JUDY MURRAY EXCLUSIVE: ‘My heart was thumping, it’s all a blur, then my boy won and the tension just melted away’: 10 years on from Andy’s epic first Wimbledon triumph, mum Judy relives a day of drama, doughnuts and dresses
- Judy Murray has revealed her memories of son Andy’s 2013 Wimbledon win
- Judy developed a superstition of eating an iced doughnut before each match
- The final was a day of such drama and tension but it proved to be memorable
The sun was still shining when Andy Murray turned to the stand behind the baseline, punched the air and let out a guttural roar. It was July 7, 2013, and the Scot had just won the men’s singles championship on the Centre Court of Wimbledon.
‘Since he was a little boy, it was the one he wanted to win,’ says his mother, Judy. ‘It’s the biggest title in tennis, everyone knows that. It was certainly the big one for Andy.’
The road to Wimbledon 2013 was paved with hope from the previous year. Murray had lost the Wimbledon final but came back four weeks later to win Olympic gold on the same court before winning his first grand slam in New York.
There was thus expectation as he arrived at Wimbledon for his first-round match against Benjamin Becker. There always is. But a wondrous carpet to glory slowly unfolded. It was marked by defiance, brilliance, crumbs of lemon iced doughnuts, scares over missing shoes, and ended with Murray and his mother draped in a tuxedo and a silver-sequined dress.
This is the story of how Murray won Wimbledon in the words of his mother, who coached him, cajoled him and then was left to watch in nervous excitement as her son climbed the highest mountain in world tennis.
Judy Murray has reflected on her son Andy’s incredible success to win Wimbledon in 2013
PICTURED: Murray climbing up to his player box on Centre Court to celebrate with his mum
THE BUILD-UP
Every year at Wimbledon there was an enormous amount of pressure and expectation on him to win the title.
Winning a grand slam is very hard to do, especially in the era of the Big Four. You have to win seven matches across a 13-day period, over five sets, with Rafa (Nadal), Roger (Federer) and Novak (Djokovic) in the field.
The spotlight was always on Andy as it is his home tournament.
Tim (Henman) and Greg (Rusedski) had long retired by then and Andy was the only British man who could be a contender, the only one seeded.
But there was real feeling after the US title and winning the Olympics at Wimbledon that this could be his time.
For all of us around him, and this was crucial, there was a feeling of confidence when Ivan (Lendl) came on board. Ivan understood everything at this level. He had lived it. He understood the importance of managing your energy, managing your time.
There was increased hope going into the tournament after Murray’s success at the Olympics
It is not just your energy on court, it’s how you manage it off court. There are so many demands on you: fans, sponsors, press. It is easy to become distracted during a two-week tournament.
None of us could really understand the pressure Andy was under at Wimbledon for many, many years.
Ever since he was a boy it was the one he wanted to win. He had lost four grand slam finals before winning in New York and then lost in the Australian final in 2013 but he has always been great – ever since he was very, very young – at coming back from disappointment and defeat. He is resilient, he wants to work harder, he wants to learn from defeat. He learned from what had gone wrong before.
THE RUN TO THE FINAL
This is where the lemon iced doughnuts come in.
I had one before his first match and he won it comfortably so I followed the routine throughout the tournament and I am not normally superstitious.
The big match before the final was against Fernando Verdasco in the quarters. Andy was two sets down, back to the wall. But there was hope.
When Verdasco is hot, he is red hot but Andy had played him many, many times and he knew Fernando’s focus could go. You have to accept that he can blow you away for an hour or so but you have to think he can’t keep this up.
Andy was as fit as a fiddle too, so when it came to a battle he knew he could outlast him. That was the toughest match en route to the final. Andy won the rest fairly comfortably.
It was a tense game against Fernando Verdasco (left) in the quarter-finals but Murray prevailed
FINAL DAY
The mindset when he made it though to the final was to keep everything the same, stick to the routine.
I remember taking myself out of the way that day. I was sick with nerves. I saw him at breakfast and then he went to the club to prepare. I didn’t see him until afterwards. It was all business. You are there to do a job.
