91Èȱ¬

Andy, like you I'm a Hibs fan. If you had to choose, what would it be? A Grand Slam title for you, or the Scottish Cup for Hibs?! You can't have both!

In all seriousness, and I like him, why does he come across as so glum - even when he won Queens, he could barely raise a smile? Does he get excited at all?!

Do you ever get the chance to train with your brother jamie?

If so, has he ever or how often does he beat you?

Stuart from scotland

Andy,
Your game has evolved greatly over the past year or so. So called weak parts of your game, such as your first serve consistency, have improved enormously.The only perceived weakness that everyone still mentions is your second serve. It is still looked upon as a weakness that the better players will target as the tournament progresses. Do you agree that it is a weak part of your game and are you doing any work to improve it as I think that if it becomes more potent you will surely have the complete game to succeed. Hope you go all the way. Best of luck.

5 years down the line, when you're world number 1, who do you reckon will be your main challengers?

Andy, my mate Craig Lothian says a few years ago he beat both you and your brother Jamie at tennis at the same time.

Two questions

1) Do you think this ever happened?!

2) And have you ever told a fib to impress someone, perhaps a member of the opposite sex?!

Good luck at Wimbeldon!

Do you feel you are putting a gap between yourself and Djokavic in terms of performance, and given his rant about the ranking points a few months back do you think this really annoys him?
Good Luck,
Tom Manley

If you make it to the finals of wimbledon, does the prospect of playing either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal faze you, and who would you prefer playing?

Rajiv, London

Hi Andy,
Firstly good luck for the U.S open and indeed Wimbledon as well.
I am sure your allegiances are firstly that of a proud Scot and secondly of a proud Brit. Has your view of a 'United Kingdom' changed since moving down to London and do you feel like London is now your home/ base camp or does it still feel a bit of a foreign place?

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Do you have any other ambitions in life beyond your tennis or sport? All of us have dreams and seeing as you could have achieved all your tennis dreams by the age of 30, what else do you want to aspire to? Even if its something like climbing Everest, or crossing the Sahara.

If Andy Murray was offered a bye to the Wimbledon final, and a choice between Roger and Rafa who would he rather play.

How do you cope with all the expectation and hype that is generated by the media? Does it get to you in anyway, or are you able to shrug it off and focus on your preparation for Wimbledon?

Chris in Preston.

Why do you make such fuss over line calls which were obviosly good, e.g. the one against Ljubicic recently?

Can you please clarify the issue about you hate English?
I'm fed up of very long debate regarding this issue.

Make your fans proud Andy.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

hi andy

do you think you will win wimbledon this year or in the future

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

If you could add one shot from another player's repertoire (past or present) to your own game, which player and shot would you choose, and why?

Hi, Andy, you're about to serve, have 3 balls in your left hand, what determines the one to discard??
Rex Long

Andy, best of luck for Wimbledon

1) Do you not think that the fact everyone has been praising you so much thses last few days is actually hindering rather than helping you? Although what they are saying is true do you think it is putting pressure on you that doesn't need to be there, and making you less likely to succeed? LLeyton Hewitt has only got past the 4th round of the Aussie open once, an example of home crowd pressure, and we have seen various womens world number 1's recently, a sign that the pressure to win a slam can get to players. If you could have no media attention at all in the build up to wimbledon would you take it?

2) Who is your outside bet for a good run at Wimbledon this year and beating a top four seed (obviously not you!)? I reckon that Monfils could go far, even though it is grass.

Hi Andy. Have thoroughly enjoyed watching your great progress in the last year or so. You clearly have the determination, drive, will and mind-set to succeed and win which is so refreshing. Why do you think these qualities are lacking in Britain? Do you think it could be because so many things are easily achievable on the whole and people don't want to make the effort to succeed in the face of adversity?

Good luck at Wimbledon. Win or lose, we enjoy watching your art!

Ok let's try this one -

Andy, in the past, after an unexpected defeat or suspect performance, the media have turned on you with harsh criticism of your character.

How do you deal with the individuals who write or broadcast these ridiculous attacks?

how do you deal with the pressure of being british number 1 and world number 3?

Any I'm a huge fan, and also in a position you were once in. I am trying to break into the World Top 100 in my sport (Modern Pentathlon). Can you offer me smeadvice on how to achieve my goal?

