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The Battle of the Brits returns

Jamie Murray to bring together Britain’s best tennis players in Scotland this December.

 
The Battle of the Brits logo
 

Jamie Murray is back in his Tournament Director’s chair and bringing live tennis to Scotland with a special Battle of the Brits - Scotland versus England event to be held on 21-22 December 2021 at Aberdeen’s P&J Live Arena.

Players competing for the trophy will include Jamie, seven-time Grand Slam champion in doubles and mixed doubles, former World No. 1 in men’s doubles, and Davis Cup winner, and Sir Andy Murray, the former World No. 1, two-time Wimbledon champion, US Open and Davis Cup winner and two-time Olympic champion. The tournament will give Scottish sports fans their first chance to watch the Murrays play live on home turf since Andy took on Roger Federer in the Andy Murray Live event in Glasgow in November 2017.

Andy Murray and Jamie Murray

Andy Murray and Jamie Murray

A Scotland team spearheaded by the Murrays will face tough competition from an England line-up that is set to feature their Davis Cup team-mate Dan Evans. At 28 in the world rankings, Evans is currently the UK’s No.1 male player and recently won his first ATP Tour title in Melbourne.  Evans, from Birmingham, is known for his entertaining tennis and feisty on-court demeanour.

A full list of players, and a broadcast partner for Battle of the Brits – Scotland versus England will be released in the coming weeks.

“I am super excited to bring live tennis to Scotland.  Andy and I have had some incredible experiences competing as part of Team GB in Davis Cup in Scotland but to be able to represent Scotland is such a unique opportunity for us especially against England!  I would love to think Andy’s and my achievements can inspire a passion for tennis in Scotland and help build a lasting legacy for the sport here. Bringing big tennis events to Scotland is a huge part of that - this will be an amazing two days of tennis and entertainment for all the family.”
— Jamie Murray

The event itself will feature six matches, four singles and two doubles, played over an intense two-day period. This domestic event follows the successful launch of ‘Battle of the Brits’ in July 2020 at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, which was followed by a high-profile mixed team event the following month and a third men’s and women’s singles tournament last December at the same venue.

Let the Battle Begin!

Notes to editors:

Jamie Murray

Jamie Murray, 35, is a professional tennis player from Dunblane, Scotland.

As a young player he was coached by his mother, Judy, and by the age of 12 was one of the top three players in Europe alongside Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet.  He was a GB Junior Internationalist from the age of 10-17 and National 18 + under Boys Doubles Champion in 2002.  He made the decision to concentrate on doubles as a career in 2006. The following year at the age of 21, he won his first Grand Slam title in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon with Jelena Jankovic. Since then, Jamie has gone on to claim 23 ATP doubles titles and captured two men’s Grand Slam doubles titles, at the Australian Open and the US Open in 2016 with current partner Bruno Soares. He picked up another two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles in 2017 with Martina Hingis at Wimbledon and the US Open and most recently he partnered Bethanie Mattek-Sands at the 2018 and 2019 US Opens, his sixth and seventh Grand Slam victories. He was also a key member of the GB team which won the Davis Cup in 2015.

Jamie lives in Wimbledon, London, with his wife Alejandra, who he married in 2010 at Cromlix House near Dunblane. Away from tennis, Jamie enjoys golf (right-handed), playing off a handicap of four. He is a member of Wentworth Club. Jamie is also a columnist with BBC Sport.

Murray was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to tennis and charity.

Battle of the Brits

  • Created by Jamie Murray in response to the lack of tournament tennis during the COVID 19 pandemic, the Battle of the Brits is now one of the UK’s leading tennis events series. Battle of the Brits - Scotland versus England will be the fourth tournament in the series after:

    July 2020 - Schroders Battle of the Brits (Men's singles and Men's doubles)

    August 2020 - St. James's Place Battle of the Brits Team Tennis Event (Men's and women's combined team event)

    December 2020 - Battle of the Brits Premier League of Tennis (Men's singles and women's singles events)

  • So far Battle of the Brits events have raised over £100,000 for NHS charities.

  • The P&J Live Arena is a brand new, purpose-built venue located just 1.5 miles from Aberdeen International Airport. Boasting a seating capacity of over 7,000 attendees, the arena is a fully sustainable venue being powered by Aberdeen’s food and garden waste. 2021’s ‘Battle of the Brits’ event will be a carbon neutral tournament and in partnership with the venue, there will be a focus on sustainability across the entire supply chain, from reducing plastic consumption through to supporting local food banks, and carbon off-setting.

