Andy Murray has (apparently) lived a full life, releases autobiography

Andy Murray just released his autobiography "Andy Murray: Hitting Back". Wait - isn't he only 21? I though you actually had to have a life before writing an autobiography?? Well if James Blake can...

Anyway, the Brit baller discusses everything from the LTA and Brad Gilbert to the traumatic shooting at his primary school where a classmate he knew shot and killed 16 students and a teacher in 1996. Here are some excerpts courtesy of Telegraph:

Q: You were just 10 at the time?
A: I was so young, I don't have any real recollection of the day.

Holding court: Andy Murray interview
To your taste? Andy Murray admits to being a little opinionated

That is true. I genuinely can't remember much and it's not something I have ever wanted to go back and find out about because it's so uncomfortable.

Some of my friends' brothers and sisters were killed. The weirdest thing was that we knew the guy. He had been in my mum's car.

It's obviously weird to think you had a murderer in your car, sitting next to your mum.

That is probably another reason why I don't want to look back at it. Perhaps it's too close for comfort. I could have been one of those children.

His fiery temper...
Mum got defaulted when she was a junior and my gran was so disgusted she drove home without her. It's definitely in the family, the fury, but you've got to keep it under control.

Am I a brat?...
I am not stroppy at all. I can't count the number of times I've been called a bad-tempered brat but that is not how it felt growing up.

Being teetotal...
Q: Is it true you don't drink alcohol at all?
A: After two episodes in Barcelona I never drank again. I had a bad experience. I made myself look like a prat in front of my friends. The only reason I was drinking was to see what it was like to get drunk.

I hate the taste of alcohol. I don't even like champagne. I think beer is disgusting and I haven't tried whisky.

Britain's problems...
We have such a closed mind compared to the rest of the world. Everyone seemed to think that being the best in Britain was great.

You don't hear Rafa Nadal celebrating the fact that he's No 1 in Spain. He wants to be known as No 2 in the world. We live on a world circuit. That is how we are judged.

Anyone for tennis?...
I'm away a lot of the time but I turn up at the National Training Centre in Roehampton, the multi-million pound headquarters of British tennis and no one is there. I'm often looking for a partner to hit with.

A large number of British players only practise half the days in the year. The LTA have built the facilities but the players don't make the best use of them. When I go to the gym there never seems to be anyone in there.

There is something wrong with the mentality and work ethic of most of the British players. There doesn't seem to be anyone who's brutally honest about it either.

The LTA's problems...
The LTA should not spend so much money on a number of the world's greatest coaches.

That does not mean I am ungrateful for my time with Brad Gilbert, but I think British tennis at this stage needs good, experienced fitness coaches and physiotherapists who understand the demands of the game.

A Brad business...
Q: What went wrong with Brad Gilbert?
A: We spent days together, evenings together, ate dinners together. Imagine sitting next to someone at work in an office for eight hours a day and then going home and having dinner with them every night.

It's like groundhog day. I just got tired of it. There were little rows behind the scenes.

I was only jocking...
Q: What about the football remarks?
A: I am Scottish. I am also British. I am not anti-English, I never was... what happened was a little joke that went wrong.

It was the time of the 2006 World Cup and England were due to play Paraguay. Tim Henman and I were being interviewed and before we started the journalist asked Tim about England's chances in the World Cup and asked me who I would be supporting.

He was making the point that Scotland weren't there. I got the joke. I laughed. We did the interview and the last question was: "Who will you be supporting?" Remembering our previous banter, I just said: "Whoever England are playing, ha ha." I had a smile on my face.

It was obvious I was joking. It wasn't reported like that. They made up stories about me buying a Paraguay shirt, the whole thing was absolute nonsense.

I'm funny (really!)...
Contrary to my image, I do have a sense of humour. The Office is one of my favourite comedies and David Brent is simply the funniest character ever invented. It is so, so funny how much of an idiot that guy is.

Sometimes I meet people who remind me a little bit of him and I push them to try and say David Brent-ish things without them realising what I'm doing.

Surrey dreams...
I could buy a penthouse apartment in Miami. One day I think I'd like a house in Surrey.

First Wimbledon...
I was seven years old and my hero was Andre Agassi. I really wanted his autograph but I couldn't get near him.

Going bananas
Bananas are a pathetic fruit. They don't look great for a start. They're not straight and I don't like the black bit at the bottom. If you put one in your bag and someone kicks it, it spatters about all over the place and then sticks to everything.

They call me opinionated. I guess they're right. Even about bananas.

*Via Down the Line!

(image via telegraph.co.uk)