ANDY MURRAY took time out from his French Open bid yesterday to refute the suggestion that his beloved Hibs are somehow psychologically flawed.
The World No 3, whose grandfather Roy Erskine played for the Easter Road club, spent time at Hibs' East Mains training complex prior to his recent wedding to Kim Sears, chatting to a few players ahead of the conclusion to their season.
His visit didn't exactly pay off - Alan Stubbs' side ultimately fell to Falkirk in the Scottish Cup semi-final, stretching their trophy drought in this competition to 114 years, and crashed out in the Premiership play-off semi-final to Rangers - but Murray feels it is wrong to suggest there is some kind of mental block at the club which manifests itself in big matches.
"It was a shame Hibs didn't get promoted because we were playing well towards the end of the season," said Murray. "They finished the season very strong. But they kind of lost it a bit in the first leg against Rangers. I heard they had a bunch of chances towards the end of the game and 2-0 isn't easy for the second leg.
"I went into the training ground when I was back just before the wedding," he added. "It is an unbelievable training facility and I had a chat with some of the players and stuff.
"Obviously sport is very mental, but that isn't always the case," he added. "You can have someone who is very strong mentally who is ranked 150 in the world. But they don't have the same skill set as someone who is weak mentally but incredibly talented. So it isn't always down to mental strength. There are a lot of things that come into winning matches. There are 11 players on the field so I am sure some of them are strong mentally."
This wasn't the only other footballing flop which the Scot was lamenting yesterday. A 10-point disadvantage in his friends and family fantasy English Premier League proved too onerous to overcome, and the uber-competitive Murray wasn't happy about it. "The fantasy football ended in defeat for the first time in four years which was disappointing," he said. "My uncle won it and my dad finished second. I was third."
It was confirmed yesterday that Murray will face Portuguese opponent Joao Sousa in the next round, after the World No 44 from Portugal took care of Vasek Pospisil of Canada in straight sets. That match will take place on Thursday, giving the Scot a day's start on his opponent.
Meanwhile, Leon Smith, Murray's first coach and the current Davis Cup captain, said winning the French Open could even eclipse the achievement of being the first British winner of Wimbledon in 77 years. No British man has won the singles title here since Fred Perry back in 1935.
"Getting over the line in Wimbledon, given it is steeped in history, it's his home event and the expectation to win it given the whole Fred Perry story is a whole different kind of pressure," said Smith. "But for a British player not brought up on this surface to win the French Open would be immense, just huge. And probably in terms of an achievement would top Wimbledon and anything he has done before given the magnitude of winning on the surface and the environment of the French Open."
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