Love your work, and your confidence.

Sheena

What would you have been if not a Tennis player? Would a professional career in a different sport have been an option ?

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

andy.
where and when did you meet your girlfriend?
was it before or after you became a tennis pro?
good luck in wimbledon.

hi andy, just want to say good luck at wimbledon, and i think that this is your year(and not the only one). Who do you prefer to play; Nadal or Federer and why? I think that Nadal is a more fearful opponent, but now know that you can beat him when you play your best. Just want to say congratulations in advance for winning wimbledon.

Who is your best friend in the male, and also female top 20?

James, from Cardiff.

If you were made tennis commissioner and given a blank piece of paper and told 'go organise professional tennis' how would you do it?

Hi Andy, I study at Stirling University and often see your mum on the court next to me and i am also a great admirer of the exciting, vairied brand of tennis you play.

You must have a lot of fun and banter with your big support team, i.e. the football/tennis game you seem to love to play, do other players on tour have a team around them like you or do a lot of your fellow players keep to themselfs during their downtime between matches?

Richard, Stirling, Scotland

What do you think needs to happen to British tennis to give us more Andy Murrays in the future

Hi Andy, who in your unbiased opinion is the better all round player: Federer or Nadal?

Muhammad

Ok Andy, dont you think that the British tennis media always at this time of year get so hyped up about "when is a Brit going to win Wimbledon"?.

I mean the last time a French player won the French Open was back in 1983 Yannick Noah - Australian Open last won by an Australian was in 1976, but these two countries dont go crazy every year about a fellow countryman winning it.

Don't you feel that its just as important to talk about "when is a Brit going to win ANY Grand slam"

Anyway, what ever happens this Wimbledon, I feel its just as important that you are No 3 in the World, and from somewhere we get a few more guys in the top 100 -and of course good luck!!

John - Spain

Andy you have a great job, get to travel to nice places, a fantastic looking girlfriend and you get paid a lot of money......Why are you so grumpy?

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Andy,

I've followed your career closely over the past 4 years. You spent some time working with Mark Petchy earlier in your career, then Brad Gilbert and obviously now you have a team including Miles Maclagan and others. Would you be able to tell us briefly about the team, what roles they have and how this differs to having just one coach? The team has also clearly had a good effect on you, how has this team contributed to your rise to World Number 3?

James

Andy,

I play at a medium sized tennis club and I get constantly amazed by the lack of knowledge of the pro game members have. They come along saying, 'Wimbledon next week' as though it the only tournament on the calendar. If people were more aware of the pro game, do you think that there would be less pressure on you to win Wimbledon and perhaps spread across all 4 grand slams?

Andy,

Do you think abstinence from alcohol significantly improves your fitness and performance or is it merely a personal decision? And do you despair at other sports figures in Scotlands inability to sensibly mix (if it's possible) professional sport and drinking?

Fraser, Glasgow

Hello Andy

What strategies do you think are required to try to change British Culture relating to the large majority of young people that are constrained by not having enough funding to play tennis, not having the motivation or commitment, or from these people being interested in other things. This may be focusing only on football, being distracted by video games or other activities that results in a very minimal level of talent coming through the ranks of Tennis Professionals.

Can someone explain what he has done to his serve over the last 12 months to make it such a potent weapon. Is it just a "strength" factor resulting from the physical improvement he has worked on or is there something to with "technique" that he has discovered?

Andy,

Is it true you were offered a trial with a football club?

What made you choose tennis over football?

Good luck at Wimbledon

Andy, here is a fun question for you, If you could make use of your flux capacitor and travel back in time to any era from the 1970's or 1980's, using the equipment available at that time, which player in their prime would you like to play and why?

Best of luck to you. You have single-handedly turned this 30-something person into tennis fan. Well done.

Andy,

Very best wishes for your Wimbledon campaign. How much time do you spend on tactical preparation ahead of matches and how significant a part do you think tactics play in determining their outcome?

Also, do you think Scotland should aim to host an ATP tour event?

Craig - Edinburgh

Hi Andy, if could have a match with any player from the past forty years of tennis, who would it be and why?

