Fatherhood has given me extra motivation, says Andy Murray

BySaketh RVK, SportsCafe Editor

07/11/2016

The arrival of a baby might affect many, but Andy Murray’s career has only reached new heights after daughter Sophia Olivia entered his life in February. Andy Murray reached his first French Open final, before going on to end his three year-wait for a third Grand Slam at the Wimbledon, on Sunday.

Murray added a second Wimbledon trophy to his collection by beating Canadian Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2), joining Federer and Djokovic in the small list of fathers who have won a major. The Scot said that the birth of his child had only added extra motivation to train harder. “Having a child has given me a little bit of extra motivation to work hard, train hard, and do all of the right things to give myself a chance to win these events.

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“A lot of people have said, like, when Roger had kids, he started playing some of his best tennis. Novak, the same thing. But the reality is you still have to put the work in. You still have to have the drive and the dedication to train hard.

“I feel more motivated than ever just now,” Reuters reported.

Murray has been in probably the best touch of his career, reaching the final of his last five tournaments, including titles at Rome and the Queen’s Club. This run, interestingly, is very similar to the one Djokovic has had since the birth of his son Stefan in October 2014, winning five of the next seven Grand Slams.

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“The last three months have been some of the best I’ve played in terms of consistency. I made the finals of the last five tournaments, here, Queen’s, French (Open), Madrid and Rome. I don’t think I’d done that before in my career.

“I had my best clay-court season. I was fairly close there.

“The last few months have been some of the best in my career, for sure,” Murray was reported as saying by Reuters.