HIS devotion to the game of tennis began at an early age and has seen him win major championships and climb to the top of the world rankings.

 

It should come as no surprise that even off the court Andy Murray's interests stay the same, with the Scot saying that his ideal dinner guests would all be people connected to the world of sport.

Asked to name the five people he would like to share the dinner table with, the Wimbledon winner said that he would love to chat with the legendary ace Fred Perry about changes to the game, while fellow Scot Sir Alex Ferguson would also get a place at the table.

Murray's love of boxing is reflected in his choice of Muhammad Ali as the next guest, while sports journalist David Walsh, of the Sunday Times, makes up the quartet.

Instead of a fifth guest, the former US Open champion plumped for singer Ed Sheeran as background entertainment.

He said: "I'm a huge boxing fan, and his [Ali] career still fascinates me. He's one of the greatest boxers and sportsmen of all time, so to have five minutes, let alone dinner with him, would be amazing

"David has been integral in attempting to expose drug cheats in sport, Lance Armstrong being one of the highest profile cases. Anti-doping and making sure we compete in a clean sport is something that I'm very passionate about, so I think we could have a lot of very interesting conversations.

"I know Sir Alex well, and when it comes to advice he is second to none. You don't coach a team to 20 premier league titles by fluke, he's incredibly knowledgeable, a great guy and it's always fascinating to be around him."

Speaking of Fred Perry, the last British person to win the men's singles at Wimbledon before Murray, the Scot said: "I think it would be pretty cool to learn how tennis has evolved since the time when Fred was playing.

"It would also just be pretty cool to have dinner with the guy I aspired to emulate for so long."

In the interview, with Standard Life magazine, Murray also discussed his reasons for refusing any publicity deals surrounding his recent wedding to long-time girlfriend Kim Sears, saying that his commitment to tennis meant they rarely get to spend time together and that he wanted the day to be for family and friends. They wed at Dunblane Cathedral last month, with a reception at Murray's own hotel, Cromlix.

He said: "We have always tried to keep our relationship private and we've never really posed for magazines or done interviews together, so we didn't think it was right for us to make an exception on our wedding day.

"It was a very personal day for us and we just really wanted all our family and friends around us to enjoy and remember the day with us. Holding the service at Dunblane Cathedral was important to us.

"The town has supported me through my entire career, so to share the first part of the day with the town and then the rest with our closest family and friends was special."