Andy Murray might be currently headlining the ATP rankings, but the future could see him coaching from the sidelines of a football pitch.
The world No.1 has been a football supporter throughout his career. At the age of 15 he was offered a place at the Rangers school of excellence, an elite football academy. He declined the invite to focus on tennis. The sport is also rooted in Murray’s family. His grandfather, Roy Erskine, is a former professional footballer, who made 46 appearances in the Scottish football league during the 1950s.
During an extensive interview with The Times, the three-time grand slam champion spoke about his ambitions after he retired from tennis. Declaring the continuation of his commitment to the sport, he also expressed an interest in football.
‘Something within British tennis probably, potentially coaching another player.” He told The Times.
‘I would like to do something in football. I watch loads of it. I am into my fantasy sports a lot.
‘I would like to try my hand at coaching at some stage but I wouldn’t think immediately after I finish.
‘I would like to spend a lot of time at home with family and see my child, or children, growing up.’
Murray also revealed that he had reservations about receiving a knighthood. In the New Year’s honors list, he became one of the youngest people in history to be knighted. It was a stunning way to cap off Murray’s 2016 season, where he won five consecutive tournaments and became the first British man to top the Emirates rankings. Nevertheless, the Brit said he feared the move would ‘distract’ him from his sport.
“I got it when I woke up in the morning, just saying that I had been offered and [asking if I] would like to accept,” said Murray.
“Obviously you think about something like that because it’s a big honour, but with that comes a little bit more responsibility. I’m still very young, I’m still competing and obviously don’t want anything to distract me or affect my performance on the court.”
Despite the knighthood and his future aspirations in football, Murray aims to keep his focus on the tennis courts as he prepares for next week’s Australian Open. He will be bidding to win the Melbourne title for the first time in his career and get revenge against Novak Djokovic, who he recently lost to at the Qatar Open.
How Murray keeps his world no1 ranking 1 in Australia pic.twitter.com/FIpkStTNn9
— ALEX KAY-JELSKI (@AlexKJTimes) 9 January 2017
