Knowing the Score by Judy Murray

Author:Judy Murray
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2017-06-15T04:00:00+00:00

10

A lifeline, or a new life altogether

In which an unexpected meeting turns our prospects around fast, but leaves us exposed to a media we are unfamiliar with and unprepared for. Where Andy has the chance to let his tennis do the talking, I am not afforded that chance, and struggle to find a voice amidst the hoopla of the professional game.

I NEVER FOUND out how Maggie Auld got hold of our address, but her letter landed on the doormat out of the blue one day, shortly before Christmas of 2004. It was a lovely, handwritten letter in beautiful old-fashioned handwriting. She simply said that she was Scottish, a huge tennis fan, and very much wanted to do something to help Andy with his career – and would I be happy to discuss that at some point? From time to time, I would get a similar letter from a stranger, and I always replied politely although they usually came to nothing at all.

So I replied to the letter and said that yes, I would be very happy to talk to Maggie about Andy. A few days later, I called her and we had a lovely chat. She seemed absolutely genuine, rather than merely the kind of ‘benefactor’ who wants to offer fifty quid and then expects free Grand Slam tickets for life – several of whom I had heard about on the circuit. She told me that she would love to contribute something towards Andy’s coaching, and I tried to be as gracious as I possibly could, all the while telling myself not to expect anything. No numbers were mentioned on the telephone, so she could easily have been a dear lady who simply wanted a chat with someone whose son she admired.

I tried to forget all about the call, and to focus on the new year and the inevitable round of funding approaches I had ahead of me. As Andy’s spring tournaments loomed, the travel looked like it would be further afield than ever before, and Jamie’s time in Paris was showing no sign of coming to an end either. I felt sick day and night, wondering how I could stretch our meagre finances. Once again I realised that I couldn’t rely on anyone else having faith in my kids, so if I wanted to make it happen, I was going to have to brave it and do it myself.

A few weeks later, with no notice, a cheque for ten thousand pounds arrived. As I opened the envelope I gasped. It made no sense – this was as much money as RBS were sponsoring Andy per year, and this woman simply wanted to give it away? There had been no other single moment in the entire span of my life, or the boys’ careers, when we needed an unexpected benefactor more. And here, out of the blue, she had appeared. I slumped onto the sofa and fanned myself with the cheque, part of me still wondering what on earth we might have to do to repay such kindness.

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