Andy Murray: winning Olympic gold is the pinnacle

William Fox-Pitt is one of Andy Murray's unlikely heroes (Getty Images)

Trust Andy Murray to be different. When the members of the British tennis team were asked yesterday about other sportspeople they had met in the Olympic Village this week and which past Olympians had inspired them, Murray named William Fox-Pitt, a member of the home equestrian team, and Steve Backley, the former javelin thrower.

"My girlfriend was very happy about that," Murray said of his meeting with Fox-Pitt, who was a silver medallist in Athens and a bronze medallist in Beijing. "She loves horses."

As for his own memories of past Olympics, Murray said he did not recall one moment in particular but added: "I always used to like watching the javelin and I just always remember watching Steve Backley."

Murray said he was looking forward to enjoying other sports during the Games. "I will watch as much as I can," he said. "At the last Olympics, I got to see the boxing and the badminton, but that was because I lost early in the singles and I had some time to do that. I hope that is not the case this time."

He added: "There's always pressure when you play at Wimbledon, but when you play in front of a home crowd, you up your game. It helps in all sports to have the crowd behind you. Sometimes when you're struggling it can lift your game. I've played some of my best tennis at Wimbledon. I've always enjoyed it."

Asked to assess what victory at the Olympics would mean, Murray said: "In terms of achievement, I think winning a gold medal is the pinnacle in any sport and it would be right up there with anything I have done so far."