The proud grandmother of Andy Murray has hailed the "remarkable" determination and commitment of the new US Open champion.
Shirley Erskine and her husband Roy stayed up along with most of the residents of Dunblane to watch their grandson beat Novak Djokovic to take the grand slam title. The couple said they had received congratulatory phone calls from all over the world, and had got very little sleep.
Mrs Erskine said: "It was a late finish but we're so glad we saw it all. He has had an amazing summer and we're just so delighted and proud of what he's achieved."
Murray's maternal grandmother said his determination to win and commitment to the sport had been "remarkable".
She said: "Andy was a handful as a child, (his brother) Jamie was much more laid back and when they played board games the board would go on the floor if Andy wasn't winning.
"It was a problem at the time but now you look back and recognise the temperament and the desire you need to always win. He had a temper on him and would always stamp his foot and say 'I've got to do better, I've got to get better', but he focused that eventually and used his energy to play tennis."
Mr Erskine said there was no question that his win against Roger Federer at the Olympics boosted his confidence. "That set him on the path and gave him the extra confidence, along with his coach (Ivan) Lendl who has been good for his focus."
The grandfather has seven scrapbooks of press cuttings from Murray's career and is currently putting together cuttings he collected during the Olympic tennis tournament. And he is now looking forward to starting a new scrapbook dedicated to his US Open win.
There has been massive support for Murray in Dunblane, where his success has inspired youngsters and where a gold post box now marks his London 2012 victory.
David Marshall, chief executive of Tennis Scotland, described the thrilling five-set match as world-class. He said: "He always said he wanted to win slams and now he can aim for world number one. When you have an iconic role model like Andy it really makes it easier to profile the sport. We've been working hard at increasing tennis participation across the country and in schools. Maybe we could have a platinum post box in the town now."
