Community shares its son's highs and lows

Susan Swarbrick

Columnist and Senior Features Writer

Monday 9 July 2012

THE champagne is back on ice for another year, the banners of support and colourful bunting carefully packed away.

OUR ANDY: Murray fans in Dunblane experience the ecstasy and agony of the final.Main picture: Gordon Terris

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Susan Swarbrick in Dunblane

In Dunblane last night, the mood was one of disappointment but defiant pride as the town's most famous son saw his Wimbledon dream end in tatters.

The day had started with buoyant optimism, the Perthshire town's residents up bright and early, many admitting they had scarcely slept a wink in anticipation.

Dunblane was bedecked with Saltire and Union flag bunting, with messages of good luck hanging from lamp posts and a huge mosaic of the tennis star in the window of a gift shop in the High Street.In Tesco, staff were dressed in tennis whites, the deputy manager reporting a rush on strawberries and cream. Residents packed into pubs, bars and crowded living rooms. Many flocked to the Dunblane Centre, where staff struggled to find enough chairs.At Dunblane Sports Centre, where Andy Murray played as a youngster, someone had baked a cake decorated with a Union flag of strawberries, blueberries and cream.There was a family atmosphere as children watched footage of their hero on the big screen before running outside to hit balls on the courts.At the Dunblane Hotel in the town centre, the crowd inside the bar was spilling outside even before play began as people scrambled to find a spot in front of the big screen.Come 2pm, the atmosphere was electric as cheers of "Go Andy!" and "Get into him, son!" rang out around the room. But as play got under way, a church-like silence fell and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Then came the growing cries of "easy, easy" as the local lad took the first set. Glasses clinked and drinks were spilled as the floor thundered with feet stamping in joy.As the afternoon wore on the mood grew tense. Finger nails were gnawed to the quick. "C'mon Andy, hurry up and win," came the plaintive plea of one nervous viewer.As Roger Federer nudged ever closer to victory, the sense of desolation in the room was palpable. But yet hope lived on.Only when it was all over did the dam of emotion finally break. Many broke down in tears. There were consoling embraces, pats on the back and eyes gazing in disbelief at Federer's jubilation being played out on the big screen.Behind the bar, the champagne stayed in the ice buckets like unwanted guests who had outstayed their welcome.Among those watching was Carol Ann Morris, 50, a friend of Murray's father Willie, who had rushed from work to catch the dying embers of the match."I'm devastated," she said. "I can't believe it. I really thought he would do it. The good thing is he has got one step further than he has before by reaching the final. His day will come. Everyone is so proud of him."CJ Dick, 32, a laboratory assistant from Glasgow, had travelled to Dunblane to soak up the atmosphere in Murray's home town. "I'm totally gutted," she said. "I completely feel his pain. I hoped he would win."Calum Johnson, 23, who was a year below Murray at Dunblane Primary School, was philosophical. "He gave it a good shot and came out second best today, but he certainly has the ability to win it in the future and I believe he will," he said. "I'm disappointed, but here in Dunblane we will never lose faith in Andy."Landlord Tom McLean, 64, his eyes red-rimmed, struggled to keep his emotions in check. "The guy did his best," he said. "Federer is the king, but Andy's day will come. We were behind him 100%, we were hoping this would be his day."He added: "I made a list of things to do before I die and one of them was to see Andy Murray in the Wimbledon final. Regardless of the result, I have achieved that goal today."It was a sentiment echoed by Ian Conway, vice-president of Tennis Scotland, who has known Murray since the star was at primary school.He said: "The whole of Scotland was rooting for him, but for him to come from Dunblane and reach the final of the greatest tennis tournament in the world is nothing but a commendation of his hard work."

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Community shares its son's highs and lows

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