ANDY MURRAY celebrated his first Masters tennis title with a takeaway from a health food shop, his mother, Judy, has revealed.
A 7-6, 7-6 win over Novak Djokovic in the final of the Cincinnati tournament confirmed the Scot as world No.6 and Judy believes it can be the springboard to further honours – starting with an Olympic medal later this month.
She said: "I spoke wi
th Andy after he'd won on Sunday evening and said 'make sure you go out and celebrate'.
"He told me: 'We're just going to Wholefoods for something to eat', which is just another sign that he is eating better."
The biggest success of 21-year-old Murray's career has put a smile on the face of Scottish tennis including at the governing body's Craiglockhart headquarters where top coach Judy has been running the rule over another wave of emergent talent this week.
According to the former Scottish internationalist, this latest victory has shown the benefits of her son's intensive conditioning work.
"It's taken a long time to get into really top physical condition but now Andy is reaping the benefits," she said.
The Cincinnati final was played in temperatures of 104 degrees on court, and Judy added: "When you have a really long rally in that heat it hurts your breath but you can also find heat coming up through your shoes and burning your legs. To come through a really tough week and win the tournament is a sign Andy is starting to mature.
"He has always been able to dictate rallies against the slightly lesser ranked players but against the very top ones (Djokovic is world No.3] you have to dictate with power and aggression.
"Andy has always been fast but (now] he can stay out there longer and Djokovic did not know where to put the ball.
"You could see Djokovic being a bit hesitant on his forehand which is normally such a big shot for him.
"He was thinking 'wherever I put it Andy is going to run it down'."
And looking ahead to Beijing, Judy said: "Winning in the heat and humidity of Cincinnati will be good preparation for conditions at the Olympics."
Andy, pictured right, is entered in both singles and doubles and it is the latter event that Judy suspects he is prioritising.
"If you ask Andy to chose which event he would most want to win he would probably say doubles with his brother, Jamie.
"He has had so much satisfaction in the times they have played doubles together.
"It means a lot to Andy to know he is helping Jamie out on a big international stage; it would be great to see them do something together," she said.
It is part of Judy Murray's remit to ensure a conveyor belt of Scottish talent runs smoothly and as she spoke the likes of Alice Keddie, the British No.1 under-12 girl, and the highly ranked under-11 Ross Tiree-Wilson knocked tennis balls around in the background.
"Both of them have the potential to be world class," insisted Judy, who manages to balance coaching duties with being part of Andy's back-room team.
"I get just as much enjoyment working with the kids.
"Sometimes the kids think I am grumping at them but when you are putting so much into it what's the point of hitting three in a row into the fence and not doing something about it?"
Another prodigy is 13-year-old Edinburgh girl Emma Devine who will shortly head off to a new Academy in Belgium run by former world No.1 Justine Henin and her coach Carlos Rodriguez. Enrolling at a quality tennis academy can cost around £20,000 a year.
Judy added: "The message I always try to get across is that you only ever got one opportunity.
"The reality is it is tough with a lot of discipline required so we have to create a tough enough environment for them to provide a chance of success.
"We cannot surround Emma with like-minded people or role models.
"She has great raw power, is pretty competitive and has a good work ethic. But she needs the stimulus of playing different people.
"There is so much of what happens in Scotland that can be really good for developing kids but we hit a wall when they get to a certain level.
"That's why we need a decent training base here or at least a link with overseas otherwise what have the five years leading up to achieving good junior international standard been about?"
On her contribution to Andy's success Judy said: "I make sure he has the right team around him.
"It's about making sure everyone is in the right place at the right time.
"It can be about making sure everyone gets paid and there are lots of extra things I have had to learn, from website design to PR."
But if this is the time for Judy to be celebrating she keeps a healthy perspective, saying: "It is great (to be involved] but like everything else it is better when things are going fine, unlike last year when Andy's wrist injury came out of the blue.
"You don't expect honeymoons to last forever and there is still lots Andy can improve and much he wants to do.
"We're just here to provide support and it was good Jamie stayed on in Cincinnati when Miles McLagan (Andy's coach] returned home on the Thursday to be best man to a close friend."
The full article contains 932 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
