ANDY Murray will today return to his home town of Dunblane, a place he left when he was just 16 years old to pursue his dreams of becoming a tennis legend.

Although the Scot has been back many times before, it will be the first time the 25-year-old has walked the streets of his childhood home with those dreams fulfilled.

Murray's triumph at Flushing Meadows in the US Open last week has cemented his place among his sport's all-time greatest players. Following on from his gold medal at the Olympic Games, it capped an incredible summer for the British number one – but the big question is: what now for Scotland's tennis ace?

In material terms, the triumph in New York added a considerable chunk to his substantial wealth – estimated at £20 million – and being a Grand Slam winner will open revenue streams that were untappable while he remained an also-ran.

Aside from the $1.9 million given to the winner, bonuses in Murray's commercial contracts will have kicked in and it will now be time to sit down with his corporate backers to thrash out new deals.

Scott Barclay, a lecturer in sport marketing at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), said that Murray can now expect to triple his off-court earnings.

"Andy Murray is currently sponsored by a range of major companies such as Adidas, Royal Bank of Scotland, the watch company Rado and Head, and now he will have the opportunity to renegotiate with these sponsors on the back of his win. By next year he should be approaching Roger Federer's earnings of around £30m a year."

Alan Ferguson, managing director of The Sports Business, a sports marketing agency, predicted Murray will become Scotland's wealthiest sportsman in history ... if he isn't already.

''The win will make him Adidas's chief sporting figure for their range of tennis wear, both here and in America," he said.

As a newly-minted British sporting hero, there has been a clamour for Murray to receive an knighthood, similar to that bestowed on Scottish Olympian Chris Hoy after he won three gold medals at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

But instant elevation to such heights is unlikely, says Richard Fitzwilliams, former editor of the International Who's Who and an expert on the honours system.

He said: "The fact that he's done so uniquely well means we are clearly looking at a significant honour this year, most likely a CBE. He does not have an honour at the moment and usually someone must have received something else before being knighted.

"There is a history with the honours system being slow to recognise top tennis players. We only have to look at Fred Perry, the last British man to win a grand slam and the last British man to win at Wimbledon. He received no honours at all."

Murray will also be looking to move up the ATP rankings, the points-based system which governs an individual tennis player's standing.

Currently ranked number three in the world ahead of Rafael Nadal and behind Djokovic and Federer, he is well-placed to reach his sport's top spot.

To do so he would either have to win between four and five ATP Masters tournaments – events on the tour which are not counted among the four grand slams – or win both the Australian and French Opens, while still picking up victories in other competitions.

Off court, there has been speculation Murray may now propose to girlfriend Kim Sears. The pair have been together for seven years. As the daughter of a top tennis coach, Sears has grown up around the game and is well-versed in the intricacies of the 35-week ATP tour.

Earlier this week, sports psychologist Roberto Forzoni, who has worked with Murray, said it would be a natural move. He said: "It would not surprise me in the least to see him marry Kim now. She has brought him a calmness off the court and helped him to settle down. She is the rock behind his success. She is someone Andy can really rely on - a shoulder for him to lean on in the hard times."

Any wedding would also have the support of Murray's mother Judy, who has described Kim as the "best thing that ever happened" to her son.

However, the star himself has remained tight-lipped on the subject, saying: "I have no plans to get married right now. I am still fairly young. But we'll see."

While such thoughts may be far from his mind at the moment, there is one certainty about Murray's future: He will be back on court in a matter of weeks.

After saying his goodbyes to the fans in Dunblane who have supported him all his life, the US Open winner will pack his bags and head off to Asia for the next big tournaments on his calendar.

And, like all champions, his eyes will be on the next trophy. His spokesman said: "After a short time off, he's playing in the Japan Open in Tokyo, and then it's on to the Shanghai Masters. The tour just goes on."

'I've reconnected with the English ... I hope it stays that way'

Interview by Stewart Fisher

It is not about the money for Andy Murray, but he had to admit he was taken aback by the size of the cheque he received after his US Open win. "It is the biggest cheque I have ever won on a tennis court by an absolute mile I would have thought," the Scot said, still in the afterglow of his historic victory at Flushing Meadows. "It is an incredible amount of money.

''When you get handed it they say it is a cheque, but there is nothing in there ... it is just an empty envelope! I guess it actually gets done by wire transfer, I am not 100% sure. But it is an amazing amount of money. I never thought I would be playing matches for that much when I was a kid.

"My first cheque must have been from playing a futures tournament – about £100," he added. "My mum would know for sure. I remember when I went over to Barcelona to start playing I always felt bad asking for money. My mum and dad always said, 'Make sure you have enough and be sure to take out enough' but myself and Jamie never really did.

''When you spend your first pay cheque and start being able to pay for things yourself it is a nice feeling. I was maybe only 15 or 16 and in my first professional tournament. At the weekend I would take the bus to the local supermarket and go and get a McDonald's, then and go and buy Oreo biscuits and all the bad stuff."

Murray these days is a supreme specimen – a gluten-free diet, heavy on protein, helping him reach the summit of his chosen profession.

As he toasted his success in New York with a glass of Irn-Bru, the virtually teetotal Scot reflected on one of the vices he does still occasionally indulge in: his love of a particular brand of ice cream.

So high is Murray's stock at the moment, he can probably expect to receive a complimentary fridge full of them any time now. "When I am home and between tournaments I don't eat particularly well for a week or so," he said.

"I like Feast ice creams, I can get through about three or four of them a day when I am home.

''I am not really into chips that much. I have only had one Big Mac in my life, I always had a McChicken sandwich or chicken nuggets."

