North Carolina State University Athletics
Off the Court With R.J. Murray
4/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 10, 2003
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Off the Court With R.J. Murray
By Jon Chase
Despite his attempts, Rick Murray couldn't do it. He tried telling his children no. He made them play other sports. On one occasion he even offered the brothers $20 not to play for five days. Though the offer seemed like millions to a couple of grade schoolers, the time spent on the tennis court was worth more.
NC State men's tennis player R.J. Murray first picked up a racket at the age of three, and he hasn't let go since.
Murray grew up on the sunny courts of Florida. Every morning he and his brother Mike would get their tennis gear and follow their dad to the local country club, where Rick served as the director of tennis.
"We would go to work with my dad and pretty much play tennis from sun up until it went down. My dad would have to yell at us just to eat lunch," R.J. remembers. "He couldn't get us to stop playing."
It wasn't that Rick Murray, a former tennis player at the University of Texas, didn't want his boys playing tennis. He just pushed them to experience everything growing up. "He wanted us to play," said Murray. "He just didn't want us to play as much and get tired of it or burned out."
Therefore, during the winter months, Murray's parents would try to mix in some baseball, basketball or soccer. And the $20 offer? At one point during the summer, the brothers had had a typical long stretch of tennis and Rick was willing to do anything to see them take a break. So he tempted R.J. and Mike with money to go ride their bikes around for a week. It was a good try, but the brothers wouldn't budge. They kindly turned down the offer and went back to the hard-court.
And so it stayed the same over the years with tennis remaining the sport of the Murray household. Years later it still does. R.J. is finishing his second season at NC State and his brother Mike is wrapping up his last season playing for Wake Forest.
Earlier this year the brothers played against each other in doubles at the ACC indoor championship. Mike had a come-from-behind victory after R.J. and teammate Val Banada got off to an early lead. "That would have been a lot of bragging rights within the family if we could have got a few more games," said R.J.
Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, Murray's brother has been just one of many challenging matches for R.J. this spring. At the No. 1 position, he has been tested weekly battling opponents ranked in the Top 25 on five occasions and two others in the Top 100.
"Every match is tough," said Murray. "When you play that high, there is never going to be an easy match. You know every day you have to go out there and play your best just to compete."
Though the challenging schedule has created some rough times this season, Murray feels the experience he has gained will go a long way in the future. The endless line of tough opponents has given Murray more confidence and improved his ability to handle the mental side of tennis. "It's a mental hump you have to get over," said Murray. "At times I have been struggling with it, but you have to get the right mental mindset. Number one is just the same as two or three- everybody is good. All this experience is going to help me out a ton. You know you're not going to play anybody better than you've been playing the last year. So there isn't going to be a shock."
While watching Murray play, an onlooker can see he prefers to take control of the point with his forehand and use his effective net play to his advantage. Watch him play and you will also hear most of what Murray is thinking or feeling at any given time. Throughout his match, Murray is constantly rooting for his teammates and talking to himself. While the talk to his teammates is always positive, Murray can often be hard on himself.
"No matter how mad I get at myself, I still try to get all my teammates going," said Murray. "I try to help them out and, depending on if they are struggling, I try to get them pumped up. Same with me. I am trying to get myself pumped up, talk to myself and try to get out of the little funk I am in. I put myself down a little bit to get myself fired up."
This Saturday at the Cary Tennis Center, Murray will return to the days of his youth as he squares off against his brother for a final time. The Wolfpack will square off against Wake Forest at 1:30 p.m. Though it is unlikely the brothers will play against each other, bragging rights will once again be on the line.
