'It's an escape': Andy Murray reveals tragedy behind celebrated career
Andy Murray will go down in history as one of the finest tennis players to take to the court.
The 32-year-old has won 42 singles titles and three grand slams, but in a soon to be released documentary, Andy Murray: Resurfacing, the Scottish star opened up about a moment in his childhood that rocked him and his family to their core.
Murray revealed he and his family knew well the man who shot dead 16 children and their teacher at Dunblane Primary School in 1996.
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The deadliest massacre in British history was carried out my Thomas Hamilton, who had once run several boys clubs which Murray and his brother attended.
Hamilton had once been an assistant boys scouts leader before he was asked to leave, reportedly due to his behaviour towards some of the boys.
He started up the boys clubs soon after, but these were also shuttered for the same reason.
In the segment of the Amazon-produced documentary where Murray discusses the tragedy, he reportedly spoke to director Olivia Cappuccini via voicemail, rather than in a face to face interview.
“You asked me a while ago why tennis was important to me. Obviously I had the thing that happened at Dunblane when I was around nine,” Murray said.
“I am sure for all the kids there it would be difficult for different reasons.
“The fact we knew the guy, we went to his kids club, he had been in our car, we had driven and dropped him off at train stations and things.
“My feeling towards tennis is that it’s an escape for me in some ways. Because all of these things are stuff that I have bottled up.”
Aussie tennis great savages new-look Davis Cup
Australian tennis legend Todd Woodbridge has taken aim at the Davis Cup, describing the controversial new-look tournament as "abysmal".
A brain child of Barcelona and Spain football superstar Gerard Pique, the revamped Davis Cup has drawn mixed reviews from the tennis world.
The inaugural 18-nation edition won by Spain in Madrid's La Caja Magica, where it will also be staged next year, was largely a success despite some ties struggling to attract crowds and a schedule that has resulted in a run of extremely late finishes.
Woodbridge, however, offered a much more scathing assessment of the tournament, despite conceding the quality of the tennis was excellent.
“The tennis itself has been brilliant, the organisation has been abysmal,” Woodbridge said on Sports Sunday.