Such Usain Bolt-style details help to humanise Murray still further in the mind of the public. His popularity south of the Border has ebbed and flowed over the years. He recounted the furore over his misconstrued comments about supporting "anyone but England" at football, and said he hoped his perception problem was all in the past, even if it took his teary loser's speech at Wimbledon to do so.

"I was more disappointed, because I feel like I hadn't really done much wrong," he said. "When I played Wimbledon the year that happened I was only 19 or 20 and still a kid but I was getting things sent to my locker saying, 'I hope you lose every tennis match you ever play'.

''Even in the grounds at Wimbledon people were saying things to me. It wasn't nice but I started to understand a bit how things work after that and became a bit more guarded. From speaking to people they told me to try to be yourself as much as possible, but if people don't really like you it's not your problem. Just try to stay true to yourself and the people around you.

"This year, it was more like I re-connected, because when I first started playing Wimbledon the support was unbelievable," he added.

"Everybody was saying it was a breath of fresh air after Tim and Greg, to have someone who is so excitable on court and so motivated. You get away with it when you are young, but when you get older people start to question everything. In the last few months I have definitely had that connection and I hope it stays that way."

As for the future, Murray has more Grand Slam victories in his sights. "Providing I stay fit and keep playing the same way I should have more opportunities.

"I need to make sure I keep my body healthy and keep doing the right things because that can cut short your career."

Unfortunately, that probably means keeping the ice cream to a minimum.

WILL SCOTLAND BENEFIT FROM MURRAY'S VICTORY?

Alistair Gray, chairman of the Winning Scotland Foundation, which develops initiatives to bring about cultural change and influence young people to adopt sport as a tool for life:

"As far as Scotland is concerned, this is the time of our lives in that we've got the great success of the Olympics, the Paralympics and Andy winning the Grand Slam, a magnificent achievement. Then you've got Glasgow two years away from the Commonwealth Games and Glasgow's bid for the 2018 Youth Olympics. If we can't actually get legacy now, then what the hell are we doing?

"The key thing in legacy is the sustained participation of our nation, particularly of our young people, in sport.

"Andy Murray is the classic example of the Winning Scotland Foundation's ethos; someone who strives to be the best he can be; someone who recognises that success comes through sustained hard work. Isn't he the absolute example of that? Year on year he has worked hard at his fitness, his technique, his attitude. He is continually striving to improve and work hard.

"The challenge is getting people into sport and participating at a much higher level and not being world class in our own wee world, which is often the case in Scotland.

"We have this real opportunity. We have the infrastructure now in Scotland, we've got the facilities. We need to develop a generation not only of athletes, but of coaches and parents who are instilling the right attitudes in our young people because they themselves have the right attitude.

"It's a cultural change and you don't do that overnight. The Olympics and Andy Murray will not change things overnight but we fail to grasp this opportunity at our peril."

Mike Briggs is a qualified LTA Part II coach based at the Isle of Harris tennis club:

"I don't think Andy Murray doing well in America particularly is going to have a big effect on tennis. If he were ever to win Wimbledon it would probably have a bigger knock-on effect, but quite frankly people who have Sky TV watch it on Sky TV, and it all seems very remote.

"Even now, there is a lot of snobbishness about a lot of tennis clubs, which tends to put people off. It's still regarded as a bit of an upper-class sport. Andy Murray is obviously not an upper-class twit, he is a bit more of a thug than many tennis clubs would like to have in their ranks really, so from that point of view he is a good role model to try to get a lot of people in to play.

"People will think that it looks good fun and that they'll maybe have a go, but really viewers feel a lot more divorced from sports people in general nowadays because they just sit and watch it on TV and haven't done much themselves.

"Along comes Wimbledon and everybody dusts off the tennis rackets and they come out and play. It happens in every tennis club across the UK. It's the same thing when Andy Murray is doing well, you get this rush of activity and if you are lucky it lasts a fortnight. Then everybody just goes back to doing what they were doing before.

"It is a conundrum and how it is to be solved I do not know, but over the last 30 years people have just got un-used to competitive sport and it stems from schooling. That is where you first experience of organised sport and unless there is a huge sea change in the way physical education is delivered at school level, it ain't going to change.

"The Government is hoping that primary school children are going to get two hours of PE a week, but frankly two hours is nowhere near enough."

Steve Koepplinger is chairman of the After Schools Activities Programme (ASAP), a charity that runs low-cost sports activities for teenagers:

"I would like to think that Andy Murray's win would help create a new golden age for sport in Scotland. It is a fantastic opportunity, absolutely, and if we are able to capture the momentum that we have, and translate it to the grass roots, that would be fantastic.

''Younger people are definitely inspired by the success of individual athletes. There is no doubt about it. You hear them talking about Andy Murray all the time.

''The other day I saw some kids making a makeshift tennis court in the middle of Maryhill, saying, 'I'm Andy Murray.'

"My organisation provides low-cost sports activities including tennis to youngsters aged from 14 to 18. That is definitely the age when a lot of people abandon sport.

"Andy Murray's success has got to be used as a marketing tool to get more young people engaging in sport. I really believe that everybody has to take responsibility for that.

"If we are able to utilise Andy Murray, but have it down at the local level where the kids that are on the edge have the opportunity, not just to participate, but to participate in a competition where they can feel like they are at Wimbledon even if they are actually just in Barrhead.

"Andy Murray is a one in six billion and not all of us are able to be that one in six billion, but we can still have that Andy Murray experience and we can do it locally. I do believe that Scotland is waking up to the need for that.

"It's not just tennis – we are doing well in all sorts of things.

"The Olympic success was phenomenal and we have a lot to be proud of, but just now it's just making that leap from that elite level to the local level, and I think that we are ready to do that."

Interviews by Marisa Duffy