When Andy Murray plays in the Wimbledon Championships this summer, he will undoubtedly have a home crowd advantage. The Scottish tennis superstar will receive the most cheers as he tries to become the first British man to win there since 1936. But, Murray’s homecoming doesn’t occur in the All England Club. That happens this weekend in Key Biscayne.
Andy Murray will vie for his second Sony Open Championship on the very same courts he trains on. The Glasgow, Scotland has owned a apartment in Brickell since 2009 and has trained at the Crandon Park Tennis Center for the past two offseasons. He spends about three-and-half months in South Florida and, like many transplants to South Florida, Murray came to Miami for the weather.
“A lot of guys in Europe can train at home because the climate is pretty good year round, but for me, it’s different in the UK,” said Murray. “So I like to come here, because it very rarely rains, and when it does, the court dries quickly. And it’s very humid, which makes playing in tough conditions easier.”
Before Murray started training in Key Biscayne, He used the Neil Schiff Tennis Center at the University of Miami to train. Murray worked with Daniel Vallverdu, a alumni of the University of Miami tennis program who earned All-American honors five times there. Murray stopped training at UM two years ago because security tightened up in Coral Gables and he felt the Crandon Park Tennis Center was quieter.
Coming into the Sony Open, Murray’s training regime in Miami seems to give him a leg up on the rest of the field. The hot and humid conditions in Miami effect play more than playing conditions in other cities, especially as the last tournament was played in Indian Wells, California on the outskirts of a desert. Murray figures to have a significant home court advantage.
“I’m comfortable in Miami and that makes a big difference the first few days,” explained Murray. “The ball comes off the racquet very slowly, and the balls get slower; whereas in Indian Wells, they were getting quicker.”
Murray’s connection to Miami goes deeper than tennis though. In the months he spends in Miami, he runs on the beach and does bikram yoga to stay in shape. He fills his free time with Jet Ski rides and trips to the beach.
Murray’s most note-worthy activity in Miami is his attendance at Miami Heat games. He frequents the American Airlines Arena when he’s in Miami and, even, compared himself to Lebron when he was chasing his first grand slam title. This weekend, he plans on going to see the Heat as they try to extend their historic 24-game win streak.
“I saw the game [against Cleveland]; that comeback was incredible,” said Murray. “The streak has been unbelievable. I will hopefully go to the game [on Friday] if I can.”
Despite his fandom, Murray has yet to master the sport that he enjoys so much.
“It is a sport I really like, but I’m terrible at it,” joked Murray. “I watch lot of basketball But, I never played it when I was growing up.”
Murray takes on Bernard Tomic in his first round match this weekend. The tournament offers Murray the huge opportunity of overtaking Roger Federer as the world’s No.2. Murray downplayed the significance of that possibility, though.
“It’s not something I’m thinking about going into my first match against Tomic,” he explained. “Getting to number two is not a goal of mine. I’d rather focus on winning events than counting ranking points.”
Gabe Ibrahim 