Charlie Robertson keeping the Andy Murray flame alive with thrilling run at US Open juniors
17-year-old is making a splash at the US Open juniors after having been mentored by former Wimbledon champion
Sir Andy Murray may have retired, but one of his proteges – 17-year-old Scot Charlie Robertson – is into the quarter-finals of the US Open juniors.
Robertson eliminated 11th-seed Jangjun Kim in straight sets on Wednesday. A few minutes later, he arrived in the media area wearing the “Andy Murray Collection” kit which his mentor had presented to him during the French Open.
The two Scots have spent a fair bit of time sparring this summer – first on the grass during Queen’s, and then at a week-long training block on Greek clay courts. Among his other achievements, Robertson can justifiably claim to have prepared Murray for his dramatic career finale at the Paris Olympics.
“It was cool, being around him,” said Robertson, who was born in the far-flung village of Guthrie before moving south to take advantage of Scotland’s one big indoor tennis centre in Stirling. “I was very nervous when I first met him, but, honestly, he’s hilarious. He’s so funny. And he just makes you feel like you’re part of the group.
“We met a little bit when I was younger. Then I started working with Matt Little [who was Murray’s long-serving fitness trainer]. So Matt would say some things about me, and recently I got to know him.”
Scotland no longer the laughing stock of tennis
It’s strange now to think that Monty Python’s first series depicted a pair of kilted Scotsmen contesting a Wimbledon final. The scene was meant to be surreal and ironic, on the grounds that Scotland – as Graham Chapman’s character put it – was “the worst tennis-playing nation in the world”.
