Perhaps nothing defines Andy Murray and what he is about more than the revelation that he and his new bride, Kim Sears, had rejected untold millions from Hello! and OK! magazines, the predators of every British celebrity wedding, to chronicle their own nuptials in Dunblane on Saturday.
On the streets of this Stirlingshire town there was at least one young local who was disappointed that she wouldn’t be getting the chance to see the bride’s dress, and pictures of Judy Murray dancing the tango with Anton du Beke. Paula, a student at nearby Stirling University, said: “I was really looking forward to seeing Kim and all the celebrities. Could he not just have given the money to charity?”
Yet even if Britain’s greatest tennis player had needed the money, he still would not have engaged with the celebrity magazines.
A sports journalist who has observed Murray at tournaments all over the world said: “The idea of selling pictures of his wedding would be anathema to Andy Murray. And as for charity, both he and Kim and his mum Judy already go above and beyond in that department. This is a young man who is very family oriented and who knows the scrutiny that is placed on those around him by his success and subsequent renown. He has protected them and Kim ever since they got together.”
Those who know him talk of a big shy laddie who, despite his ruthless competitiveness and his fearlessness in the straight-talking department, remains, essentially, a hometown boy. That town is Dunblane and there was never any doubt that it would host the nuptials. Hugh MacDonald, sportswriter for Glasgow’s Herald newspaper, once memorably described Murray as “the shy big lad from next door who is studying engineering at university and who you would trust to look after your kids when you were having a night out”.
There is a deep bond between Murray and Dunblane that the rest of the world gets to see only after any of his major triumphs but which goes much deeper. Thus after he won his first major tennis tournament in America in 2012, and after his Wimbledon and Olympic triumphs, it was to Dunblane that he returned. This, though, seemed more than simply a local boy done good returning to a hero’s welcome. This was an act of deep spirituality and mutual healing.
In 1996, as a psychopathic gunman was shooting 16 of his school mates and one of his teachers at Dunblane primary school, the young Murray was taking refuge under the headteacher’s desk. Only rarely has the adult Murray talked about this; instead his visits home following another triumph seem to be his way of saying to the world: “I will always hold this place close to my heart.”
Instead, he has restricted himself to the observation that it is good for Dunblane to be known for something other than that event. And so this town loves him, not just for his tennis prowess but for the way he seems to have dealt with his own pain and theirs. The great Scottish journalist Ian Jack, writing in the Guardian two years ago, was moved by Murray’s response when the subject of the Dunblane killings arose during a BBC documentary.
“Murray began to talk and then the recollection overwhelmed him; looking for comfort and distraction, he leaned forward to nuzzle one of his dogs. Crying sequences in television interviews can often seem unnecessary and voyeuristic – ‘Look, we made her cry’ – but Murray’s somehow ennobled him, or at least established him as fully human among those unimaginative people who previously doubted it.”
Murray would also appear to have made a wise choice in his life partner. The relationship endured the obligatory rocky spell and they were once apart for a few months. Michael Chan, another local student, was impressed at a picture that appeared in the Scottish press of Lesley Anderson, who runs a bridal shop in the area. “Kim sent this shop owner a really lovely handwritten note thanking her for sending a small gift. That’s quite classy. There is a lot of love for this couple around here.”
Sears is not only classy but very bright and with a wicked wit to match. She has been observed reading the novels of Thomas Pynchon, an American novelist of whom it could be said that you require a degree just to be able to complete one of his works.
During her fiance’s tense semi-final at this year’s Australian Open she appeared to have shouted: “Fucking have that, you Czech flash fuck.” The following day she wore a T-shirt bearing a Parental Advisory: Explicit Content message.
Murray adores her and is widely admired among his friends and rivals in the elite of international tennis for his unwavering devotion to Kim. In this world the temptations placed before young, multi-millionaire, super-fit athletes are mesmerising and enchanting. There’s a story told of Murray finding himself in the vicinity of a notorious Monte Carlo nightclub in the company of a fellow top 10 player. “Shall we pop in for some action,” asked his chum. “Sorry, I’ve got everything I need at home,” Murray said.
It’s difficult to describe the affection all sections of the Scottish public retain for Murray. This was most passionately expressed in a Davis Cup tie hosted by Glasgow this year and moved Murray to tears on court. Unlike the tears he shed following his first Wimbledon final defeat by Roger Federer in 2012, or those that followed his Olympic triumph, Murray was overcome by the waves of affection coming from his hometown crowd.
And though there is warmth to be found in a Wimbledon crowd, there remains still an “anyone but Murray” section of the SW19 audience, following Murray’s obviously jokey remark that he would support anyone but England in the football World Cup. No one in the Murray camp will forget the audible and English shouts of support for opponents such as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in some of his matches against his two great opponents.
The esteem in which he is held in Scotland is unique in a country which makes heroes only of its football stars. There is something about Murray: about the way he comports himself, his chippiness, his competitiveness and his shyness which make him the Scot we’d all like to be. His most towering achievements almost always come after titanic struggles against the odds in epic five-set spectaculars in which he leaves every ounce of himself on the court.
Last year, after another five-set triumph in which he had scaled mountains and run marathons, I tweeted: “No other sportsman makes me prouder of being Scottish than Andy Murray.” It’s not really merely about the triumphs, but the way in which he achieves them. It speaks to a nation that, above all, always appreciates the effort expended on its behalf even more than the prize. That he, an unassuming son of a small Scottish town, was the man chosen to carry out the greatest act of redemption of British sport, the Wimbledon men’s singles title, just makes us love him even more.
When he returned to Dunblane after his US Open triumph, there were some quietly remarkable scenes that the cameras failed to capture and that caused my old sportswriter friend, who had made the journey in a personal capacity rather than a professional, to return to his car and weep.
“Murray always signs everything that is put before him. But on this day there was something more. Some of the adults were handing him old school class photographs in which they had featured alongside the local hero. When Murray saw them he made an extra special effort to reach over and sign them with little personal messages.”
The bond that exists between this young man and the town that reared him is spiritual. And yesterday’s wedding, and the circumstances in which it was conducted, have strengthened it.
LIFE AND TIMES
Andy Murray and Kim Sears first met at a party for the US Open in 2005.
The romance became public in 2006 when, after Andy’s first tournament win in California, he gave his girlfriend a very public kiss.
Kim was raised in Barcombe, West Sussex. Her father, Nigel, is a tennis coach who has worked with players including Daniela Hantuchova and Ana Ivanovic.
Kim gained straight As in her drama, art and music A-levels and read English literature and drama at Sussex University.
The couple split for a short period in 2009 .
Judy Murray, Andy’s mother, has described her new daughter-in-law as “the best thing that ever happened” to her son.
