Murray Is A Miami Heat Basketball Fan

Written by: on 22nd March 2013
BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament
Murray Is A Miami Heat Basketball Fan

epa03621163 Andy Murray of Great Britain hits a return against Lu Yen-hsun from Taiwan in first set during the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 12 March 2013. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO  |

Andy Murray is taking advantage of being given the latest possible start in Miami’s Sony Open. The US Open champion, seeded second behind world no.1 Novak Djokovic, will not play his initial match until tomorrow (Saturday). So tonight the Scot will indulge his new-found passion for basketball and use his season ticket at the American Airlines Arena to watch the Miami Heat, as they face the Detroit Pistons and look for a 25th consecutive victory in the NBA.

Murray spends an increasing amount of time at his second home on Brickell Avenue, overlooking the Biscayne Bay. This year he is expected to total three months. And although his predominant sporting passions outside of tennis are soccer and boxing, his interest for basketball is growing. He has even established a friendly relationship with LeBron James and cited him as an example before Murray’s Olympic and US Open titles.

“I watch a lot of basketball,” Murray said. “And it is a sport I really like. But I never played it when I was growing up, and I am terrible at it.

“Hopefully I will go to the game if I can. I went to see a couple of Miami Heat games before Indian Wells, when they were playing at home. The streak has been unbelievable.”

Murray was a tennis spectator last night as he watched his Miami second round opponent Bernard Tomic beat the French qualifier Marc Gicquel in straight sets.

“I haven’t seen him play that much outside of Australia,” Murray said of Tomic. “But he’s a very, very talented player. He makes it tough for everyone. He’s got a very unorthodox game style.”

Murray maintained just because the likes of Indian Wells winner Rafael Nadal and former world no.1 Roger Federer is out of the mix, there can be no excuse for going into this tournament with any lessened intensity.

“It’s not every tournament where you have to play against Nadal and Federer. Sometimes they lose early or whatever,” said the Scot who won the Miami title in 2009 and was finalist last year.

“You need to make sure that you get into a position in the event where you would have to play them, which is normally in the semi-finals or finals. But, for sure, it’s not as difficult if you don’t have two of the best players ever playing in a tournament.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: , , , , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.