KEN GRAY had a message yesterday for millions of excited tennis lovers south of the border. “Andy Murray has made us all intensely proud,” he said, before adding with a smile, “but he’s Scottish first, and then British.”
As critics hailed the 18-year-old’s thrashing of Radek Stepanek, the No 14 seed, and Wimbledon spectators acclaimed him as the next Tim Henman, the pretty little city of Dunblane was determined to put its English neighbours straight.
Tom McLean, the landlord at the Dunblane Hotel, said: “I don’t want to get the English backs up, but he’ll never be the next Tim Henman because he’s Scottish and he’s very proud of it. He’s not slow to let people know that.” Mr McLean was planning to put up a couple of posters advertising cheap beer at the hotel bar for the game today, but this was by far the most extravagant gesture in Dunblane yesterday.
In a city where most are wary of the media since the massacre of 16 children at the primary school in 1996, there was little outward evidence of celebration. Many said that they had been too busy to watch Thursday’s match or expressed surprise at the level of interest in the tennis star, who grew up less than a mile from the city’s Gothic cathedral and was a nine-year-old at Dunblane Primary School when Thomas Hamilton went on his shooting spree.
There were no bunting or banners, and even Murray’s uncle, Niall Erskine, admitted that he had been too busy to watch his nephew’s games. Mr Erskine, 40, an optician who will fly at short notice to London today for the match against the former Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian, said: “Don’t get me wrong. Andy isn’t anti-British or anti- English, but he’s Scottish first and British second. He’s fiercely proud of his nationality.”
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He added: “I think if this was happening in England people might be getting a bit more carried away. We are a bit more reserved here. I never like to refer back to what happened (the massacre), but things come around and if you get something positive like this you should enjoy it in your own way.”
From behind the counter of Carlow Pharmacy in the main street, Mr Gray, the pharmacist, said: “When we feel proud, we’re quietly proud. I watched the game against Stepanek and Andy impressed me. He loves the crowd and he doesn’t seem to be fazed by any of it. But we’re not getting too excited — that’s an English trait.”
Evelyn Douglas-Roberts, 58, the custodian at the 17th- century Leighton Library, said: “Most people remember Dunblane for one thing only, the massacre, and it’s nice to be able to speak about the town in a positive way.” She added: “But I can’t see the people here turning into Murray maniacs. It’s not that kind of place. In a way you are seeing the same phlegmatic approach that helped them to get over the problem of the shootings and to rise above it.”
Ann Stuart, 47, who works at the Ian McNab Gallery, was equally sanguine. She said: “I’ve seen bits of the games he’s played but I haven’t sat down much. He’s young. You never know, he might even do better than Tim Henman.”
All were playing down Murray’s chances of advancing into the second week, none more so than Roy Erskine, his grandfather, who admitted that he had placed a £10 bet against his grandson on Thursday with one of the greenkeepers at the local golf club. Mr Erskine said: “He knows nothing about tennis, but he was convinced Andy was going to win, so we had a £10 bet on it,” Murray will play on Centre Court today in the third match after the noon start.