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The 2015 tennis season has seen a lot of spicy action outside the court. From the breakup of tennis’s most famous couple in Maria Sharapova and Grigor Dimitrov to Serena’s affair with the rapper ‘Drake’ (the two were caught making out in a Cincinnati restaurant), tennis has seen many news-making events off the court.
However, Andy Murray’s wedding with long time girlfriend Kim Sears was easily the biggest event off the court this year.
Andy Murray: The Burden of Expectations and Love-Hate affair with British media
Andy Murray has long carried the burden of history on his shoulders. He managed to end Great Britain’s Grand Slam title drought when he won the US Open in 2012 and even managed to step it up a notch in the following year, becoming the first British man in 77 years to win the Wimbledon.
His relationship with the British media has been a tumultuous one ever since he was weighed down with expectations of winning a Grand Slam. They have ridiculed him for not being consistent enough in the major events and even pan him on a regular basis when he loses, although they do shower plenty of praise on him whenever he gains a victory.
All this back and forth stuff from the media makes it almost seem as though: “When Andy wins he is British, and when he loses he is Scottish”.
Whatever be the case, Andy has always been the biggest news in British media as far as tennis is concerned for the last decade or so. He has been discussed, praised, ridiculed and analysed more than any British sports star in recent history.
So, his wedding expectedly was big news in all of Britain. All the big media houses and newspapers ran stories on the event too.
The Wedding: Andy Murray or the Prince of Scotland?
The whole of Scotland seemed to be enjoying and celebrating the wedding of their beloved son. The best of what Scotland had to offer was there at the wedding, in terms of food and drinks. Murray fans posted their best wishes on social media and Scotland's First Minister also offered her congratulations.
Nicola Sturgeon said: "I send my warm congratulations to Andy and Kim on their big day and wish them all the very best for a long and happy life together.”
The wedding happened at the Dunblane Cathedral in Andy’s hometown. The groom wore a traditional Scottish blue and green tartan kilt while his bride dazzled in a white gown designed by famous British designer Jenny Packham.
The couple decided to only have close friends and relatives for their wedding service. Among those assembled were Andy's proud parents Judy and Will Murray, with the latter being accompanied by his fiancée Sam Watson. His elder brother Jamie Murray, who acted as one of the 27-year-old's three best men, was also present at the wedding with his wife Alejandra Gutierrez.
From Kim’s side, her brother Scott, mother Leonore and father Nigel attended the event.
Ex-British player Tim Henman was amongst few select tennis players who were invited to the event. Henman had played the role of a mentor for Murray earlier in the Scot’s career.
Once the wedding ceremony was over, the guests made their way to the Cromlix House Hotel, which was the venue for the reception of the newly weds. The guest then sat down with the couple for a lavish dinner prepared by some of the best chefs in Scotland.
Andy had personally looked after the food preparations. "The one thing that I really wanted to do was be involved with the food," Andy told Rolling Stone magazine. "Because I like my food, I like good food.
“I went along and did the food tasting and I also did the cake tasting as well. So that would be the thing that I would say I have been most involved in."
Fellow tennis stars Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic were a couple of big names who were surprisingly not included on the guest list. However, they did send in their best wishes to the married couple after the wedding.
Andy was offered $1 million by Hello magazine for the rights to pictures of the event, but he went on to reject the offer, citing the eventit was rejected by Murray, who wanted the event to be private.
Here’s a video which shows the couple at the Dunblane Cathedral on the wedding day:
Post Wedding results and future outlook for Andy
Murray had great success immediately after his marriage. He won his first clay court title at the Munich Open and then went on to beat Rafael Nadal in a Masters 1000 final on the same surface in Rome.
It was followed by good shows at grass court tournaments and decent runs at Wimbledon and the US Open. He also beat Djokovic in the finals of Montreal Masters, ending his eight-match losing streak against Djokovic.
However, he failed to add to his Grand Slam tally despite all his heroics this season.
Murray and his fans would hope that marriage brings him even more luck, and by the time their first child is born sometime next year, Andy is back winning the big ones. Whatever happens, we wish Andy a happy married life and the very best for his future endeavours.
