Golf icon Paul Lawrie has hailed the fierce competitive spirit of tennis ace Andy Murray as he approaches his final matches at the Olympics. Murray, 37, has declared that this year’s summer Games will mark the end of his illustrious career in tennis.
With three Grand Slam titles and two Olympic gold medals under his belt, the Scot is not just looking to wave farewell at the upcoming event – he’s aiming for victory.
Lawrie, who triumphed in the Ryder Cup, witnessed Murray’s relentless drive firsthand during the 2022 Battle of the Brits tennis event. Despite the friendly nature of the tournament, Murray’s commitment was anything but casual, a fact that Lawrie confirmed following the competition.
Speaking to the Scotsman, Lawrie said: “I got a little glimpse of who he is and what he is when they had the Battle of Brits in Aberdeen (in 2022). Ian Holloway was the English captain and I was the Scottish captain. But Andy Murray? When he comes back after every point, honestly what a winner. When he lost a game or whatever he was coming back and just raging.
It was funny and I am not going to swear, but the first game I did with him on his own I was just sitting on the bit (next to Murray’s chair) and it was the first few games and he was playing against somebody and he came back. I am sitting there as a golfer saying do I speak to him or do I not. Do I say something? He is quite a motivated kind of guy and I am not like that. I am not a ra-ra type of boy, I am not a fist-pumper.
“He was down and the sweat is dripping off him so I whispered to him and said ‘What do you want me to say? ‘ He went ‘f*** all’. That was his reply. That’s what he wanted me to say. But what do you say? He didn’t need me to say come on Andy you can get back into this.
“And I thoroughly enjoyed it. He had the full team up. He had physios, dieticians. Five or six people with him. A full 40 minutes warm up. No other player did that. They were all sitting around having a coffee. He is in there giving it laldy [his all] for something that doesn’t really matter.
When Murray retires from professional tennis in Paris, fans across the globe will bid him a fond farewell. The Scottish star confirmed his imminent retirement after arriving for the Games in Paris, saying: “Arrived in Paris for my last ever tennis tournament. Competing for Great Britain have been by far the most memorable weeks of my career and I’m extremely proud to get to do it one final time!”
Murray clinched gold at both the London 2012 and Rio De Janeiro 2016 Olympics, triumphing over Roger Federer and Juan Martin Del Potro in the respective finals – but the question is, can he do it again?
The draw for the tennis event at the Olympics takes place on Thursday, July 25, and doubles events are on Saturday, July 27 and Sunday, July 28.
