DUNBLANE, United Kingdom — In a quiet corner of the peaceful town of Dunblane in central Scotland stands the unassuming tennis club that launched Andy Murray on the path to Wimbledon glory.
Photos of the British star, preparing for his final appearance at the All England Club, are on display in a corner of the humble clubhouse at Dunblane Sports Club and his name is etched on various trophies.
Andy’s brother Jamie, a doubles specialist, also features and his mother, Judy, is on the honours board along with his grandparents, Roy and Shirley Erskine.
The monuments to Murray in the town itself are low key — there is a gold post box in recognition of his Olympic singles triumph in 2012 next to a wooden bench to mark his first Wimbledon title the following year.
It is in keeping with the unflashy character of a man who went toe to toe with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in arguably the greatest-ever era in men’s tennis, winning three Grand Slams.
But as he prepares for his final Wimbledon, where he is a two-time champion, those at the club cannot speak highly enough of their most famous export.
“He’s just a film star here, everyone loves him,” head coach Mark Walker told AFP. “Whenever he comes here it’s always so busy. And all the places are full and they follow him everywhere.
“There was an example where he came once to our summer camp — he was obviously visiting granny up the road there.
“And he just came down and wandered down and then came on the court and just said ‘I’m here to hit with all the kids’. And he made sure to hit with all the kids.”
Dunblane links
Murray, 37, left Dunblane, a town of about 9,000 residents, as a teenager to further his career in Spain but has never cut ties with his home town, which is about 65 kilometres from Edinburgh.
