Search results matching tag 'Andy Murray'

Andy Murray to boost UK economy by £400m in 2009

1715701 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:07:00 GMT

A press release from Barclays today carried the headline: 'Murray to boost UK economy by £400m in 2009'.

This is clearly nonsense and makes me wonder if my savings would be safer elsewhere. However, the report does show the remarkable value of the UKs number 1 tennis player, which on further reading is around £145m per annum.

The bank also says Wimbledon and the ATP World Tour Finals attract well over 750,000 fans each year 'bigger than any football, golf, cricket or rugby event' - this obviously isn't true either. I really must change my bank.

Whatever the outlandish claims, it's clear that tennis is enjoying a resurgence in the UK.

Last year, RBS came in for a lot of grief for its sports sponsorship strategy with certain MPs calling for its ambassedors, including Murray, to terminate their contracts.

While Murray may not be the '£400m man' just yet, RBS' strategy made a lot more sense than some of the media gave it credit for.There are many reasons RBS got itself into a pickle, one of which was not its abassedor strategy.

The £400m figure, for what it's worth, is the combined value of 'The Murray Effect', the Barclays ATP World Tour Final at The O2, the redevelopments at Wimbledon, increased likelihood of scuccess in the Davis Cup and the impact of superstars like Federer and Nadal.

Game, Set and Match

2248082 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:25:00 GMT

Congrats to Roger Federer on winning the Wimbledon men’s singles crown on Sunday. That this is his 15^th Grand Slam title is a remarkable achievement. I swear the man is a tennis machine. And he’s only 27! Quite astounding.

Of course conspicuously absent from Federer’s epic final against the über cool Andy Roddick was that other Andy – as in Murray. Just prior to Andy M’s semi-final loss on Friday, the amusingly banal Andy Murray-o-Meter (tracking the burning issue ‘Is Andy Murray a Brit or a Scot?’), had peaked at a ‘yes’ vote of 86%. I checked this morning and see it’s down to 77%. My bet’s on a further slide south over coming days. We Brits are an unforgiving lot, no?

Yet again, after all the acres of press coverage and gargantuan hype, Mr Murray failed to deliver a Grand Slam victory for Team GB. Not his fault – the guy did his best but was beaten on the day by a better player (Roddick). So is Andy Murray the nation’s next planet-conquering sporting brand in the making? I think not. As the always insightful Mark Ritson observed in Marketing recently, ‘the harsh reality is that Murray is a fine tennis player, but a hopeless prospect as the next Beckham, no matter how advanced the brand strategy applied to his future career.’

So best of British – and Scottish! – to you, Andy Murray. But to paraphrase Monty Python in The Life of Brian, I suggest we all remember that you’re not a sports brand messiah, you’re just a very moody and petulant boy who does a fine job swinging a tennis racquet.

Oh, and the day after Michael Jackson’s three-ring circus send off (sorry, Memorial Service), in Los Angeles, this exclusive report just in: He’s still dead, folks. I just love our ‘sleb-obsessed culture, don’t you?

As if the British economy weren’t in a bad enough state already…

1715701 — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:18:00 GMT

The folk behind the brilliant online game Stick Cricket have now lauched Sticket Tennis - and have helpfully calculated that if it continues to grow at its current rate it could cost British employers £75m in wasted wages.

Stick Cricket became a phenomenon in the summer of 2005 as office workers around the country neglected their jobs to nervously follow the Ashes on www.cricinfo.com and sneak in a few cheeky games of online cricket.

As Murray-mania grips middle-England this summer be sure not to get caught by your boss as you serve and volley your way to Grand Slam glory. I warn you now it very addictive.

Give it a go (when you get home of course) at http://www.sticktennis.com

A real sports personality of the year, please

1715701 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:13:00 GMT

In 2004, Olympic champion cyclists Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins were sat at in cheap seat watching BBC Sports Personality of the Year arching their necks to get a look at the winners.

While 10 minutes were dedicated to the deceased race horse Red Rum, the Olympians were not afforded a single mention all evening. In a recent interview Wiggins said it was pretty depressing to mean less to the British public than a dead horse. Who can blame him?

Last year, Joe Calzaghe was a worthy winner of sports personality of the year but all too ofton bores - like Michael Owen or Jonathan Edwards - have picked up this coveted prize. So I was glad to hear that this year Wiggins and team-mate Hoy have VIP tickets and will surely be among the nominees for this year's accolade.

I think we all applauded Joey Barton criticism of England's players' decision to bring out books following the 2006 World Cup. "I played like ***. Here's my book.' Who wants to read that?", he said. And even as a lifelong Chelsea fan I have to say that Didier Drogba's upcoming autobiography will not be on the Christmas wish list. But I hope the upcoming book by Wiggins - who having won Gold in Athens went on a 9 month bender - proves a rare exception.

So, here's hoping this year's prize goes to a true character. Before the Beeb unveils its nominations for this year's main award, here's how I think it should go...

BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2008

Chris Hoy (triple Beijing Olympic cycling gold medallist and world champion)

Bradley Wiggins (doulble Beijing Olympic cycling gold medallist and world champion)

Rebeccah Adlington (double Gold medal winning Olympic swimmer)

Lewis Hamilton (assuming he wins the Formula 1 driver's championship)

Shane Williams (inspirational in Wales' historic Grand Slam and nominated for IRB Player of the Year)

Ben Ainslie (record breaking sailing Gold medallist)

Andy Murray (US Open finalist)

Kevin Pietersen (England cricket captain)

Christina Ohuruogu (Gold medal winning athlete)

Who would you nominate?

Murray's PR makeover

917990 — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:20:00 GMT

Well pull my sweatbands off and throw them to the crowd, when I wrote the blog below yesterday about Stuart Higgins's work with Andy Murray I had no idea he’d got as far as the union jack shot on the front of the sun – the holy PR grail for all aspiring Scottish, sorry I mean British athletes. Let’s hope his moment in the sun (thank you) lasts beyond his bigger biceped opponent Nadal this afternoon.

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Former Sun editor Stuart Higgins who was appointed Andy Murray’s PR adviser in March must have enjoyed the transition of his enfant terrible into centre court favourite last night more than most.

Just three months ago, Murray’s no show at the Davis cup tie against Argentina , the subsequent spat with his brother and a reputation for surliness with the press meant that despite his undoubted talent and the two ATP titles he’d already won in 2008, he was not exactly a favourite within UK tennis or with the British public.

I got into a bit of a spat myself at his last Wimbledon in 2006 when I suggested to a Scottish friend that Murray could do with a bit of PR advice. She felt that one of his most attractive qualities was that he wasn’t concerned about impressing the media and just wanted to play tennis. I can see that side of the argument – McEnroe was one of my favourites – and it would be boring if every tennis player was perfect on and off court. In any case, that’s Federer’s job.

But there’s a balance to be struck. Higgins has clearly given Murray media training and that is making a big difference to the reception he’s getting from the UK press this year. Whilst you’d never want him to turn into some hideous smiling media bunny, you also don’t want him to be given a kicking off court due to a natural reticence – or Scottish dourness - that can look surly to those not familiar with it. Higgins seems to have helped Murray find the right balance.

Whilst he’s improving with the off court stuff, his public image will principally be fashioned on the tennis court and for the most part in just two weeks every year at Wimbledon. Based on last night’s extraordinary performance, he no longer has much to fear in either respect.