Murray wants boxer Hatton to help him to deliver Oz Open death blow
By ANIFriday, January 29, 2010
LONDON - British tennis star Andy Murray has called on boxing pal Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton to help him deliver a knock-out blow in Sunday’s Australian Open final, and become the first Brit to win a Grand Slam title in more than 70 years.
Murray is likely to meet either world No1 Roger Federer or Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The Sun quoted Murray, 22, as saying: “I love boxing - it’s my favourite sport. Ricky’s actually meant to be leaving tomorrow to go to Sydney but hopefully I’ll be able to persuade him to stay.
Andy’s proud mum Judy, 50, also revealed how much it means to her son to have the Hitman’s support.
She wrote on her blog: “Andy is a huge boxing and Hitman fan so he was loving the extra support and catching up after the match.”
But she admitted the Stockport scrapper had been put off by her son’s chilly post-match routine. She added: “Ricky was intrigued by Andy’s ice bath recovery and went to the locker room to check it out.
He came back saying he would notbe adding it to his training regime.”
Prime Minister Gordon Brown led the praise for Murray’s Australian campaign.
He said: “Andy is in the final and I hope he wins this major tournament. It would be great news. He is a great tennis player and a great guy.” (ANI)
