After winning last week's Open 13 in Marseille, Andy Murray suffered a first-round upset at the hands of homeboy and wildcard Robin Haase in straight sets at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam earlier today.
Is my posting this rant from the Guardian kicking him when he's down?
Can Andy Murray and Jamie Murray really be related? Sure, the two Scotsmen have physical similarities, but look again - Jamie's smile, Andy's scowl; Jamie's rounded, pleasing face; Andy's dolichocephalic (eat your heart out, Will Self) Donald Duck features.
Then there's the way they play. Think of Jamie winning the Wimbledon mixed doubles last year with Jelena Jankovic. If we'd put a speech bubble against him during that final, it would have said:
"I get to do what I love for a living, get a suntan into the bargain, earn a decent whack, and get to hang out with some of the most gorgeous women in sport - Jesus, I'm a lucky bugger."
Compare this to the younger, more successful Andy. He plays with his face frozen into a grimace. He blames everybody for his failings (mother, coach, the Davis Cup) but himself. There's a six-second sequence on YouTube that sums Andy up. He loses a game and sarcastically gives his then coach, Brad Gilbert, a thumbs up while muttering "You twat" at him. He also famously screamed mid-match at Gilbert "You're giving me nothing".
Actually, the Lawn Tennis Association has given him everything, only for him to throw it back in their face. In July 2006, the LTA appointed Gilbert, a world-class coach who masterminded Andre Agassi's great triumphs, to work with Andy - for a gobsmacking £750,000 a year. Andy was then 19 and ranked 36th in the world. Within a month he had beaten Roger Federer, and within nine months he was in the world's top 10. But within 16 months he had ditched Gilbert, swapped him for a "team of experts", stating that the time "has come to move on to the next stage of my career".
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