

    From Diablo, on Fri 3 Jul 8:13AM

  4. I couldn't agree with u Nenado-comment 117, Its­ gonna be tough in the semi final for Murray...atleast­ Roddick has tasted a win of grandslam and will fight to­ the end to reach the final....and if Murray goes to the­ final...FED is gonna fry some MUrray fish if not all.­ Go Roddick .....Go Federer

    From Immac Reno, on Fri 3 Jul 7:19AM
  5. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    MY ROGER IS WAITING FOR YOU CHICKEN MURRAY...YOUR HEART­ IS NOT ENOUGH BRAVE FOR MATCH WITH KING...

    From nenado f, on Fri 3 Jul 7:10AM

  6. dave i didnt say murray was english i said i dont care­ where in great britian he is from i support him cos he­ is british

    From John N, on Fri 3 Jul 6:37AM

  7. come on murry all the way son ,!! needs to put some­ weight on tho ,still a bit skinny and lacks power in­ his ground strokes.but his very skillful and has all­ the shots in the book, one day he will be the number­ one when he adds 1 stone of of muscle to his body.

    From neil s, on Fri 3 Jul 6:29AM

  8. Hello it's Ra Cornelius from the planet of the­ Apes, we would like Murray very match but it just­ against the wireless mouse evolution( wich we support­ fully), as the scott Murray still tie to England you­ know what I mean..wet treat Rats very good hier they­ dont ride the horses like monky do in de film but we­ are working on it plus they live the de dignity of­ Wireless(Freedom)

    From Ra, on Fri 3 Jul 6:28AM

  9. They showed the entire match of Fed's - what more­ do you want? They are covering everything. As far as­ highlights are concerned - there weren't many!!!­ Ace after ace after ace...the odd volley! Maybe the­ only highlights were Fed's break of service -­ doesn't take up much TV viewing. Boring match. I­ didn't watch the highlights as saw the real deal­ live.

    From wendy, on Fri 3 Jul 6:26AM

  10. On the BBC highlights tonight they said Federer and­ Haas would play first tomorrow before the main event.­ In my opinion, tennis wise they are the main event. The­ BBC is getting carried away with the hype. Last night­ we only saw a few strokes of Feds match, most of the­ time it was Murray with the wild card ranked74 in the­ world. Shouldn't they have an obligation to at­ least give parity to someone of Feds stature? No­ chance.

    From LD, on Fri 3 Jul 6:16AM

  11. oh Hi Colin H! Hope you're well. I see your­ internet connection is still up and running....

    Great­ match Andy Murray - you don't seem to suffer from­ nerves..unbelievable...one more to go and then I can­ relax for the final

    From wendy, on Fri 3 Jul 6:15AM

  12. good muscle definition and body comp, he deserves his­ success. His muscles are well honed and tight. He is­ playing well which is largely down to his glute and ham­ development. Well done andy, great quads.

    From Daniel, on Fri 3 Jul 5:45AM

  13. taxi for the little brat robson

    From stefi grafs ex, on Fri 3 Jul 4:31AM

  14. how fun it would be if Scotland had its own Davis cup­ team!!!! i hate to see the Britannia flag by the andy­ Murray's name...

    From woleknation, on Fri 3 Jul 4:04AM
  15. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    The only thing I can say is: Murray is already such a­ hateful player,bad mannered,arrogant and extremely­ unpleasant,grumpy, talking to ballboys like s h i t­ ...If he was to win the title,OMG,he will be even­ worse,bigheaded like never before.That's a pity­ because as a former resident of London(which I love)I­ would have been delighted to see one of your brits guys­ win wimbledon on Sunday,but Murray makes me sick,I­ would be gutted to be represented bu s.o like that­ slappy bloke.I'm sorry guys but I'll be 100%­ behind A-Rod.

    From hadjeseles, on Fri 3 Jul 3:14AM

  16. Clispy I cheer for your Murray to beat Federer, because­ I think he is the future of tennis together with my­ Novak and Nadal, and maybe a few others..he si­ currently doing better on top list ;-) but what will be­ at the end, time will show ! He is definitely not more­ talented and attractive then Novak ,sorry ! But he has­ tremendous defensive skills and overall stability,­ maybe even better then Nadal.. that is the fact ! And­ from beginning of this Wimbledon I see him as a winner,­ because he will not drop under pressure I think.. he­ will use it as advantage and hopefully win his madden ­ ! But big fight will continue .. don`t underestimate­ Novak !

    From Igor K, on Fri 3 Jul 3:04AM

  17. Humbledoon,Trying to think of name,for the new Scotish­ tennis school of excellance,so oor Andy,can teach the­ new bairns coming through,great times,loving it,good­ luck Andy,stay cool if you can,we all know you can pull­ this off,just hope these foriegners have read the­ script,go boy you can do it.

    From ERIC ALFRED E, on Fri 3 Jul 2:27AM
  18. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    D O N N A Y
    i l o i r a
    c d b p s d
    k m j p e s
    h a o l­ h w
    e n c e o a
    a l k l l
    d o e e l
    v y e
    e­ r
    r

    From offmymash, on Fri 3 Jul 1:32AM

  19. taxi for robson

    From stefi grafs ex, on Fri 3 Jul 1:31AM

  20. bespoketwat, i though i came out with some cr ap on­ here, but you are worse.

    From Colin H, on Fri 3 Jul 12:37AM
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