His Twitter bio simply reads, “I play tennis”, but Andy Murray is more than just a professional tennis player. In the course of his career, the Scot has won multiple Grand Slam tournaments, been British No1, became a two-time Olympic champion, and was the first British man to win a singles title at Wimbledon since before the Second World War. Any athlete’s career that included just one of these achievements would be complete but, in the early hours of this morning in Washington, Andy Murray gained another accolade – he became an important men’s mental health role model.
The British tennis superstar defeated Romanian Marius Copil in a gruelling contest that ran until after 3am to secure a place in the final eight at the Citi Open. After the match, Murray returned to his seat and openly wept into a towel for a few minutes before, as per his style, signing autographs for all who asked. This wasn’t the first time that Murray has showed his emotions enthusiastically (who could forget the hug he shared with his mum Judy after his Wimbledon win?) but to see him sobbing deeply and publicly was still a striking and moving image. Read more