Becker:Murray too much of a mummy's boy

pound cat · Dec 7, 2011

Is that Murray's real problem?

Boris Becker has said that one of the reasons Andy Murray has not won a Grand Slam yet is down to his close relationship with his mother.

Judy Murray, a tennis coach herself, is regularly seen with Murray at events, and Becker believes it shows a lack of maturity on the Scot's part.

"In many ways, Murray seems younger than 23," Becker is quoted as saying in the Mirror.

"Like how close he still is to his mother, Judy. He has also been pretty much with the same girlfriend for the past three or four years.

"That is something you don't usually do when you're 23, it's what you do when you're 19 or 20. Maybe he is maturing a bit slower and that shows on the court.

"On a tennis court, you are by yourself. You cannot ask anybody on important points what to do.

"You have to be convinced yourself what is the right thing to do. That is called maturity. I find he still hasn't matured enough to be able to make the right decisions in a Grand Slam."

Becker won Wimbledon when he was just 17 but the German legend said there is still plenty of time for Murray to win one of the big prizes in tennis.

"I think he is awfully close and one of these days he will break through," said Becker.

"He is like Arsenal because they look pretty and play good but haven't won trophies and their fans get impatient. But stick with the tactics and Wenger and Murray will do it!"

Eurosport

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nhat8121 · Dec 7, 2011

or he probably play even worse without his mum or gf close by...

I don't think he played that well when he was broken up with his gf.

Mustard · Dec 7, 2011

Isn't this old news? I could have sworn Becker called Murray a "mummy's boy" before. To be honest, I don't know why he's called that as players like Lleyton Hewitt were much closer to their parents on the tour than Murray has been to his.

Jeebs · Dec 7, 2011

Arsenal aren't going to win anything else under Wenger. They're cooked.

Mainad · Dec 7, 2011

This is a rehash of an interview Becker gave to Eurosport last year.

It seems a bit rich criticising Andy for having the same,steady girlfriend coming from a guy who couldn't keep his fly zipped and got a waitress pregnant in a broom closet!

Methinks Boris should stick to giving out tennis advice which he is well qualified to do but keep the relationships advice to himself on which subject he is hardly the most appropriate person to be giving lectures about!

OddJack · Dec 7, 2011

Becker lives in London, where he works as a trainer ( The ball kids were trained by him) and as consultant. So he is right behind Murray's ears. I dont think Andy's gonna like what he hears, even though this is not new to him.

We know there is truth to Becker's evaluation of Murray. Too often, he complains to, and curses, his box. When he is tight and does not believe in his chances he suddenly touches his body parts( even though it's been rare for him to quit for injury).
I laughed at Beckers girl friend change comment though. There is no such thing as changing gf after 21. We all know many successful players stayed with the same girl for long time, Rodge a good example.

jokinla · Dec 7, 2011

Mustard said:
Isn't this old news? I could have sworn Becker called Murray a "mummy's boy" before. To be honest, I don't know why he's called that as players like Lleyton Hewitt were much closer to their parents on the tour than Murray has been to his.

Perhaps behind the scenes, but not on the TV. You can't watch a Murray match without seeing his mom, versus Hewitt, who I couldn't pick out of a line up.

NJ1 · Dec 7, 2011

Mainad- spot on post re Murray's gf and Becker's past.

Boris is right about his mom though. Can't be healthy to have her always there at his age.

Mainad · Dec 7, 2011

NJ1 said:
Mainad- spot on post re Murray's gf and Becker's past.

Boris is right about his mom though. Can't be healthy to have her always there at his age.

As far as I can tell she is there no more frequently than I see the parents of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic and scores of other players!

single_handed_champion · Dec 7, 2011

Mainad said:
This is a rehash of an interview Becker gave to Eurosport last year.

It seems a bit rich criticising Andy for having the same,steady girlfriend coming from a guy who couldn't keep his fly zipped and got a waitress pregnant in a broom closet!

Methinks Boris should stick to giving out tennis advice which he is well qualified to do but keep the relationships advice to himself on which subject he is hardly the most appropriate person to be giving lectures about!

LOLZ, so true. I was appalled to read the girlfriend bit.

