Australian Open win for Andy Murray would transform his global appeal
Victory would catapult Scot into league of world sport's top earners and enable him to motivate young to play tennis
If Andy Murray is finally able to scratch a 75-year itch and end in Melbourne the long wait for a British man to win a grand slam title, his advisers are standing by to brand him like Beckham and capitalise on the boost to his earning potential and global appeal.
Victory against Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final is likely to catapult the Scot into a select band of British sportsmen able to command significant global advertising deals, sports marketing experts say.
Murray has come close on several occasions, reaching the finals of the US Open and the Australian Open and was twice a beaten semi-finalist at Wimbledon. Victory could also be the springboard for the Scot to activate long-held ambitions to inspire a new generation of players beyond the sport's traditional middle-class heartland.
Murray's biggest desire, say those close to him, is to use his "street fighter" appeal to inspire youngsters to choose tennis over football in inner-city areas. That could result in Murray-branded academies or forging closer links with local authorities through Adidas, which already provides a network of outdoor gyms through its adiZone project.
Tim Crow, chief executive of sponsorship agency Synergy, said: "He and his mother are genuinely passionate about that and it's wonderful to see. He is very comfortable in his own skin and with his own voice. Andy is carving out his own niche and, love him or hate him, it is working for him. For him it is all about getting together with brand partners who will help him leave that legacy. That's terrific and it's very rare." Both Murray and his mother Judy have had a chequered relationship with the Lawn Tennis Association ever since they turned their back on Britain to seek coaching in Spain when he was a teenager.
The LTA, which gets a 31m windfall from Wimbledon each year, has faced p! ersisten t criticism for failing to expand the talent pool at the top end of the game, but has recently made strides in boosting the number and quality of junior players coming through the ranks.
In December last year, it said it would make widening participation a priority, giving a particular focus to park tennis. Like other sports, tennis has seen participation figures decline, despite multimillion-pound investment.
A first British grand slam triumph since Fred Perry in 1936 would inevitably see Murray's annual earnings currently estimated at about 7.6m approach those of the elite top two of tennis, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. "It will take him to a different level, no question," said Crow. "It will put his earning potential up a notch but he is still in a bracket below Federer and Nadal. This would be the next stage in the journey."
Still only 23, Murray split from advisers Ace Management in 2009 and rejected more traditional sports agency giants such as IMG in favour of signing up with Simon Fuller, the Spice Girls and Pop Idol impresario who turned David Beckham into a global brand. Fuller has advised Murray to focus on a handful of global brands. Fred Perry, the British clothing brand, has been ditched in favour of a 10m deal with Adidas.
Using the greater global reach of the sportswear giant, Murray has vastly boosted his profile around the world. It is expected that the company, a sponsor of London 2012, will raise his profile even further in the runup to the Olympics. It is believed XIX, the company that Fuller launched last year, will sign a deal with another global brand in the next two to three months after Murray's long-standing contract with Highland Spring reached a "natural end". Tennis is considered one of few sports where an athlete can build truly global appeal, alongside golf and a handful of top names in boxing and athletics.
RBS, another long-term sponsor, will remain on board but will concentrate more on using Murray as part of its drive to rebuild its i! mage in the wake of the 2008 financial crash.
Murray's current annual earnings are a long way from the 27m estimated to have been pocketed by Beckham or Federer last year. According to US magazine Forbes, Tiger Woods remained the top-earning sportsman on 66m, despite his very public fall from grace. Those close to Murray insist that he has little interest in maximising his earning potential away from the tennis court and believe that it is simply through being himself and notching up victories that he will realise the sort of deals that would make him Britain's top-earning sports star and take his income to 50m a year.
While a long way from the surly teenager who had the SW19 set spluttering, Murray has retained enough of an edge to appeal to younger people who identify with his unaffected air, his love of Twitter and his penchant for video games.
An epoch-making Wimbledon victory would be a sponsor's dream, but a US Open title or a gold medal in the men's singles at the London 2012 Olympics, which will be played at the All England Club, would come close to having the same effect on his profile and on his bank balance.
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