Murray v tsonga then

I find the irrational dislike of Murray bizarre. A lot of people fail to understand that when he's on the court or being interviewed he's at work in a high pressure environment. Some people want to see him do backflips whenever he wins a match but it's only a step on the journey to win a Grand Slam. It's like expecting a golfer to be over egging the situation when they are leading a major after 3 days: unlikely and unreasonable.

Playing elite individual sport is emotionally, physically and mentally draining and that comes over in his irascibility and frustration on court. I don't think he is comfortable being interviewed a lot of people wouldn't be.

Any suggestion that he 'gives up' on court is the most farcical thing I think I've ever heard. Yeah I'm so close to winning my first slam but I just can't be bothered any more.

As for the Scottish joke I thought it was excellent, and astute, arid humour. At the time he was always referred to by the media as Scottish until he won something, or at Wimbledon as British until he got knocked out. I've got no problem with him being a proud Scotsman, in fact I respect him even more for it.

If you don't like Murray, IMHO you are misguided unless of course you know him personally, in which case I'd like to hear more... ;)

Excellent, well said.

It wasn't the dislike of a person that took me aback but the word "hate" which I think is and was extremely strong unless you know more of that person as an individual.
 
It wasn't the dislike of a person that took me aback but the word "hate" which I think is and was extremely strong unless you know more of that person as an individual.

I agree... Said several times before, on the forum, that I can get my head around dislike but 'hating' someone without personally knowing them is a tad too strong an opinion...
 
Theres a lot of nonsense and hypocrisy on this thread.

You can like, love and respect somebody you havent met. But you cant do the opposite?

If you love Murray based on his nationality, the way he speaks, what he says, the "jokes" he makes, the way he looks, the way he acts, without actually knowing the guy - theres no problem with that.

But others are perfectly entitled to hate him for the similar reasons. e.g What some people may find funny , might be insulting to others.
 
Judy did all the right things early in Andys career.
Time to step back now, she is starting to look a bit scary.

Common misconception that his Mum is always around him. She is always at Wimbledon and the other slams which is probably where that idea comes from as lots of people only pay attention to the big events.

I think I saw an interview with her the other week when she said she only attended 8 events of his in 2011.
 
Theres a lot of nonsense and hypocrisy on this thread.

You can like, love and respect somebody you havent met. But you cant do the opposite?

If you love Murray based on his nationality, the way he speaks, what he says, the "jokes" he makes, the way he looks, the way he acts, without actually knowing the guy - theres no problem with that.

But others are perfectly entitled to hate him for the similar reasons. e.g What some people may find funny , might be insulting to others.

Personally I don't get why people ar so Obsessed with liking or disliking sports men and women. I don't watch sport to see if someone is a good bloke, I watch it because of their supreme talent - I couldn't give a damn whether they're the salt of the earth or a complete tw@t. I've no interest in them once they've stopped playing.

I watch Tiger because he's a great golfer and I watch Murray cause he's a great tennis player. When they finish playing I don't really care about them. I have no desire to follow them on twitter and I don't need to spend all day trying to be friends with them on facebook. All they need to do is turn up, play well, entertain me and then come back and do it again next week - simple
 
Theres a lot of nonsense and hypocrisy on this thread.

You can like, love and respect somebody you havent met. But you cant do the opposite?

If you love Murray based on his nationality, the way he speaks, what he says, the "jokes" he makes, the way he looks, the way he acts, without actually knowing the guy - theres no problem with that.

But others are perfectly entitled to hate him for the similar reasons. e.g What some people may find funny , might be insulting to others.

I think you are wrong in your interpretation. You cannot classify respect of an athlete for their ability and irrational hatred in the same bracket. If you ask me why I respect Murray: I would say because he is a fantastic gifted tennis player, I like the variety in his game and admire his focus and work ethic (his training programme made me wince.

You ask people why they don't like him and they either shrug and say 'cos I don't' or 'because he said he was Scottish not British' or 'because he looks so scruffy' or 'because he always chokes against the real stars of world tennis' or 'because he's so moody on and off court'. For me those 'reasons' are banal and immature. But each to their own... :whistle:
 
I think you are wrong in your interpretation. You cannot classify respect of an athlete for their ability and irrational hatred in the same bracket. If you ask me why I respect Murray: I would say because he is a fantastic gifted tennis player, I like the variety in his game and admire his focus and work ethic (his training programme made me wince.

