‘Angry’ Murray Likens Texas School Shooting Survivor’s Experience to His Own

Andy Murray. (AFP)
Andy Murray. (AFP)
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‘Angry’ Murray Likens Texas School Shooting Survivor’s Experience to His Own

Andy Murray. (AFP)
Andy Murray. (AFP)

Britain's two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray said the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas made him "angry", adding that a survivor's account of the incident was similar to his own experience in the 1996 Dunblane massacre in Scotland.

An 18-year-old gunman armed with a semi-automatic rifle stormed an elementary school in Texas last week, killing 19 children and two teachers.

The attack, coming 10 days after a shooting in Buffalo, New York that left 10 people dead, has intensified the long-standing national debate over US gun laws.

"It's unbelievably upsetting and it makes you angry. I think there's been over 200 mass shootings in America this year and nothing changes," Murray said. "I can't understand that ...

"My feeling is that surely at some stage you do something different. You can't keep approaching the problem by buying more guns and having more guns in the country. I don't see how that solves it.

"But I could be wrong. Let's maybe try something different and see if you get a different outcome."

Murray grew up in Dunblane and was a student at the town's local elementary school when a gunman killed 16 pupils and a teacher before killing himself. It is the deadliest mass shooting in Britain's modern history.

"I heard something on the radio the other day and it was a child from that school," Murray told the BBC. "I experienced a similar thing when I was at Dunblane, a teacher coming out and waving all of the children under tables and telling them to go and hide.

"And it was a kid telling exactly the same story about how she survived it.

"They were saying that they go through these drills, as young children ... How? How is that normal that children should be having to go through drills, in case someone comes into a school with a gun?"



Sinner Eyes Golden Era after Wimbledon Glory

Italy's Jannik Sinner won his first Wimbledon title on Sunday. Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
Italy's Jannik Sinner won his first Wimbledon title on Sunday. Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
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Sinner Eyes Golden Era after Wimbledon Glory

Italy's Jannik Sinner won his first Wimbledon title on Sunday. Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
Italy's Jannik Sinner won his first Wimbledon title on Sunday. Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

Jannik Sinner has warned Carlos Alcaraz that he will get even stronger after beating his arch-rival to win his first Wimbledon title on Sunday.

Sinner avenged an agonizing French Open final loss against Alcaraz as he battered the Spaniard into submission with a dynamic display of power hitting on Center Court.

The Italian's 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory ended Alcaraz's two-year reign as Wimbledon champion and gave Sinner his fourth Grand Slam crown.

Sinner has reached the last four Grand Slam finals, winning three of them, and the world number one has no intention of resting on his laurels.

"I don't think I'm at my best because at 23 I don't think you can be in your best shape ever. So hopefully I can keep improving," he said.

"I keep looking up to Carlos because even today I felt like he was doing couple of things better than I did.

"That's something we will work on and prepare ourselves because he's going to come for us again.

"We have a big target on us, so we have to be prepared."

It was a cathartic triumph for Sinner after he squandered a two-set lead and blew three championship points against Alcaraz at Roland Garros in June.

Alcaraz had won five successive encounters against the 23-year-old, including finals in Paris, Rome and Beijing, prior to their showdown at the All England Club.

Sinner admitted it was vital to finally beat the world number two for the first time since 2023.

"It is important, for sure, because you know, when you lose several times against someone, it's not easy. But in the same time in the past I felt that I was very close," he said.

"I never pushed myself down. I felt like I did something great because it has been not easy. Coming here and winning Wimbledon, it has been amazing."

'The rivalry is real'

While Sinner had spent the last five weeks publicly insisting he would not let his French Open collapse affect him, he revealed he had to work hard to move on from the loss before launching his Wimbledon challenge.

"This is the part where I'm the proudest because it really has not been easy. I always tried to be honest with myself and had the self-talk. You know, what if, what if? I tried to accept it, in a way," said Sinner, who returned from a three-month doping ban in May.

"Even if I don't cry, it feels emotional because only me and the people who are close to me know exactly what we have been through on and off the court, and it has been everything except easy.

"We've tried to push, you know, every practice session, even I was struggling at times mentally.

"That's why I also said after Roland Garros that it's not the time to put me down, no, because another Grand Slam is coming up, and I did great here."

Sinner and Alcaraz have won the past seven majors between them, establishing themselves in a class of their own.

Sinner's coach Darren Cahill expects the pair to battle for supremacy for years to come, but he stopped short of comparing it to the dynastic era of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

"It's difficult to compare this rivalry to what we've just had. It's been a golden age in tennis with Novak and Roger and Rafa. They dominated for 20 years," Cahill said.

"To win a Grand Slam back in those days, you had to beat one of them in the quarters, the other one in the semis, and another one in the final.

"These guys still have a ways to go, but they've started incredibly well. Carlos is a big focus, and both of those guys are pushing each other.

"The rivalry is real. Hopefully it's going to be there for the next 10 or 12 years."