Murray-mania is in full swing following Andy’s barnstorming start to 2007 and his rise to 10th in the world tennis rankings.  But the formerly floppy-haired forehand fiend isn’t the only sporting star in the family.

His brother, Jamie, is one of the world’s top doubles players and his mum, Judy, is one of Britian's most respected tennis coaches.  In The Winning Zone took the time to catch up with the other ‘aces’ in the Murray arsenal of tennis hotshots…

WZ:  Judy, as a renowned coach, and mother to two of Britain’s top players, what would you define as high performance in tennis? 

Judy: Players should either be playing at a level comparable with the best of their peer group internationally, or show the potential to perform at international level. The word “performance” is bandied about too much nowadays – many tennis “performance” clubs are little more than district level. And while they are obviously an important part in the overall structure, the focus should be on developing the very best talent available in a productive and competitive environment.

WZ:  And how much work, effort and time has it taken to get Andy and Jamie to the current stages in their careers?

Judy: It’s probably taken the best part of ten years to develop them from promising eight-year-olds into world class juniors who have the game to succeed at senior level. As tennis is very much a minority sport in Scotland, there has not been as much support for developing world class players as there has been for other sports.

You can’t represent Scotland in tennis, only Great Britain, so tennis doesn’t tick the boxes of potential medallists in World or European championships or Commonwealth Games. Support for tennis from sportscotland, the Scottish Institute of Sport and the Area Institutes has improved following Andy’s success but all of the full-time players have to base themselves overseas, so they can’t take as much advantage of this as they might want to.

Plus it’s not possible to create a world class full-time training environment in Scotland at the moment – we don’t have internationally experienced coaches or tennis specific sports scientists – and we don’t yet have indoor or outdoor red clay courts. The weather doesn’t help either! Training overseas is very expensive and finding the funding to make that work usually comes down to the parents.

WZ: So how much of their success and progress can you attribute to natural ability, how much to desire and ambition, and how much to hard work?

Judy:  I think they were both born with a lot of natural ability and it’s been up to them to work hard to make the most of that talent. Andy is very fortunate to be very well coordinated and very fast about the court. Jamie has great racquet skills but doesn’t move as well as Andy – he is also 6’3 and left handed – that’s why his game is so well suited to doubles.

It’s up to the coaches and parents to create the opportunities for players to develop those talents, but it’s up to the players to take advantage of those opportunities.

WZ: What methods of coaching, and coaches, do you both most admire?

Judy: I admire Ivo Van Aaken, the Director of Tennis for the Belgian Federation for 25 years. His knowledge of all areas of tennis is immense.  He has developed a fabulous system for player development and coach education within a small country, and he has helped Belgium to become a major force in world tennis.

Jamie:  I am working currently with Louis Cayer who is by far the best coach I have ever worked with.  He is a “doubles specialist” coach and there are very few in tennis.  He has worked with some of the top doubles teams and was at one stage coaching the number 1, 2 and 4 ranked teams in the world.  He has tremendous knowledge and I like the way he is able to get his message across depending on the player he works with.  He is very thorough with his work.

WZ: And when you coach, Judy, what do you do to motivate your athletes (or your children, as the case may be)?

Judy: I use a lot of humour when I am coaching but I also make sure I know my players very, very well as people, as this helps me to find the best ways of communicating with them.

WZ:  How do you motivate yourselves?

Judy: I always plan out lessons and know what I want to achieve by the end of the session. I know where I want my players to get to ultimately and I never lose focus of that. I have always been ambitious for my players and that’s ultimately my motivation – to make them the best they can be.

Jamie:  Since working with Louis I have a lot more direction in my tennis and I realise what I have to do to get to the top.  I know when I get on the practice court the drills and exercises I have to do to improve my game.

WZ: What do you feel it takes to make a good athlete become a great one?

Judy: I am pretty picky. I understand the importance of getting good technique in place at a young age but I always link technical work with the tactical implications of the stroke I am working on. If you don’t do that, then you get great ball hitters, but not great match players.

Jamie: I’ve been playing full time tennis for the last three years but I don’t see it as a commitment as I love what I do and would much rather be putting my efforts towards being a top ranked doubles player than possibly trying to get a degree or a job etc.  I work hard on the practice court but I still have a good time.  When I lose the enjoyment that’s when I find it difficult to train. I think if you have the self-belief that you can be a top player and you work on the right things better yourself then you increase your chances of becoming successful.  There are no guarantees of success but you can give yourself the best chance of achieving it.