Good luck for Wimbledon! :)

Hey Andy, how did you get so incredible at passing shots? You use them when it looks like you're out of the rally and you create a fantastic winner. How!?

Daniel - Scotland

Before you go oon court do you listen to eye of the Tiger? Or Scotland the Bravce or do you prefer something a little more chilled?

Is there any rule changes/options open to tennis to make it even more exciting? More Canadian doubles perhaps?

Hi Andy

Your levels of fitness and endurance have progressed a lot this year but do you see further room for improvement and think you have the levels that allow you to maintain strength, speed and stamina over a 2 week grand slam tournament?

I reccomend some metabolic density training and kettlebell work!

Regards

Your fitness coach in waiting

Mike - Manchester

Do you think there is such a thing as a grass court specialist these days?

Mike

What is your favourite type of cheese, and what did you have for breakfast?

Andy, any chance of that tenner you owe me?

Andy - when did you beat your brother for the first time, and at what age did you realise that you wanted to become a full-time/professional Tennis player?

Great to see a British player contending for Grand Slams. My question is how do you think a great female tennis player like Steffi Graf do against a average male player like James Blake in there peak times.

I feel that since coming into the limelight you have forgotten your roots as a Scotsman. The English media are lapping you up and you seem to have been carried along that wave of frenzy.

I'm proud we have a successful Scotsman, I don't really care for the whole Britishness of the situation.

After all, we never claimed Tim Henman!

Hi,

In recent months you've spoken less and less on improving your game in post match media analysis. Do you think you have any major improvements to make to your game or do you think you're almost the finished article?

Best of luck for Wimbledon
Colin.

Hi Andy.

I would like to say a huge congratulations on your win at the weekend. I watched the match and can see you are having your best form yet. My first question is about your brother.
Is Jamie going to play with Jankovic this year? I saw them play together when they won and played the best mixed doubles i have ever seen.

Are you going to be playing any form of doubles this year? I know there is rarely any opportunities for doubles on the tour however we would love to see you play some this year. I enjoy watching it during the Davis Cup and would love to see it at Wimbledon. Good Luck and might see you Monday.

Andy, I've enjoyed watching you go from strength to strength in the last 12 months and I personally believe that you have what it takes right now to win Wimbledon. If you get to the final, who is the player you would most like to AVOID en route and why?

Andy.
Do you ever get tired of the frequent travelling that is required to be a top professional Tennis player, and does the media attention annoy you?

Tom Price, Havant, Hampshire

Hi Andy.

1) Do you find it frustrating that the media focus so much attention on Wimbledon, when you've had fantastic results and tournament wins (eg Miami) during the rest of the year that don't get as much press? Hence when the big W rolls around the media glare is enormous and out of proportion.

2) When are you going to pass your driving test?!

Hi Andy,

Which is most important to you in defining your career

No.1 ranking or the number of grand slams won?

Best of luck for Wimbledon & rest of the year.

Brett, Southampton

Andy, the focus and dedication required to become a world class tennis player is awesome, especially when many players seem to be intelligent and capable of other interests.
- How do you reconcile sacrificing a normal childhood for so much practice?
- How does an intelligent young person put in so many hours with so much repetition, without getting distracted by other things?
- DO people who become the top players have to have some sort of obsessive or one dimensional personality in order to be so focussed?

Have you ever thought about playing doubles in addition to singles on the main tour? If so, who would be your ideal partner (Jamie aside)? Which of the current female players would you like to play with in a mixed doubles pairing? And finally, why do you think the top guys hardly ever play doubles as well as singles, and what factors have contributed to that change?

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Former players, notably Navratilova, have argued that restrictions should be placed on racquet technology. Some questions for Andy relating to that debate. Does he think there could be any justification for restricting technological developments? How significant does he think technology is in the way the modern game's played? Would he agree that in fact the customized, heavily weighted racquets pros use really don't differ as significantly from previous generations of racquets as we are sometimes led to believe? Could he describe the weight, balance and feel of his own racquet and how his requirements have changed over the years? What about strings? Agassi made the point that it's the new string technology that makes the biggest difference to the way players now hit the ball. What's Andy's view on that? What string set-up will he be using at Wimbledon?

