Shropshire title started glory days for Wimbledon Champion Andy Murray
Andy Murray's sensational Wimbledon victory might have been ground out on the turf of SW19 – but Shropshire can claim just a little bit of credit for his rise to the top of world tennis.
A 13-year-old Murray – then entered under the more formal name Andrew – won one of his earliest titles when he took the 14 and under Teen Tennis crown at Telford International Centre in January 2001.
In a prescient piece of reporting, then-Shropshire Star sports reporter Lee McLaughlan said: "Scotland's Andrew Murray gave British tennis further optimism for the future with a straight sets victory in the final of the Teen Tennis boys' singles competition."
Murray beat number one seed Alex Krasnoroutski in the final at Telford, which used to boast indoor and outdoor courts and for several years was home to the British national championships.
And a few years later, he was back in action at the Welti Centre – now The Shrewsbury Club – for a tournament in 2005.
Tennis fans across the county were glued to their televisions on hottest day of the year to see the 26-year-old become the first British man since 1936 to win the Wimbledon men's singles.
Twins Michael and Andrew Davies, from Shifnal, were both line judge team leaders on centre court and one of them was on court for every minute of the historic match.
Tunnfield Brewery, based in Hope Valley near Minsterley, took to Twitter to send congratulations to Murray. The brewery tweeted: "Well done Andy. All the hard work has got you here. From Tunnfield Brewery Shropshire!"
Murray, 26, raised a standing ovation last night on Centre Court where crowds bellowed out their support as he sealed a thrilling three set victory over world number one Novak Djokovic.
The Scot broke down in tears of joy as he claimed the title that has eluded him for so long as a wave of celebration reverberated across the country.
In the players' box, his mother Judy Murray wept while his girlfriend Kim Sears appeared to fight back tears as the British number one kissed his well-earned trophy.
