I was a bit gobsmacked when I read that the British media thought they weren't putting pressure on Andy because they were being positive about him so it was good to know that at least some people recognize that the media are putting unfair pressure on him.
http://www.tennis.com/Tennis_World_Blog/entry.asp?ENTRY_ID=740 Ever since Scottish teen-ager Andy Murray popped onto the international radar just before Wimbledon last year, we’ve watched—bemused—at the amount of attention lavished on his every move by our fellow press pariahs in the United Kingdom.
Granted, Murray started 2005 ranked No. 514 and vaulted up to 65 by year’s end. He’s an extremely gifted, promising player—something that the UK struggles mightily—and largely unsuccessfull—to produce, despite being the wellspring of the game and home of Wimbledon.
Still . . . there have been days when each of the major British papers—big-time outlets like The Times of London, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail—has featured a big Murray feature, even though Murray wasn’t even playing in a tournament that week. You know the headlines: MURRAY KEEN TO DO WELL AT WIMBLEDON . . . MURRAY LOSES TOENAIL CLIPPER AT GYM . . . . It’s a measure of how thirsty the U. .is for a Grand Slam contender, now that Tim Henman is past it.
By contrast, when Pete Sampras was in the last stages of his drive to become the only man ever to finish No. 1 for five years in a row, not a single American newspaper saw fit to have a reporter in Europe cover the story.
Well, Murray lashed out at the press after his first-round loss to Juan Ignacio Chela at the Australian Open the other day, and my only reaction was, “What took you so long?”
The sheer volume of press that Murray has generated has been the source of enormous pressure; I’m amazed it took so long for the issue to burst. The Brits have to be really careful. I’m not exactly the nurturing type, but I say, cool it—Murray is just a kid. It’s idiotic to suggest, as one adamant newsman did, that because Murray has largely received good press, he shouldn’t complain or feel pressured.
The naked fact is that the press has been trying to rush this kid to superstardom and he’s nowhere near ready for it in any sense—not as a player, not as a man. The sad thing is that on this accelerated timeline, the Britpress is going to start running those “Is Boy Wonder Andy the Real Thing?” stories any minute now.
That’s how it works with the competitive media. Stories take on lives of their own, and they demand that the authors keep leapfrogging onward, beating each other to the next predictable turn in the plot. Of course, the press doesn’t set out to build people up only to tear them down, but so what? That drunken driver didn't set out to kill a family of four when he stopped at the bar for a few pops, either. The result is dictated by the modus operandi.
I wish Murray lots of luck. He seems like a good kid.
I was sad to see Henman go out early as well. I don’t care what they say about “Gentleman Tim”—he’s a decent, what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of guy. His demise Down Under did inspire one FPP to produce a gem of the poisoned pen genre—a form at which the Brits, who adore dry humor, are great.
JIM COURIER was a non- conformist when he was 18. In fact, his hostility towards the media — and not only those in his native United States — meant that he was regarded as a demon with freckles and blue eyes. “He was what we used to call a red-a***,” one veteran commentator recalled yesterday.
Almost 18 years on, Courier has words of caution for another teenager getting his kicks in first. Andy Murray has remained here to play in the doubles — he and Novak Djokovic, his partner from Serbia and Montenegro, play the No 5 seeds, Fabrice Santoro, from France, and Nenad Zimonjic, also of Serbia, today — while the fallout from his decision to lay a share of the blame for his elimination from the singles on unwarranted pressure from the media, continues to command attention.
NI_MPU('middle'); Murray decided that the British press played no small part in his first-round defeat by Juan Ignacio Chela, of Argentina, conveniently overlooking that there was not a single British newspaper that suggested that he would have to play anything other than his utmost to have a ghost of a chance of winning.
And while it is not too hard to imagine the tremors awaiting Murray all alone in the bearpit of unrealistic ambition that befalls any decent British player, it is best that he has everyone onside. “When I was his age, I wanted to fight everyone, both on court and off, and I realised only later that I needed to conserve all my energies for those on the court,” Courier said last night. “I wish I learnt my lesson about dealing with the media before it caused me so much trouble.
“I believe someone needs to get to Andy as quickly as possible and tell him that this is not the way to go. Who is it, for example, whose coverage of him is going to help bring in all those millions that are going to be his if he succeeds at this sport?” Courier speaks with the authority of a former world No 1, twice French and Australian Open champion and someone who played in a ferociously competitive manner, as does Murray, and who, like the Scot, came from a blue-collar background. Courier spent his formative years at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in the United States, breaking through when, as a 20-year-old, he won at Roland Garros.
As well as his support for the seniors tour, Courier has also become a highly regarded analyst and has replaced John McEnroe as on-court interviewer and commentator at the Australian Open.
so it was good to know that at least some people recognize that the media are putting unfair pressure on him. 
