Andy Murray fetched the curtain down on his glittering tennis career at the Olympics last week and it really feels like the end of an era.
Murray enjoyed a scintillating career as a professional, becoming the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years when he won his first crown in 2013.
The 37-year-old finished his career with 46 career titles in total, with two of those coming at Wimbledon and one coming at the US Open.
Murray was a true athlete and now esteemed tennis coach Brad Gilbert has recalled a time when he took the Glasgow-born star to train with Michael Johnson.
Brad Gilbert shares what happened when Andy Murray trained with Michael Johnson
Johnson was a bit of a menace when it came to sprinting and he claimed four Olympic gold medals during his career.
His forte was largely the 200m and 400m and was an eight-time World Champion during his career too.
So, a tennis player training with a professional sprinter might not be the best idea – but Murray wasn’t one to shy away from a challenge.
After a fourth-round loss at the US Open in 2006, Gilbert introduced Murray to Johnson and he’s recited what he considers his favourite Murray story.
He told the TennisONE App: “Maybe my favourite Andy Murray story came in 2006 after the US Open, I took him to train with Michael Johnson and we took him to the track. Michael said we’re going to do eight 200m runs today and in between each 200m you’re going to talk the distance and let me see if you can get eight under 32 seconds.
“He told Michael that he was going to get eight under 30 seconds. I asked Michael, what were the chances of him getting eight under 30 seconds – he’s got no spikes, he’s got tennis shoes on – and he said no chance!
“Literally, he does eight all under 30 seconds and he literally bent over and he lost all of his cookies, if you get what I’m saying but it was an unbelievable effort and Michael said to him that basically now you know what you’re breaking point is.
“It was an experience but Michael didn’t think there was any chance he’d do eight under 32 seconds and he did eight under 30!”
Murray legacy must live on in Great Britain
The challenge for tennis in Great Britain is for the powers that be to ensure that it’s not another 77 years before a Brit wins Wimbledon again.
In order to do that, Murray’s career cannot afford to be wasted and it’s imperative that some sort of Andy Murray Tennis Centre comes to fruition.
The player would dearly love to still be rubbing shoulders with the top players but ultimately, the injuries he’s suffered have been so severe that it’s only natural they have taken their toll.
This story from Gilbert typifies Murray as the athlete he was – a player with a never-say-die spirit and one who simply had to be scraped off of the court.
It’s sad that his career has now come to a close and hopefully, Great British tennis can still thrive in his absence on the tour.
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