Can we really say a grand slam has begun in earnest without Andy Murray complaining about something? Probably not. The sullen Scotsman began the week by picking a fight with the official broadcaster of the Australian Open, Channel 9, for not showing Emma Raducanu’s match whilst he was sitting in his hotel room at a loose end.
To Channel 9’s credit, they responded to Murray’s indignant tweets and put Raducanu’s match on which I think we can all agree was a step backwards in the fight to make the 34-year-old less entitled. For some reason or other, Murray seems to have arrived in Melbourne even hotter under the collar than usual but perhaps that’s because of the latest Australian Open 2022 odds which price him at a rather speculative 74/1 to win the event.
Come on channel 9 let’s get raducanu stephens on one the channels instead of 2x Rod Laver!
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) January 18, 2022
In other words, Murray knows the odds are against him and it’s probably getting to him but let’s face it, most things do. However, the surly Scot has done the world of sports a huge favor this time round by picking a fight with fans who perform Cristiano Ronaldo’s trademark celebration at the Australian Open.
Indeed, Murray hasn’t held back in his view that the celebration that is accompanied by shouting the word ‘sui’ is “incredibly irritating”.
Humorously, Murray first heard it during his practice rounds in the lead-up to the Australian Open and thought that fans had arrived at his warm-up games purely to boo him. In truth, it’s not a theory that is impossible to believe given that the 34-year-old has made a habit of picking fights with various people around the world over the course of his career, and really, it’s perfectly understandable to imagine that some spectators would want to get their own back.
However, after about ten minutes, Murray began to watch a few in the crowd who were doing it and soon realized that they were imitating Ronaldo’s goal celebration. Needless to say, Murray had very little time for it and on this occasion, he’s completely justified in thinking that.
Andy Murray on the fans shouting SIUUU after his Australian Open win ???? pic.twitter.com/VQ5Kdi1auf
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) January 18, 2022
The long and short of it is that CR7’s ritual after scoring is growing a bit tiresome now as fans from most parts of the globe have begun doing it whenever they’re in earshot of a TV camera. Of course, you can understand why Ronaldo does it given that he had broken so many scoring records around the world and deserves a trademark celebration to commemorate every goal.
Furthermore, most consistent goal scorers around the world have a signature practice they carry out when finding the back of the net so it’s nothing new.
But when it is carried out by a few hundred fans on a humid day in Melbourne after every ball that Murray hits at his coach, well, it loses its charm and becomes a chore to listen to.
With any luck, Andy Murray’s scathing view on the ‘siu’ chants will be the start of a more widespread campaign to see it restricted to the football pitch that Cristiano Ronaldo is playing on.
