Andy Murray 'very proud' to stage charity tennis event in Glasgow
Andy Murray says he is "very proud" to be bringing a tennis event to Scotland with all proceeds going to charity.
Andy Murray says he is "very proud" to be bringing a tennis event to Scotland with all proceeds going to charity.
The world number two is staging the first Andy Murray Live event at Glasgow's SSE Hydro Arena on Wednesday night in front of a sell-out crowd of over 10,000 people.
Brother Jamie Murray, former British number one Tim Henman and top player Grigor Dimitrov are also taking part in a series of singles and doubles matches, with all proceeds going to Unicef and local Glasgow charity Young People's Futures.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the event, Murray said he hoped the money raised would "make a difference to a lot of children's lives".
He said: "Basically about three years ago I talked with my team about trying to set up an event in Scotland because there's huge enthusiasm for tennis here.
"The Davis Cup ties in Glasgow have been attended incredibly well - the support we've had has been fantastic and that's why we decided to come here to Glasgow.
"This is my first time in this arena and I'd heard great things about it and I think it looks amazing and I'm very proud to bring a tennis event here and hopefully it goes well this evening.
"The money raised tonight will be going to charity. Half to Unicef and half to Young People's Futures, which is a local charity in Glasgow which looks out for children and gives them better opportunities and that is why I wanted to set it up in the first place.
"Hopefully we can raise a lot of money tonight and make a difference to a lot of children's lives."
Jamie, who is currently the number one doubles player in the world and recently won the US Open, said he was "full of beans" ahead of the event.
Speaking of the sell-out crowd, he said: "I think it just shows the enthusiasm people have for tennis up here, particularly for Andy of course and all the amazing things he's been doing the last 10 years of his career and I think we're all looking forward to the event.
"It's always great to play in front of a sold out crowd who are there to enjoy themselves and I think we're all looking forward to a good night of tennis."
Joking about whether a Scottish crowd would like to see him win against the Murray brothers, Henman said he always had a "very good" support in Scotland.
He said: "I must admit when I arrived here this morning I walked into the stadium and I thought 'wow that's incredible, it didn't look like that on television' but I didn't realise there were two different stadiums - it's spectacular to see a tennis court in here and the way this has been designed and built, it's exciting.
"I've got my parents coming up so I'll have at least two supporters anyway."