Hey Andy, I'm a big fan, keep track of everything you do. Since most questions will be more on court orientated, I wanted to ask about off court affairs. I heard you signed up with David Beckhams PR company, not sure of the name. What have they done for you and what are their future plans?

Thanks, Mark

I'm going to be greedy and offer three questions to Murray:

1. You are often described by commentators as a player with no weaknesses. What I want to know is, which attacking shot do you think is your strongest, and which do you have most confidence hitting?

2. Which tournament win do you consider to be your most important to date? In my opinion it was the Cincinnati Masters.

3. Can you pinpoint which single match in your career you have learnt the most from?

Hi Andy,
Would you rather be classed as a Scot or a Brit. Personally I consider myself English not British and if I was in your position I doubt many Scots would be rooting for me.
Good luck at Wimbledon by the way

Do you play chess?

would you prefer to be world number 1 by the end of the year or would you rather win a grand slam this year?

Do you think there is an anti-Scottish, pro-Southern England bias amongst tennis fans in this country?

Craig, Warrington

The Queen's Club trophy is pretty big, is it too big for your mantelpiece?

Can I echo the statement in question No. 42, by Fraser from Glasgow....

What are Andy's views on alcohol in sport? Did you make a concerted effort to avoid drinking, knowing it might hamper your development?

I grew up in Scotland, and have subsequently lived across the UK, and Scotland suffers from a horrendous youth drinking culture, far worse than anywhere else in UK... I honestly believe this is the reason we find ourselves, effectively a third world country when it comes to sport. It is that bad - young people in Scotland today are obsessed with going out plastered at every opportunity, and at an increasingly younger age. By the time they reach their early teens, sport becomes an after thought...

Before Andy when was the last time Scotland produced a world class sportsperson? Even in our national sport, football, we've not produced a single top class player in decades! In my opinion the "demon drink" has a lot to answer for....

It is no coincidence that Scotlands most successful current sportsmen, Chris Hoy, Darren Fletcher and Andy Murray all abstain from alcohol.

I am a big fan of yours since seeing you play at Queens 2005 and have always loved your edgy attitude on and off court but over the last year we have seen this disappear entirely, earning plaudits from all the pundits. Is this down to you maturing as you get older, just being happier with your new team or is it down to signing with 19 Entertainment? Do you sometimes fight with this new persona and have to hold back at times - on and off court?

Go on yersel' big man
Chris Banks (an Exiled Scot in Nottingham)

Dear Andy and the rest of the 91Èȱ¬ tennis team
As a big fan of aggressive grass court play as exhibited by the serve and volley tactics of Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, Tim Henman and many others, waht is your opinion on the apparant death of this style of play? Do you think having a proper grass court season, rather than the current two tournaments for the top players, would help or is it merely down to the changes in racquet technology of the last fifteen or so years? To me it seems a great shame that the original form of the game has been marginalised to such a degree with no masters events and a month long season, particularly when you look at the amount of clay court tennis played. Is there any way of resurrecting grass court tennis? To me variety is a thing to be cherished in sport and on this principle it would be nice to see a longer and more prestigious grass court season and a few more serve and volley players. Good luck for the rest of the season, particularly Wimbledon and the US Open. I think you have a great shot at both.
Will Spray
New College, Oxford

Hi Andy,

What do you think is the greatest match you've ever played in?

Thanks and good luck at Wimbledon

Tom, Colchester

Hi Andy,

Congratulations on winning at Queen's Club, let's hope this bodes well for a successful Wimbledon:-

In your last two Grand Slams you've been knocked out by two players known for having very aggressive and powerful forehands ( albeit 1 lefty and the other right handed ) is this a chink in your armour and are you looking to improve in this area by being more aggressive yourself to put the opponent on the back foot. Also alot of the commentators have been mentioning recently for your need to be a bit more aggressive at times on the court, do you agree with this?

Good Luck at Wimbledon and long may you continue your good form - i think your an amazing tennis player and will continue to watch your matches whenever i can ( even when i'm not supposed to on the interet at work!! )

When you won the Queen's final you sat in your chair for several minutes looking very serious. What were you thinking about?

Dear Andrew
if Scotland were playing Portugal in the world cup who would you support??