You ask people why they don't like him and they either shrug and say 'cos I don't' or 'because he said he was Scottish not British' or 'because he looks so scruffy' or 'because he always chokes against the real stars of world tennis' or 'because he's so moody on and off court'. For me those 'reasons' are banal and immature. But each to their own... :whistle:
Well said Tiger,I couldn't agree more! Some people are just haters for no good reason,I cannot fathom why?
 
I dont have to like him because he's British. I don't have to like him because of his tennis (which is a style I dont like), a lot of the time he is miserable, sulky, childish, what ever.

I don't support Murray. I don't know him, I don't know any sports star. But some I support, some I don't. Some have it, some don't. The it that some have is undefinable, but Murray doesn't have it. Federer does. Woods does. Armstrong had it, cadell Evans doesn't, Sampras had it, Thierry Henry has it, Rooney doesn't. It's just the way it is with sports fans. To me, boot mender doesn't have it, but senna did. Seve had it, Faldo didn't. I can't explain, but it is the way it is.
 
I don't support Murray. I don't know him, I don't know any sports star. But some I support, some I don't. Some have it, some don't. The it that some have is undefinable, but Murray doesn't have it. Federer does. Woods does. Armstrong had it, cadell Evans doesn't, Sampras had it, Thierry Henry has it, Rooney doesn't. It's just the way it is with sports fans. To me, boot mender doesn't have it, but senna did. Seve had it, Faldo didn't. I can't explain, but it is the way it is.

I think that's a good summary. Thinking about it like that I agree Murray doesn't have "it". If he wasn't Scottish I wouldn't support him to the same extent, if he wasn't British I probably wouldn't support him at all.

Don't think I'd actively dislike him either though.
 
I dont have to like him because he's British. I don't have to like him because of his tennis (which is a style I dont like), a lot of the time he is miserable, sulky, childish, what ever.

I don't support Murray. I don't know him, I don't know any sports star. But some I support, some I don't. Some have it, some don't. The it that some have is undefinable, but Murray doesn't have it. Federer does. Woods does. Armstrong had it, cadell Evans doesn't, Sampras had it, Thierry Henry has it, Rooney doesn't. It's just the way it is with sports fans. To me, boot mender doesn't have it, but senna did. Seve had it, Faldo didn't. I can't explain, but it is the way it is.

Brilliantly put :thup:
 
I dont have to like him because he's British. I don't have to like him because of his tennis (which is a style I dont like), a lot of the time he is miserable, sulky, childish, what ever.

I don't support Murray. I don't know him, I don't know any sports star. But some I support, some I don't. Some have it, some don't. The it that some have is undefinable, but Murray doesn't have it. Federer does. Woods does. Armstrong had it, cadell Evans doesn't, Sampras had it, Thierry Henry has it, Rooney doesn't. It's just the way it is with sports fans. To me, boot mender doesn't have it, but senna did. Seve had it, Faldo didn't. I can't explain, but it is the way it is.

Ummm,it appears Armstrong had more than "IT",if recent reports are anything to go by.
 
Where he comes from is of no consequence to me, he could be my next door neighbour for all I care... I don't like him. If I knew him on a personal level then that opinion might change - but I don't, so it won't.

Doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to see him win though, great for Scottish tennis, British tennis and for him.
 
LOts of sportsmen over the years I didn't like from a personality point of view including Corey Pavin (the tache thing) Eubank for his peacock strutting, Stephen Hendry for being devoid of character at the height of his powers, Lewis Hamilton for always looking for an excuse when things go wrong. There are many others. The nub is that while they all had deficiencies in my eyes they all shared a common trait which kept me watching. They were all great (ok Pavin was only good) at what they did and you felt compelled to watch them perform.

Murray is the same. He may not be everyones cup of tea for the way he handles the press, his lack of a smile etc but again, people watch him. I think there will be many on here who may not admit it but will sneakily be peeking in
 
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