  • Tickets for the event are released on Ticketmaster at 1pm on Friday 26th February.

The Players

  • Sir Andy Murray OBE is one of the most successful British sportsmen of all time. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2012 US Open then became the first British man in 77 years to win the Wimbledon singles title the following year. He earned a second Wimbledon trophy in 2016 and is also the first man ever to win a Gold medal for singles in back-to-back Olympic Games (2012 and 2016). He has won 46 ATP Tour titles, including the prestigious ATP World Tour Finals in 2016. He is an eight-time Grand Slam runner-up, having reached five Australian Open finals, the 2008 US Open final, the 2021 Wimbledon final and the 2016 Roland Garros final. In 2015 he joined forces with Jamie in Great Britain’s famous Davis Cup team victory, and in 2016 he ended the year as No. 1 in the world in singles. He was knighted in 2017 having previously been made an OBE.

  • Thirty-year-old Dan Evans is currently Britain’s No.1 male tennis player, having hit a career-high ranking of 26 in the world in February of this year after winning his first ATP Tour title at the Murray River Open in Melbourne. Nicknamed “Evo”, Evans has played alongside the Murray brothers in Great Britain's Davis Cup team since 2009 and his eye-catching tennis and gritty, fighting spirit have earned him many important wins in team situations. His best performance at a Grand Slam came at the 2017 Australian Open, where he reached the fourth round. Evans has been part of all three Battle of the Brits events, winning the inaugural tournament in London in June 2020. Evans was born in Birmingham in 1990 and still lives and trains in the city. His Dad David is an electrician, and his mum Bernadette is a nurse. As a child he was a keen squash player before switching to tennis, where his immense flair and natural talent allowed him to score wins over taller, stronger rivals.

  • Details of more players to be released in the coming weeks.

More information at:

For more information, or to request an interview with Jamie, please email media@battleofthebrits.co.uk

I, Robot by Peter Crouch

Following on from his huge bestseller, How to be a Footballer, Peter Crouch dives even deeper into the secret world of football. 

'Peter Crouch is a comedy genius' - Daily Mail 

'The funniest man in British sport' – Metro 

‘One of the funniest human beings on the planet’ Romesh Ranganathan

I, Robot - How to be a Footballer 2
By Peter Crouch
Ebury Press / 17 October / Hardback £20/ Ebook £9.99

A true legend of English football, with a career that has taken him from World Cups to Champions League finals, Crouch is prized for his self-deprecating humour and his universal appeal that transcends club affiliation. Newly retired after a stellar career, the humble professional with a great sense of humour has gathered legions of fans hungry to hear his hilarious take on the frequently ridiculous world of football.

In I,Robot Crouch further lifts the lid on the nation’s favourite sport in his usual honest, candid and utterly entertaining way. Whether it’s offering genuine insider insight into how the game works – from striker selfishness or the art of bench-warming to explaining what managers or agents really do. Then there are his legendary tall tales – from accidentally becoming best mates with Mickey Rourke (though not Madonna) to spilling the beans about, well, Gareth Bale’s magic beans. And why does Crouchy’s dad still walk the dog in his 2005 England tracksuit? This book is a true insider guide.

ABOUT PETER CROUCH

Peter Crouch is a retired English professional footballer. He was capped 42 times by the England national team between 2005 and 2010, scoring 22 goals for his country in that time, and appearing at two World Cups. He is one of 28 players to have scored 100 or more Premier League goals, holding the record for the most headed goals in Premier League history. With a truly illustrious footballing career behind him, he has played for Queens Park Rangers, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Norwich, Southampton, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Tottenham Hotspur, Stoke, Burnley and England. Peter’s award winning That Peter Crouch Podcast is due to air for a third series this Autumn.

@petercrouch

ABOUT TOM FORDYCE

Tom Fordyce, Peter’s co-writer, is the BBC’s award-winning Chief Sports Writer. He ghosted Swim Bike Run, the autobiography of Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, which was a Sunday Times number one bestseller; The World of Cycling According to G with Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas and Sevens Heaven with Ben Ryan, winner of the Telegraph Sports Book of the Year 2019. Tom hosts That Peter Crouch Podcast with Peter, alongside Radio One’s Chris Stark.

