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 58 - 77 of 117

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  1. VARNEY SAN YA HUV SAM ASSUES THOR

    From JEEMS, on Thu 2 Jul 1:10PM
  2. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    varney was your old man on the buses you english @#$%

    From stefi grafs ex, on Thu 2 Jul 1:02PM

  3. holborn must be a kiddie fiddling catholic priest

    From stefi grafs ex, on Thu 2 Jul 12:59PM
  4. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    He's a Jock end of story. I can't wait to see­ him fail.

    From Creighton, on Thu 2 Jul 12:59PM

  5. comment 67 what do you have against ian paisley?

    From stefi grafs ex, on Thu 2 Jul 12:57PM

  6. JMHALBARN; WHIT YA OAN ABOOT. ALAC SAMAND SA NO AH­ RASAST.

    From JEEMS, on Thu 2 Jul 12:56PM
  7. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    YAS UR AW FACKAN BAGATS.

    From JEEMS, on Thu 2 Jul 12:53PM

  8. its been too long !! come on andy !! 73 years in the­­ making !!

    From ecofilms, on Thu 2 Jul 12:52PM

  9. alex salmond a bigot
    ian paisley deceased ( no he isnt­ )
    so any englishman who wants to opt out of europe is a­ bigot is he ?

    From stefi grafs ex, on Thu 2 Jul 12:52PM

  10. I stopped reading this article when it got to­ 'Cliff Richard'. Will he ever go away ?

    From hemingway_paul, on Thu 2 Jul 12:49PM

  11. i agree totally, the all england lawn tennis and­ croquet association would rather go another 100 years­ without british success rather than have kids off the­ wrong stock getting involved in their beloved club. it­ isnt rocket science but i dont see things changing as­ the toffs will never give up the exclusivity and­ cosyness of their sad world. commitees up and down the­ country be it tennis, cricket or rugby are made up of­ old fart blazer wearing snobs who hide behind their own­ inadequances at their chosen sport by claiming to be a­ distant relative of prince charles. imagine an inner­ city kid applying for membership at the all england­ club.invitation only equates to zero winners.

    From stefi grafs ex, on Thu 2 Jul 12:48PM
  12. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    hope boring murray loses

    From Ciaran, on Thu 2 Jul 12:48PM

  13. Some of you lot make me vomit!
    I have all the home­ nations in my blood line and most of you guys will have­ at least one other. So don't become just another­ bigoted fool eg: Nick Griffen, Alec Salmond, Ian­ Paisley(deceased) ect, after all under sport we should­ all unite and back Andy Murray all the way.

    From jmholborn, on Thu 2 Jul 12:45PM
  14. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    murray you boring @#$%

    From Ciaran, on Thu 2 Jul 12:41PM

  15. imagine if laura robson was coached by stuart pearce­ lol what a twosome

    From stefi grafs ex, on Thu 2 Jul 12:36PM
  16. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    taxi for spoilt brat robson

    From stefi grafs ex, on Thu 2 Jul 12:35PM
  17. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    wow now now that he is facing a senior though not very­ tough a guy(Roddick) lets see what he can really do.Coz­ I see no way he will go past Roddick

    From mupenzi, on Thu 2 Jul 12:33PM

  18. #46 - you are absolutely bang on with your comments!­ Except it reaches out to other sports like Cricket­ & Rugby as well.
    Posh rich kids or high end middle­ class kids get involved in these games through there­ parent's links & they go on to international­ level sport where they get found out because other­ countries have genuine hungry players who have earnt­ the right & have had hard upbringings which have­ moulded there abilities & determination.
    Look at­ football - the greatest players through history tend to­ be from tough ghettos where they had no education and­ played football as a means to getting out of poverty­ & hardship.
    My own experience is moreso in cricket­ (which is a class disgrace). I recall when some of us­ lads from working class backgrounds would go to play at­ cricket clubs and absoltuely hammer the players their­ but we would never get invited to play for the club cos­ we didn't dress right, or look right, or have the­ right accent, or the right "background".
    i­ had friends who actually made it to Derbyshire Cricket­ Club & when they played they were really good BUT­ when the older or higher-class players would return,­ regardless of form, my mates would be dropped from the­ team.
    That's the kind of reasons why England is so­ @#$% at so many sports that it actaully invented or­ created! And the same applies to Tennis!

    From shujaahmad2004, on Thu 2 Jul 12:31PM
  19. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    someties Murray fantasitc bal's...but not­ consistant like Nadal on his best..he play too shaky
    he­ wont win a set against Federe

    From Ra, on Thu 2 Jul 12:29PM

  20. aaaaah there it is poison the well!
    Good one, did not­ see that one coming! Great stuff mate.
    Too bad your­ remark did not make much sense. Was hoping for a better­ one to be honest.
    Im not claiming anything, just­ noticing something in the UK media. Land of immigrants­ got nothing to do with that lol. Close tho'­ :p

    cheers mate, enjoy your day and lets hope Murray­ will win.
    :')

    From Dave, on Thu 2 Jul 12:24PM
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