Andy Murray was once stalked by a crazed hotel worker who broke into his room and watched him while he slept. The two-time Wimbledon champion is a household name in the UK, having been the first British player to win the men’s singles title at SW19 since the legendary Fred Perry. He is now a legend in his own right and is set to be honoured with a statue at the All England Club.
There are drawbacks to having a certain level of fame, including not being able to go out and do regular things like shopping in the supermarket. Many sporting icons are also forced to deal with crazy, obsessive fans and Murray was no different at the peak of his powers. At one tournament, he was stalked by a female admirer who acquired a job at the hotel he was staying at.
Murray revealed the story in response to a question about the craziest thing his fans had done, saying: “At one of the tournaments I played, a maid in the hotel…
“I had a do not disturb sign on the door, and she came in and sat on my bed and started stroking my arm at about seven in the morning when I was still sleeping.
“She then turned up at a couple more tournaments in the hotels I was staying at in Rotterdam and Barcelona. I don’t know if that’s a fan thing, that’s a bit extreme, but that happened.”
Murray’s team reported the incident to the ATP, with a spokesperson for the body telling The Guardian: “The ATP takes any breach in player security extremely seriously.
“All players are encouraged to report any incident involving a stalker or unwanted attention to the ATP director of security, who will assist the player and his team in reporting such an incident to the appropriate authorities in the jurisdiction that it occurred.”
Dealing with stalkers is a surprisingly common issue for high-profile tennis players. Emma Raducanu was targeted by a crazed male fan during the Dubai Tennis Championships earlier this year, leaving her in floods of tears.
It was the fourth consecutive event after Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Doha where the man had been watching Raducanu in action. Paralysed with fear, she hid behind the umpire’s chair until the man was removed from the venue.
He was given a restraining order by local police and his name was circulated to tennis events around the world. That did not stop him from trying to buy Wimbledon tickets, with his application being removed by tournament bosses.
Chief executive Sally Bolton promised to step up security after the incident, saying: “The safety and wellbeing of all of the players is our absolute top priority. I think the recent incidents coming to light certainly recognise the concern generated by that.”
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Content Source: www.express.co.uk