Andy Murray: Olympics are bigger than tennis
August 18, 2013Winning an Olympic gold medal is the pinnacle of sporting achievement, according to Andy Murray.
The 24-year-old has ranked victory in this summer’s Games in London on the same level, if not bigger, than a Grand Slam title.
Murray believes that the added importance attached to playing for your country makes the tournament extra special.
“This summer’s going to be huge,” said the Scot. “I’d be desperate to win Olympic gold. I think either winning a Slam or Olympic gold would be celebrated by the nation but winning an Olympic medal is something that belongs to your country as well.
“In sporting terms I would say the Olympics is bigger than winning a Grand Slam because everybody knows what Olympic gold is, whereas not everybody knows what a Grand Slam is.
“The Olympics is bigger than tennis, bigger than the Slams for sure. It’s a huge competition. In tennis, when you’ve finished playing people would probably look at a Grand Slam before an Olympic gold, but in sporting terms an Olympic gold is pretty much the ultimate achievement.”
Murray crashed out of the first round of the 2008 Olympic tournament in Beijing to Lu Yen-hsun of Chinese Taipei.