Murray's last laugh on those questioning fitness

MELBOURNE (AFP) –

Andy Murray hits a return during a training session in Melbourne, ahead of the Australian Open, on January 13, 2013. Murray has had the last laugh on British journalists who questioned his fitness before he scored his breakthrough triumphs at the Olympics and US Open last year.

Andy Murray has had the last laugh on British journalists who questioned his fitness before he scored his breakthrough triumphs at the Olympics and US Open last year.

The Scot was routinely grilled about his physical conditioning, or lack thereof, in the years he fell short of winning major championships.

But at the completion of his stellar season in 2012, he invited a group of reporters to train with him in Miami.

“Hence, you may have seen a few photos of middle-aged journalists jogging down a beach in Miami alongside me,” Murray wrote in his column for The Australian newspaper Monday.

“It was hardly David Hasselhoff-style from Baywatch, but I hear it did create a bit of a stir on Twitter.

“The reason for the invitation dates back to some tough questions in press conferences through the years after some difficult losses, a couple of which happened here in Melbourne in finals.

“I was always being asked whether I was doing enough to become a Grand Slam winner, when it was going to happen or if I would consider approaching things a different way.”

Murray, who insisted he gets on well with the media, said he put the journalists through “hell” in Miami.

“I promised not to be too tough on them (well, that’s what I said to their faces),” he wrote, adding that his fitness trainer Jez Green and coach Ivan Lendl helped put them through their paces in December.

“And I am pretty sure that a few days doing weights, pull-ups, Bikram Yoga and running through the sand in Miami is quite different to how they would usually spend the tennis off-season,” he said.

“I am also pretty sure that a couple of the writers felt a little sore for a few days after it — payback time for all those tough questions!

“But I felt it was a worthwhile exercise and they have told me they appreciated it as well,” he added.

“I won’t name any names, but one or two couldn’t manage a single chin-up, and I won’t even get into what happened on the VersaClimber, but it turned out to be an amusing few days and beneficial for all.”