OddJack · Dec 7, 2011

I dont think Boris's point is simply about Judys presence in the stands. Andy was raised by a single mother so there is a difference between him and like's of Federer and Novak as far as their dependence on their mother is concerned.

als47 · Dec 7, 2011

jokinla said:
Perhaps behind the scenes, but not on the TV. You can't watch a Murray match without seeing his mom, versus Hewitt, who I couldn't pick out of a line up.

So basically, the media is too close to Murray's mom. Murray himself is no more so than any other player whose parents come to watch them play.

Mustard · Dec 7, 2011

jokinla said:
Perhaps behind the scenes, but not on the TV. You can't watch a Murray match without seeing his mom, versus Hewitt, who I couldn't pick out of a line up.

Really? Glynn and Cherilyn (and Jaslyn and Kim a lot of the time) were nearly always at Lleyton's matches until the mid 2000s, and were in the media a lot, usually from a negative portrayal due to their closeness and "us against the world" mentality. Lleyton was often "advised" to go on his own, and he always scoffed at any such suggestions.

Polaris · Dec 7, 2011

Mainad said:
It seems a bit rich criticising Andy for having the same,steady girlfriend coming from a guy who couldn't keep his fly zipped and got a waitress pregnant in a broom closet!

Exactly. Becker is not the right person to explore causal links between relationships and tennis performance. I like Boris, but this is idiotic of him.

gsharma · Dec 7, 2011

OddJack said:
Becker lives in London, where he works as a trainer ( The ball kids were trained by him) and as consultant. So he is right behind Murray's ears. I dont think Andy's gonna like what he hears, even though this is not new to him.

We know there is truth to Becker's evaluation of Murray. Too often, he complains to, and curses, his box. When he is tight and does not believe in his chances he suddenly touches his body parts( even though it's been rare for him to quit for injury).
I laughed at Beckers girl friend change comment though. There is no such thing as changing gf after 21. We all know many successful players stayed with the same girl for long time, Rodge a good example.

Really? He's training ball kids? He probably needs the money to pay child support and alimony.

ManFed · Dec 7, 2011

Come on, he can not be serious.

Federer had the same girlfriend for like ten years and he won 16 slams.

autumn_leaf · Dec 7, 2011

pound cat said:
"Like how close he still is to his mother, Judy. He has also been pretty much with the same girlfriend for the past three or four years.

"That is something you don't usually do when you're 23, it's what you do when you're 19 or 20. Maybe he is maturing a bit slower and that shows on the court.

.

That's right! Having long stable relationships is only something immature people do. Something Becker would definitely say.

Mike Sams · Dec 7, 2011

There is indeed something holding Murray back and every person out there thinks they know exactly what it is. :lol:
I have a clue what it is. It has nothing to do with his mother being close by or being with the same girlfriend or getting angry at his box. He loses in Slam finals because he's a natural pusher and when the stakes are high, he resorts to his natural instincts which is to force the error rather than playing with aggression and going for his shots. Nobody can win Slams playing pusher tennis and hitting wimpy loopy shots. The guys who were aggressive as hell are the ones who won in those finals. Look at how Federer and Djokovic attacked the ball. They were aiming to win the points as opposed to not losing the points. They didn't try to rally until the opponent made a mistake. It's pretty damned obvious what Murray's issue is.

Mike Sams · Dec 7, 2011

ManFed said:
Come on, he can not be serious.

Federer had the same girlfriend for like ten years and he won 16 slams.

Nadal had the same girlfriend since he was like 12 and he's won 10 Slams.

1970CRBase · Dec 7, 2011

About Boris, he was likeable to 1987 or so. Afterwards, I began to sense something. Similar to Nadal, both started out real nice good kids but, success comes and... some kind of influence in their ensuing entourage, and then as they got older you get this cynical "worldy" vibe. In Nad's case there was an Uncle T.

In Boris' case I venture it was Mr. Tiriac.

Not saying it was a bad thing overall. You got to know how to protect yourself in a cynical world...

Sentinel · Dec 7, 2011

Mainad said:
This is a rehash of an interview Becker gave to Eurosport last year.

