This is the full and extraordinary story of how a skinny boy from Scotland - once described in a Monty Python sketch as 'the worst tennis nation on earth' - would go on to become Britain's first male grand slam singles champion since the 1930s. With his victory at the 2012 US Open, Andy Murray, a survivor of the Dunblane school massacre, ended Britain's 76-year wait since Fred Perry. Reaching that goal has been a struggle. Born into a golden era of men's tennis, with Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic for rivals, Murray had lost his first four grand slam finals, and he had started to doubt whether he would ever achieve his lifetime's ambition. No tennis player has ever had so much national expectation loaded up in his racket bag, or has ever been under such scrutiny, with his flickering rage, his facial hair and his mother all deemed worthy of analysis, never mind the years of combating the misconception that he hates the English. Mark Hodgkinson takes us through Murray's childhood, showing how his relationships with his mother, father and older brother shaped his game and personality; how his long-term girlfriend Kim Sears has stopped him from being consumed by tennis. He explains how Murray took a brave risk by hiring Ivan Lendl, a winner of eight grand slam titles, but a coaching rookie, after so many others had fallen short. Now, after Murray's tears at losing the 2012 Wimbledon final, winning an Olympic gold medal and becoming the US Open champion, he and the British public have a new affection for each other. Murray has achieved what some thought he never would: winning a grand slam, and looking at ease with himself. At that moment, he was not thinking too much about past finals, just about what had happened over the last four hours, and what he was going to do next. So he stood there in front of the mirror, his hair on end, and said to himself: "For one set, just give it everything you've got. You don't want to come off this court with any regrets. Don't get down on yourself. Fight. "' Andy Murray takes stock before the start of the fifth set in the 2012 US Open