FORMER Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has revealed he made a series of mistakes relating to his off-court business activities which spoiled some of the enjoyment of his early professional career.

 

Murray was catapulted into the spotlight after becoming aged only 18 the first Scots player to reach the men's third round of the tournament in 2005, losing to David Nalbandian, a former finalist.

However, he admitted in an interview surrounding himself with too many advisers over the next two years and making "too many mistakes" in the direction his career was going off-court.

Admitting that he "didn't like it" at the time, Murray said: "I felt like I was getting pulled in a lot of different directions.

Murray, 27, added in an interview about his business acumen for British Airways magazine Business Life: "Photo shoots, working with different commercial partners, all sorts of different things that came into my life at around the same time and it was impacting on my enjoyment of playing tennis.

"There was a lot more pressure. I wasn't just playing for myself, there were all these other people around me who were benefiting from my success if I was winning matches, and I did find it difficult.

"Now I've had seven or eight years of that, I know how to deal with it a lot better and have people around me that I trust. At the end of the day this is sport, and I play because I love playing. I don't play just for money."

The Dunblane-born star, who has also won the US Open, been a finalist in several of the Major tournaments and won a gold medal at the London Olympics, employed up to 14 people whom he found it difficult to tell what to do.

He is now a multi-millionaire and has his own management agency, 77, which is worth around £10 million after signing lucrative sponsorships. The firm controls his hotel, Cromlix, near Dunblane, where Murray held his wedding reception after marrying Kim Sears this month.

He added: "If you're in your early or mid 20s, everyone you're working with is much older than you.

"They have a lot more experience, and it's very difficult to be the one that takes the lead and tell them, "This is how I want things done." I found that a very, very challenging thing to do. I had no idea how to control it, I had to have so many different conversations with different people.

The player said he wants other British sports people to avoid making his mistakes.

Murray said he worked with people "I shouldn't have worked with, signing deals with companies for too long."

He has since learnt to "be myself" and not "say the right things just to make money."

Murray added: "I'd rather work with people that I know and am comfortable with."

He also wants to ultimately manage other British sportspeople, adding: "I made loads of mistakes when I was younger, and so did my parents - working with people I shouldn't have worked with, signing deals with companies for too long. I feel that's something I could advise and help other athletes with."

He added: Since I was 17, all I've done is play tennis and do all the other things that come with the job. But I'd like to try something different when I finish playing. I just don't know exactly what that is yet."