Chatter about the dress, about the date, about the better together possibilities of a union between a thoroughly English woman and a Scot who tweets in favour of independence is already feverish. The snarling champion and the woman who taught him how to smile: what is not to be thrilled about in this, the relationship that has the lot?
As it happens, the engagement of the year was something Murray and Sears were not anxious we start talking about just yet. The couple did not intend to make things public so soon. Word, however, leaked out, maybe from the jeweller who had supplied the ring. One newspaper ran with the story and once it was out there, rather than denial, the Murray publicity machine was obliged to admit to its truth.
Not that it was something they wanted ultimately to keep quiet about. It is an entirely positive story, charming, sweet, wholesome.
It was just that there was something else that had to be made public, something less jovial. And the last thing Murray’s people wanted to do was look as if their man was trying to bury bad news. Because it turned out that on the very day it was announced that he and Kim are to wed, it was also revealed he was severing relations with two of his long-term confidants.
Fitness trainer Jez Green and hitting partner Dani Vallverdu were to be let go from Team Murray after, respectively, seven and 11 years of dedicated service to his cause. A man declaring long-term commitment in his private life simultaneously breaking up in his professional: you can see why that might look a bit awkward.
Mind, Murray’s relationship with those he works with can never be described as matey. He has always been a tough colleague: forthright, demanding, not entirely giving. In the process of becoming a grand slam winner, the services of half a dozen coaches have been dispensed with. The fact that not all of them look back at the moment they were released with much regret speaks eloquently of life in Team Murray.
And if anything, the sessions he had with the psychologist Alexis Castore, an appointment recommended by his former coach Ivan Lendl, have made him even more demanding.
Castore encouraged him to focus solely on what will make him a champion and dispense with anything that might be blocking progress. If that means seeking a new fitness coach, or trying to find a more challenging training partner, then so be it, never mind how long they might have been together.
Just as his approach to his own health and fitness has become utterly uncompromising, so it is to his team. In Murray’s world, everything is focused solely and entirely on first making him, then maintaining him as a champion. Nothing else is allowed to enter into the thought process.
Thus it was that after he had split with Lendl – who, despite bringing grand slam success was no longer prepared to deliver the kind of single-minded commitment required – Murray did not consider it necessary to consult with other team members about who he should bring in next.
Green and Vallverdu were said to be upset that Amélie Mauresmo was appointed as Murray’s head coach without their knowledge. They felt they were due a little consideration, maybe some input, or at least some notice.
Murray could not see why. What mattered was getting the best person in. And if he considered Mauresmo the best, then there seemed little point discussing it. If Green and Vallverdu were emotionally inconvenienced, well, there are always others who could be hired. No point arguing or allowing issues to fester. There was a more important priority to be addressed: getting Murray back to winning ways.
And in that he is probably right. His people skills may not be the most adept, his treatment of the hired help may not pass muster in Downton Abbey, but no one can claim he is harder on the staff than he is on himself. In pursuit of greatness he has demonstrated a willingness to embrace personal sacrifice that is second to none. We can only stand back and admire. That is the mark of a champion.
Good luck with all that, Kim.
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