@tomfordyce

Jamie Murray launches YouTube channel

Jamie Murray Logo.png

Six-time Grand Slam doubles champion and Davis Cup winner Jamie Murray OBE also has 21 ATP Doubles titles and represented Great Britain in the Davis Cup 2007-2018 and in the Olympic Games 2008, 2012and 2016.

Jamie has launched his YouTube channel to give a unique and inspiring insight into the life and business of a doubles pro and to share his training drills and coaching tips with players, fans and coaches of all ages and stages.

“Doubles has been my career since 2006 but it is also the bedrock of our school, club and county competitions. I want to inspire many more players to improve their doubles game and by creating my own YouTube channel I can share as much as I can of what I do on and off court. YouTube is a great way to learn all sorts of things – I learned how to make scrambled eggs by watching Gordon Ramsay and I want to make my tennis tips as easy to follow as that! It’s going to be a simple, effective platform for people all over the world to come and learn about tennis.”
— Jamie Murray

Video clips will be uploaded regularly and will include tactics and positioning for different doubles situations; easy to follow coaching tips and skill-building exercises; warm up and cool down routines; fitness training for speed, strength and flexibility; nutritional advice – how to fuel and refuel before, during and post-match or training; mental preparation and video analysis; the role of the coach; how to choose a doubles partner; the art of on court communication and much, much more.

There will also be lots of fun updates on what Jamie likes doing when he’s not on the tennis court; what music he listens to, his favourite TV shows, restaurants and his fantasy football team.

ABOUT JAMIE MURRAY

Jamie Murray, 33, is a professional tennis player. He grew up in Glasgow and attended Dunblane Primary School and Dunblane High School. 

As a young player he was coached by his mother, Judy, and by the age of 12 was one of the top 3 players in Europe alongside Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet.  He was a GB Junior Internationalist from the age of 10-17 and National 18 + under Boys Doubles Champion in 2002.  He made the decision to concentrate on doubles as a career in 2006. The following year at the age of 21, he won his first Grand Slam title in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon with Jelena Jankovic. Since then Jamie has gone on to claim 21 ATP doubles titles and captured two men’s Grand Slam doubles titles, at the Australian Open and the US Open in 2016. He picked up another two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles in 2017 with Martina Hingis at Wimbledon and the US Open and most recently he partnered Bethanie Mattek-Sands at the 2018 US Open, his 6th Grand Slam victory. He was also a key member of the GB team which won the Davis Cup in 2015.

Jamie lives in Wimbledon, London, with his wife Alejandra, who he married in 2010 at Cromlix House near Dunblane. Away from tennis, Jamie enjoys golf (right-handed), playing off a handicap of 4. He is a member of Wentworth Club. When not competing, Jamie is a regular commentator on the BBC, Eurosport and Sky Sports. Murray was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to tennis and charity.

  • Jamie is currently working with the LTA and Glasgow Life to help organise and promote the ATP Challenger Tournament, called the Murray Trophy, to be held in Glasgow from 16-22 September 2019.

  • Jamie is a Patron of the children’s charity, Whizz-Kidz, helping youngsters with disabilities to become active and independent. Jamie is involved in a sports mentoring capacity and is committed to raising awareness of wheelchair sport.

  • Other charities that Jamie supports include: Judy Murray Foundation; Children Change Colombia

ADDITIONAL TALKING POINTS

  • doubles vs singles in tennis, and why singles get all the attention

  • the psychology of playing doubles and the art of communication

  • the importance of giving back to tennis and his role on the ATP player council

  • how to build a partnership with your team mate (Jamie had nearly 50 different partners between 2009 and 2012, before teaming up with John Peers and then Bruno Soares)

  • the different between men’s doubles and mixed doubles

  • his hopes for tennis in Scotland

  • making tennis fun and stimulating for kids

  • making tennis accessible and affordable to everyone

  • the support team that makes life as a pro athlete work

  • fitness, rehab and nutrition / hydration dos and don’ts

  • how to plan your tournament schedule

  • life on the road – Jamie is typically on tour for 25-30 weeks a year

  • travel tips for jet lag, and hotels and restaurants in tournament cities

  • his ambassadorial role with Whizz Kidz

  • his love for Manchester United, Hibs and Game of Thrones