It seems a bit rich criticising Andy for having the same,steady girlfriend coming from a guy who couldn't keep his fly zipped and got a waitress pregnant in a broom closet!

Methinks Boris should stick to giving out tennis advice which he is well qualified to do but keep the relationships advice to himself on which subject he is hardly the most appropriate person to be giving lectures about!

QFT !

I think there was a thread about this some months back, and the responses here were the same, too.

jokinla · Dec 7, 2011

Mustard said:
Really? Glynn and Cherilyn (and Jaslyn and Kim a lot of the time) were nearly always at Lleyton's matches until the mid 2000s, and were in the media a lot, usually from a negative portrayal due to their closeness and "us against the world" mentality. Lleyton was often "advised" to go on his own, and he always scoffed at any such suggestions.

Here in the US his parents weren't consistently shown at his matches, not the way Murray's mom is. Maybe the coverage has just focused more on boxes these days, but as I said, i couldn't pick out Hewitt's parents, perhaps his wife, but not family, the way you can Djoker's, Fed's, Nadal's, Sampras, etc.

rommil · Dec 7, 2011

Andy should listen so he can win Wimby like Boom Boom did, and get the broom pregnant in the closet, or something like that.

Sentinel · Dec 7, 2011

rommil said:
Andy should listen so he can win Wimby like Boom Boom did, and get the broom pregnant in the closet, or something like that.

You mean Kim Sears never gets preg ? Remains a virgin like Xisca till the end ???

BeHappy · Dec 7, 2011

Very very common with English speaking players like McEnroe (Remember his dad?), Hewitt and Murray. Roddick, Blake and Agassi all have brothers that go to all their matches too. Mardy Fish lived with the Roddick family for years to so they're like brothers.

They have almost no other English speakers to talk to at all on the tour. They have to bring someone with them. Most of the tour is Spanish speaking, French speaking and russian/eastern european dialect speaking.

The girlfriend thing is just funny, keeping the same girlfriend has worked out pretty well for Federer, Becker and Safin's approach didn't work so well in comparison.

batz · Dec 8, 2011

jokinla said:
Perhaps behind the scenes, but not on the TV. You can't watch a Murray match without seeing his mom, versus Hewitt, who I couldn't pick out of a line up.

Here comes Walter Mitty with his Murray fantasies again. I repeat - Judy Murray does not attend the vast majority of Murray's matches. If you think otherwise you are either a liar or delusional.

batz · Dec 8, 2011

jokinla said:
Here in the US his parents weren't consistently shown at his matches, not the way Murray's mom is. Maybe the coverage has just focused more on boxes these days, but as I said, i couldn't pick out Hewitt's parents, perhaps his wife, but not family, the way you can Djoker's, Fed's, Nadal's, Sampras, etc.

Maybe - but you don't blindly hate Hewitt, ergo you didn't go looking for things to bash him over the head with - unlike your approach to Murray.

You're just a fantasist with an anti-Murray fetish.

passive_aggressive · Dec 8, 2011

Murray's problem is that he has no forehand (and no second serve).

Save the psychological BS - that's just an excuse for poor performance.

Sometimes Murray can 'fake' having a big forehand, but in a GS final (and in most semi's nowadays) - you can't fake a weapon like that. You revert back to what you are. A pusher.

batz · Dec 8, 2011

passive_aggressive said:
Murray's problem is that he has no forehand (and no second serve).

Save the psychological BS - that's just an excuse for poor performance.

Sometimes Murray can 'fake' having a big forehand, but in a GS final (and in most semi's nowadays) - you can't fake a weapon like that. You revert back to what you are. A pusher.

And you can sometimes 'fake' having something sensible to say - but then you revert back to what you are.

Mongo like candy?

tusharlovesrafa · Dec 8, 2011

Sentinel said:
You mean Kim Sears never gets preg ? Remains a virgin like Xisca till the end ???

You indirectly mean that both murray and rafa are impotent..

...

Bjorn99 · Dec 8, 2011

passive_aggressive said:
Murray's problem is that he has no forehand (and no second serve).

Save the psychological BS - that's just an excuse for poor performance.

Sometimes Murray can 'fake' having a big forehand, but in a GS final (and in most semi's nowadays) - you can't fake a weapon like that. You revert back to what you are. A pusher.

