Letters: Andy Murray may have fallen just short, but he remains one of Scotland's very few world-class sportsmen

Andy Murray has been one of the top four tennis players in the world for some time now. Yet he is never short of vociferous critics in his homeland; people who seem to think that he has let them down. This is a complete mystery to me. A Scot who is a world-class sportsman is a rarity these days. Perhaps we ought to be proud to have one instead of wanting to flog him with thistles when he goes down fighting.

A McLEISH

Ashley Drive

EDINBURGH

TEMPERAMENTAL collapse in the second set when he was one set ahead, and after missing a "sitter" has led again to the end of Andy Murray's effort to win the Wimbledon Championship.

Many will say Rafael Nadal's unrelenting pace and his ability to keep rallies going was responsible for Murray's exit. Personally, I put the result down to temperament. This is not something that Nadal could rely on to make him the winner against Novak Djokovic in yesterday's final. A player of stout resolve, Djokovic was unlikely to dissolve on the Wimbledon centre court.

Pity Andy lets himself wither when the only obstacle to him winning is his temperament. Individual sports like tennis depend so much on players playing rather than thinking.

IAN JOHNSTONE

Forman Drive

PETERHEAD

IN 1980 Joop Zootemelk, of the Netherlands, won the Tour de France, It was his tenth attempt. He had been second on five previous occasions.

All Andy Murray needs to win at Wimbledon is to focus on the next point rather than the last one.

After work on Monday I am off to the bookies to put 10 on him for a victory there next year.

BILL MacDONALD

Harmony Court

BONNYRIGG

I PROBABLY don't know much about tennis but why did Andy Murray seem to send the ball 90 per cent of the time to wherever Nadal was standing, instead of where he was not standing, ie make his opponent work? It seemed so submissive and self-defeating.

CLIVE MURRAY

ELGIN

IN the iconic film "The Hustler", after completing the gruelling early rounds, Minnesota Fats returns freshly groomed and says to his opponent, "Fast Eddie, let's play pool."

When Andy Murray walked on to the court, unkempt and unshaven, looking as if he had spent the prior evening in a bar and the night in a park, he looked like a loser. We watched him fail with almost half his first serves, double fault 15 times and commit 40 unforced errors before the end.Unlike great international champions, Murray has always looked lost and fragile - the very antithesis of the old truism, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going."

DR JOHN CAMERON

Howard Place

ST ANDREWS

IN reply to Mr Rob Pearson (27 June) regarding tennis and golf on the BBC, the reason is simple. The BBC can not compete when the money bid is laid on the table. I just bit the bullet and bought Sky TV.

ALAN HAY

Main Road

NORTH QUEENSFERRY