Simon Fuller spent the weekend chaperoning Spice Girl Victoria Beckham through New York Fashion week but the American Idol creator or took time out to watch another of his charges with XIX Entertainment, Andy Murray win the US Open.
And now Murray is a fully certified member of the world’s big four after finally winning a long overdue Grand Slam title, Fuller is once again ready for the big sports management companies such IMG, Lagardère Unlimited and Octagon to start pitching for the Scot.
“That doesn’t worry me at all,” said Fuller who keeps XIX’s sporting portfolio deliberately small but also manages inonic soccer player David Beckham and Formula One world champion driver Lewis Hamilton.
“Everything I’ve ever done has been with hot properties — the biggest TV show, American Idol; biggest footballer, Beckham — it’s what I do and I don’t think twice about it because it is the way it is. I’m thrilled.
“It’s not really about me, but I’m delighted to have another iconic person to work with. I am judged by the people I work with and fortunately my success rate is pretty good, working with the hottest singer, the hottest new designer, the hottest footballer and now the hottest tennis player.”
Fuller’s company has managed Murray since 2009 when he left another of tennis’s smaller management houses, Ace Group owned by Patricio Apey. Speaking to The Times of London, Fuller said: “I saw then a young man who was potentially a champion, someone who could make history.
“He had been so close, he was so young and I was projecting that if he were to win a grand-slam tournament, I wanted to be a part of it and I thought I could help. I was imagining a Brit winning a major and how massive that would be, and that’s what appealed to me; this young Scottish guy who could be and now is a legend.
“In a sporting context, he will do his thing with Ivan [Lendl], and that will take its course, which is great, but my job is to complement sporting excellence with an understanding of what goes with being a superstar.
“I don’t do a lot of sport because I don’t choose to do a lot of sport. We only represent five people. It is very rare in sport to think it is conceivable to make history and he has done that. The first [British man to win a grand-slam title] since 1936 is a statistic you can’t really comprehend.”
©Daily Tennis News Wire
Topics: Andy Murray, British tennis news, Mussa, Simon Fuller, Tennis News, US Open 2012