Before the match, I was sitting by myself on the balcony of the players’ restaurant and by that stage of the tournament it is deserted as the players largely have gone home. I don’t like to talk to anybody before or during a match. I had a cup of tea and my lemon iced doughnut. I remember getting a text from a friend saying: ‘How’s your doughnut?’
I replied: ‘Where are you?’
She was in Glasgow. She knew where I was and what I was eating because she was watching television and I had been captured by a drone filming.
I went to Centre Court where I purposefully took myself out of the players’ box and sat a few rows behind it. It’s the only tournament where both sides sit together. It is such a stressful place to be when you are surrounded by the opponent’s team cheering.
THE MATCH
Judy Murray sat a few rows behind the players’ box for the final as her son slugged it out on court with Novak Djokovic
What to say? I normally remember every detail but not that day.
It’s funny but the things I remember are odd. First, there was a Buster Bloodvessel lookalike sitting across from me who pumped his fist every time Novak won a point. I don’t think he realised how uncomfortable he made me feel. I spent the match just looking ahead. He congratulated me warmly after the match. ‘Great champion,’ he said.
Second, Andy had a problem with one of his shoes and one of the guys in his team had to drive back to home (Oxshott, Surrey) and get another pair and get them sent on to the court.
I remember on the first match point just muttering to myself: ‘One serve, just bash it.’
I could hear my heart thumping. It’s all a blur. I remember those first three match points and how he lost them all. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. But he pulled it round.
When he won, it was just a matter of the tension escaping.
I always think of him being on his own out there. It’s very different from a team sport and I am amazed at how he dealt with all that, not just at Wimbledon but everywhere down the years. He kept himself private. Kept his feet on the ground. That’s remarkable in the world in which he operates.
The other thing is the way it became a moment for others. When I meet people I don’t know, they talk about that day and they tell me where they were.
THE CELEBRATION
The Djokovic family were so gracious. You can be disappointed for your own child but you can be happy for someone else.
Andy and Novak had been great friends for so long. I had watched them play in an under-12 tournament.
Andy climbed towards the box as has become the vogue. I moved myself back. I could easily have gone down because I was on an aisle. But I didn’t. And I know why. It was because of all these years of being accused of being a pushy mum. People would have said: ‘Look at her barging her way forward’.
Djokovic (right) and his family were so gracious in defeat at Wimbledon in 2013
Judy Murray says she could have gone down towards the box but she didn’t want people to call her a pushy mum, a criticism some have unfairly levelled against her during her sons’ careers
So I waited and people in the crowd started shouting: ‘What about your mum?’ That was when we had a moment together.
In many ways, I was not able to just enjoy the moment in terms of pure celebration. It was 100 per cent relief. It just flooded right through me. Then I went into organising mode. All reflection had to come later. I had to organise wristbands so people could come into the players’ lounge. Then, of course, it is the Champions’ Ball. I had not come with a ball-gown, obviously. But Wimbledon had that sorted. I was taken to the ladies’ dressing room and there were loads of Jenny Packham gowns to choose from. I went with the silver sequins.
I never really caught up with Andy that day. He had loads of press to do and was sitting at the top table at the Champions’ Ball. But the next day there was a typical Murray family moment…
THE AFTERMATH
It was Monday afternoon and we were at the house together, sitting in his living room watching TV.
Jamie [his brother] came in and just looked at Andy. ‘Game of table tennis?’ he asked.
It was a nice day outside and the table was on the patio, so we heard the ball bouncing and the shouts. Then Jamie comes through the door and throws the bat across the room.
He says: ‘I am never playing table tennis with him again.’ Andy then comes in and says: ‘I will play against you with my left hand next time to give you a chance.’
He was so pumped. He’d won Wimbledon but had just beaten his brother at table tennis. That took me back in time.’
Much of the celebrations after winning Wimbledon were a release of tension for the Murrays
Following his success at Wimbledon, Andy Murray overcame his brother Jamie at table tennis
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