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Murray shrugs off doing Slam just for Britain

MELBOURN- Scottish star Andy Murray says he wants to win a Grand Slam for those close to him rather than to become Britain’s first major tennis champion for almost three-quarters of a century.

Hopes are high that the 22-year-old will become the first British male Grand Slam champion since Fred Perry in 1936 when he goes into Sunday’s final of the Australian Open.

The fifth seed, who is into his second Grand Slam final, will play either Swiss top seed Roger Federer or French 10^th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Murray has been saddled with the baggage of finally ending one of the leanest spells in British sport, even if he is a Scot.

Pressed after his semi-final victory over Marin Cilic on what it meant to him to achieve the feat, taciturn Murray was matter-of-fact.

“Yeah, I mean, I’d obviously love to do it, but it’s not really the only reason that I want to win a slam,” Murray said.

“I want to win it obviously for the people that I work with, for my parents, who helped me when I was growing up, then doing it for British tennis and British sport would be excellent as well.

“But the pressure that I feel doesn’t come from the people that are around me.

“They obviously are happy with anything that I do. But I want to win for them first.”

Murray is poised to become Scotland’s most identifiable sportsman if he wins on Sunday.

“Well, I think it would obviously be huge. I mean, there’s never really been any tennis players from Scotland,” he said.

“The support that I’ve had from back home has been great. Hopefully I can do it.”

Up until the arrival of Murray, Scotland’s best-known sportsmen have been the likes of Olympic sprinter Eric Liddell, Olympic swimmer David Wilkie, Formula One drivers, Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark, and golfer Colin Montgomerie.

Murray, who is the first Briton to reach the Australian Open final in 33 years, said he was looking forward to the exhilaration of breaking through for a Grand Slam.

“I can imagine the high that you feel when you win a Grand Slam is incredible,” he said.

“It’s really important. I mean after last year I had a few tough losses in the Grand Slams and I had a chance to make the Wimbledon final.

“It’s nice. It’s what you work for. Obviously, I want to try and win one.”

Murray, who has beaten defending champion Rafael Nadal along with John Isner and Cilic to get to the final, said he was relishing the prospect of playing for his maiden Grand Slam title well away from home scrutiny.

“You don’t really feel it that much. Wimbledon is a bit different, especially in the lead up to the tournament,” he said.

“But when you’re away you don’t take any notice of it. There’s no newspapers that I would read over here. It’s not really on the TV that much. So I just kind of avoid it.”

Murray, who was an eight-year-old pupil at the Dunblane Primary School when 16 children and a teacher were killed by a gunman in March 1996, said he was steeled enough to cope with pressure of playing in a major final.

“It’s my job to make sure that I play against the opponent and not let that get in the way of my performance,” he said.

“There’s obviously going to be a lot of pressure out there and nerves.

“But I think I’m old enough now and experienced enough now to be able to deal with it well.”