I refer to the shocking treatment given to Andy Murray by a small section of spectators during the recent semi-final of the Barclays ATP Tour with Roger Federer.
It was not an insignificant issue as Annabel Croft mentioned it in her post-match analysis and she was shocked by the actions of some of the crowd, even suggesting it may have affected Murray's performance in the second set.
I think it is fair to say the heartbeat of tennis in the UK has always traditionally been in the south-east of England if for no other than financial reasons. A number of people from there frankly cannot take to "oor Andy" and I experienced this first hand at the 02 Arena two years ago.
It was to be hoped his summer's triumphs (and his reaction after losing the Wimbledon final) would have changed that but for a minor few old habits die hard, or should I say old prejudices. At times Murray may not be the most effusive of characters but he appears to be polite, well-grounded and intelligent. Maturity was shown by his refusal to be drawn by the reaction of some of the crowd on Sunday night, although inwardly he must have been hurting. Not for him the adulation which he would have received by attending the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards next month. Instead it is a gruelling training regime in Miami in preparation for January's Australian Open.
He deserves the unified support of the whole UK tennis community, not what he received from a few on Sunday night.
David Drain, 7 Maunsheugh Road, Fenwick.
I was disappointed with the headline I believe gave an incorrect and unfair impression of Andy Murray's attitude to the Sports Personality of the Year ("Why I will not attend the Sports Personality of the Year awards", The Herald, November 13.).
It suggested a negative approach to the event which was not borne out by Hugh MacDonald's article. Murray displays total commitment to the betterment of his game and will not be the first sports personality not to be present on the night. I hope this will not deter Scots from voting for him.
Diana Macintosh, 106a Sinclair Street, Helensburgh.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article