Why Maggie May help Murray win Wimbledon

HE IS under more pressure than any Briton going in to Wimbledon for decades. Andy Murray, now the second favourite, carries the high hopes of the nation.

But all that added stress is good news for one member of Team Murray. Maggie, the Scottish tennis star's Border terrier, is set to have the time of her life as she gets out on even more walks.

Because the dog is the World No 3's stressbusting secret.

Murray's day-time schedule last week involved an endless round of visits to the Wimbledon practice courts and the gym. But in the evenings, he steps away from the pressures surrounding his increasing chances of winning the world's top tennis tournament by joining his girlfriend, Kim Sears, in taking one-year-old Maggie for long walks near his Thames-side apartment in Wandsworth.

His agent, Simon Oliveira, from the 19 Entertainment management company, said: "When he's back in London at his house he does it (walks the dog] every day because it's a way of him relaxing and calming himself down.

"The walks tend to be in the evening and, I should point out, it's also what the dog requires."

It is all part of 22-year-old Murray trying to lead as normal a life as possible, Oliveira, who has also managed footballer David Beckham, said. "Andy still goes on the Tube and travels on public transport and eats in restaurants. During the Wimbledon weeks he has paparazzi photographers following him, but outside that he just gets on with his life. People don't bother him except for coming up to him to wish him well and give him encouragement."

Murray got Maggie – named after Maggie May, one of his favourite Rod Stewart tracks – as a pup a year ago. He thinks so much of the dog that his website has a section devoted to her, which carries pictures of the mutt and his proud owner.

Psychologists said Murray was taking the right approach to relieving the peculiar stresses of the approaching tournament, in which the Scot is rated as having the best chance of a British player winning the Wimbledon title since the legendary Fred Perry in 1936.

The departure of the injured Rafael Nadal has boosted his chances – but also the pressure.

Cynthia McVey, head of the psychology department at Glasgow Caledonian University, said: "The problem with Wimbledon for British players is that they carry the whole expectations of the nation with them.

"It may be even worse for Andy Murray. Tim Henman had all the English behind him, but Andy has all of Scotland as well. It's unlikely he won't feel a little bit of nervousness and stress, which could affect his performance. A professional athlete like him, who is being judged all the time by the public, his coaches and even, sometimes, his family, being able to get out with a pet my be the only time he is not being judged.

"Possibly the only living thing that you interact with that will not judge you is an animal, they don't care whether you win or lose. The animal will love you no matter what, trophy or no trophy."

Clinical psychologist Linda Blair, author of Straight Talking, on beating anxiety and negative thinking, said walking the dog was great way of relieving stress. "The physical relief comes from the exercise with the animal, with dogs in particular. When we take regular exercise we get relief from short-term anxiety and build tolerance for stress in the long term. That way you set your stress monitor a little higher.

"Physiological release comes from the fact that you are caring for something else. We're programmed to look after each other in life. It's a fundamental need and it makes us feel good through the neurochemicals released in the brain."

One of the advantages that an animal would bring for an athlete would be to reinforce a predictable routine. "The body responds best when it has this predictable routine and it can expect how to react," Blair said. "The care of an animal will do this because pets need regular care through things like feeding and walking."

Dr Ingrid Collins, a consultant educational psychologist, said: "For professional athletes, having a pet might remind them of the fact that they still need to play, not to be competitive but just to have fun"

Murray got Maggie shortly before last year's tournament. He said at the time: "I came back to the flat last night and she comes charging over. I put her down, and she goes and pees behind the sofa." Soon, she will have a new home, only 15 minutes from Wimbledon, with several acres of grounds to roam around.

The World No 3 has spent more than £5m of his earnings on a mock-Tudor, five-bedroom Surrey mansion that he will move to later this month.

Yesterday, Murray's odds of winning Wimbledon were cut from 2/1 to 7/4 following the announcement that World No 1 Rafael Nadal will not defend his title due to injury.