WZ: Jamie, as a doubles specialist, what do you feel are the key ingredients to creating a winning team?

Jamie:  I prefer to play with somebody I know well and enjoy spending time with as you spend almost all of your time on and off the court together so it is important to establish a good relationship.  It’s like an actual relationship – you have to communicate well and there has to be a certain chemistry.

WZ: Do you feel there is a difference between ‘pressure’ and ‘challenge’?

Jamie:  I don’t feel pressure when I play.  I am confident in my ability as a player.  I love what I do and enjoy the life as a tennis player, so I don’t feel pressure to prove anything.  I see it as a challenge to achieve the high level of performance that I believe is acceptable to me and the challenge of achieving that on a consistent basis.

I see it as a challenge when I come up against some of the top teams in the world.  Then I am keen to play well and show them that I can play good doubles.  These are the players I look up to and I want them to hold me in high regard.

WZ: How important is training and preparation?  And to what extent do you feel the attitude of a player in training is reflected on the court?

Judy: Some players are great match players and some perform better on the training court. The great match players are generally the Winners as they can perform under pressure. They thrive on it. However, you need to put in the hard work in practice in order to be sure of putting in the performance in the match. Any top coach will tell you that. Preparation is the key.

WZ: What do you define as the difference between winning and losing?

Judy: I think if you are going to make it to the top in any sport, you have to really hate losing.  You can’t accept defeat – it just hurts too much.

Jamie:  It depends on your age and what standard you’re playing at.  I think at my age I can still do a lot of major improvements and sometimes that is more important than getting wins on the board.  I think that I am putting in a high performance on a regular basis and so then the result becomes more important to me.  I think in the juniors it is more important to keep improving your game and building up your strengths because ultimately it’s the senior’s tour where you earn your keep.

WZ: Do you believe in ‘born winners’, or is it something that can be nurtured?  Can you ‘make’ someone a winner?

Judy: I think most great champions are born winners. But you can help players/athletes to develop winning qualities and a winning mentality. It helps if you can give them world class input from sports scientists and surround them by players with winning attitudes – that is bound to rub off on them. That is the advantage of training in an environment where there are role models. We need to provide that more regularly with our top youngsters. Get them in among the world’s best at an early age – see who sinks and see who swims after that experience!

WZ:  Do you find that other countries, such as Australia and the United States, have a different mentality towards sport than here in Scotland? What is it that you notice?

Judy: Yes I think they both do. The Aussies have such a great sporting culture and they expect success. The Americans have the advantage of huge numbers and a terrific college sport system, plus an incredibly positive attitude to life in general!

WZ: Do you feel there should be any changes implemented in the culture and mentality surrounding Scottish/British tennis (and sport in general)?

Judy: To increase participation, there should be more sport in primary schools – at least three hours per week. There should also be more opportunity for team sports in secondary schools. Tennis needs more competitive youngsters but the sport needs to work harder to make tennis more attractive and accessible – its still too expensive for the average family (especially if you need to play indoors or if you want to take part in tournaments) and there are too many pockets of the country where there are little or no facilities and too little activity going on in clubs.

WZ: Can you tell us about what you consider as the pinnacle of achievement in your career so far?  What is the greatest personal moment you have experienced?

Judy: Actually coaching the Dunblane High School boy’s team to the Scottish Schools Championships in 1995! I was voluntary coach at the local club and ran the school teams – it was my first success with a group of kids who really just played for fun.

Apart from that – in 2003 at the French Open Junior Championships, when there were three Scots in the boy’s singles. It was unheard of. I sat in the crowd with my flag…proud as punch!

Jamie: Reaching the finals in L.A. and losing to the Bryan Brothers. And also the final of Bangkok where I played with my brother.

WZ: Can you talk about someone who stands out for you as an inspiration?  Who has been the most influential person in your career?

Judy: Probably Ivo Van Aaken again, director of tennis in Belgium. He came over to Scotland three times a year to help me profile the best kids and to educate the coaches. I learned so much from him and he was so enthusiastic in trying to help me with the players.

Jamie:  My mum has been a big help towards my tennis.  She has given so much of her time to helping me and my brother succeed at what we want to achieve.  Louis has been a big inspiration to me as he has so much confidence in my ability to succeed and knows what it takes to get to the top which in turn gives me great confidence.

WZ: Do you have a book or a quote which you often refer to when you are in need of motivation or inspiration?

Judy: “If you wait for success to happen, it won’t.”

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