Agree 100%. Murrays forehand gives me the same unpleasant feeling when I watch it, as Stefan Edberg's did.

Sentinel · Dec 8, 2011

batz said:
And you can sometimes 'fake' having something sensible to say - but then you revert back to what you are.

Mongo like candy?

LOLol.

tusharlovesrafa said:
You indirectly mean that both murray and rafa are impotent.....

Nope. Rafa has side-dishes, I am sure. I was just commenting on someone's post.

tusharlovesrafa · Dec 8, 2011

Sentinel said:
LOLol.

Nope. Rafa has side-dishes, I am sure. I was just commenting on someone's post.

You mean chilli chicken,chicken tikka masala,momo,noodles...I love side and front dishes too..

Crisstti · Dec 8, 2011

It is old news, but doesn't look any better because of that... seems awfully sexist.

nikdom · Dec 8, 2011

Donno what Murray's on-court meltdowns have to do with having the same girlfriend and being close to his mom.

You ask why? Just look at this -

ManFed · Dec 8, 2011

Mike Sams said:
Nadal had the same girlfriend since he was like 12 and he's won 10 Slams.

That is weird indeed. So Nadal hasn't met any other girl just Xisca who is not very pretty, when he can have the girl he wants with all that money.

Well, at least Fed had the chance to bang other girls before Mirka, like Hingins who was very hot at that time.

jokinla · Dec 8, 2011

batz said:
Here comes Walter Mitty with his Murray fantasies again. I repeat - Judy Murray does not attend the vast majority of Murray's matches. If you think otherwise you are either a liar or delusional.

Sweety, I only have fantasies with you, not Murray. And how quick you are with those claws you b@*ch. I'm not sure what the BBC shows, but when we watch tennis on this side of the pond, Murray's mom is shown quite often, if you don't believe me, come on over, I have a warm little spot waiting just for you.

jokinla · Dec 8, 2011

batz said:
Maybe - but you don't blindly hate Hewitt, ergo you didn't go looking for things to bash him over the head with - unlike your approach to Murray.

You're just a fantasist with an anti-Murray fetish.

I do have some other fetishes, perhaps we could compare.

Mustard · Dec 8, 2011

nikdom said:
Donno what Murray's on-court meltdowns have to do with having the same girlfriend and being close to his mom.

You ask why? Just look at this -

Not only that, but Mirka outcoached Brad Gilbert during the third set rain delay of the 2004 Wimbledon final of Federer vs. Roddick. At the time of the rain delay, it was 1 set all and Federer was 2-4 down in the third set.

Bartelby · Dec 8, 2011

Yes, well Cary Grant could have had any woman he wanted as well.

ManFed said:
That is weird indeed. So Nadal hasn't met any other girl just Xisca who is not very pretty, when he can have the girl he wants with all that money.

Well, at least Fed had the chance to bang other girls before Mirka, like Hingins who was very hot at that time.

Sid_Vicious · Dec 8, 2011

Everybody picks on Murray.

Andy probably reads these and goes "On of these days"

Mainad · Dec 8, 2011

batz said:
And you can sometimes 'fake' having something sensible to say - but then you revert back to what you are.

Mongo like candy?

According to tennis_fan_182 er...sorry, passive_aggressive, Murray's forehand is not the only thing that's 'fake'. So is his no.4 ranking and 21 titles. In fact he can't even play tennis. It's all 'fake' !

Same old troll, different name. As before, best not feed!

Mainad · Dec 8, 2011

tusharlovesrafa said:
You indirectly mean that both murray and rafa are impotent.....

No, important!

heftylefty · Dec 8, 2011

Mustard said:
Not only that, but Mirka outcoached Brad Gilbert during the third set rain delay of the 2004 Wimbledon final of Federer vs. Roddick. At the time of the rain delay, it was 1 set all and Federer was 2-4 down in the third set.

Awesome!!! Mirka Out-Gilberted Brad...Sweet!!!

Blinkism · Dec 9, 2011

Oh great, Becker, first you crap on Murray and then you drag Arsenal into this?

I like your style.

Becker:Murray too much of a mummy's boy

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