Should the Grass season be extended? Maybe move Wimbledon to August then have more ATP Ranking events on grass and more of a build-up to a Grandslam....or is grass out dated and not as popular or practical as Hardcourt and Clay?

Have you got any superstitions before you start a match of when you are playing a match? Anything like Nadal's bottle placement or sock height?

Hi Andy, you have a 6-2 record against Roger Federer. Both your defeats were in finals - Thailand Open in 2005 and the US Open last year. I think these were both firsts for you (your first ATP Tour final and your first GS final). What do you take from these experiences that you can use should you face Federer in another GS final? Do you think your 6-2 record gives you a psychological advantage against Federer now?

Being on the tour full time you must get to know a lot of the inside gossip, I hope you take this opportunity to dish the dirt. Below I have some questions I would like answers to.

1. How widespread is match fixing and corruption in the sport? You were quoted as saying that everyone knows it goes on, do you stand by those comments?

2. On the 606 message boards I would say the least popular player is Novak Djokovic. He is a friend of yours, what do you see in him that we don't?

3. Why does Radek Stepanek get all the ladies? It just doesn't seem plausible.

Good luck with Wimbledon.

Hi Andy - great to see you making progress and injury free for Wimbledon. All the best for the tournament.

I guess it would be unfair to ask you about players you don't like to play against, but are there any players you particularly look forward to playing, for whatever reason?

If you could bring a player back from the past to join the tour, who would it be and why?

Hello Andy, I'm guessing you will have had some long term plans when you began playing tennis professionally. How do you feel your current form and achievements compare against where you would have imagined yourself to be at your current age?

Which of your matches do you view as your best so far?

Good luck for Wimbledon, and congratulations for a truly remarkable year!

Do you believe you can win Wimbledon this year? If so, 9 months on from your first Grand Slam final, how do you think you have improved as a player to be able to achieve this?

Thanks. Nipun, Bristol.

Andy,

Come on, honestly now, I know you take great pride in respresenting the UK in Davis Cup matches, but our inability to find someone else to win a rubber, must be making you think, "blimey i've got to play 2/3/4 times a year in this for the rest of my career! I risk injuring myself and if i don't play we've got no chance"
I know you would get grief from the press and those who don't know about Tennis if you were to opt out of Davis Cup, but aren't you betting big for small reward?"

Steve, Sheffield

Hi Andy.
You're often labelled as playing passive tennis. Which is often the case when playing lower ranked players, you do enough to win without trying to hard. We often see Federer do this, although rarely does Nadal. This seems like a predetermined plan, but as we have seen a couple of times this year when you opponent has a good day and you are beaten you do not seem able to up your level of play. Do you ever think to play more aggresively more often to overcome any surprise losses?

Andy,

Good Luck in the Wimbledon tournament, I'm sure you will do very well and play 100%. I would like to ask though, If you don't win Wimbledon, who do you think will?

Andy,

Do you agree that the standard of tennis coaching in this country is still abysmal? - I believe one of the main reasons as to how you have reached the level that you have is that you decided to leave the UK at 13 and go and train in Barcelona. (I say this as a qualified tennis coach myself!)

By the way does your brother still give you grief for being the first of the Murray clan to become a Grandslam winner?

Cheers

Kevin

I watched your recent match against Federer where you dismantled his game bit by bit, leaving him having temper tantrums. I thought it was some of the best tactical tennis I'd ever seen as you left a truely world class player in tatters. I was then appalled and in disbelief by the texts coming in to the studio saying it was boring and dull. Do you read the papers and blogs on what people/media think of you or do you just do your own thing and tune out the background hype and moans?

Andy, why is it that often when you are losing, some sort of injury suddenly appears? Or you become sick?

As a young player, do you and your coaches ever consider how long your career will be, and are you ever asked to consider what you will do afterwards? I know that this is taken seriously by professional football coaches. Tennis players seem to retire from the age of 22 these days. I wondered if you have ever considered how long you might end up playing, and what you would do if you stopped tomorrow.

I'm still at a loss to why in Tennis it is Britain rather than England Scotland and Wales. I'm English and i don't support Murray. so my question is. If you could choose would you have SCO after your name or GBR?

Andy, why is it that often when you are losing, some sort of injury suddenly appears? Or you become sick?
----------------------------------------
Give us some examples of this please.