Andy Murray pranks fans: five more reasons Scot is no grouch

Former Wimbledon champion provides further proof that he has a sense of humour as he dons wig to work at an ice-cream counter

Andy Murray at Wimbledon 2013
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Andy Murray provided yet more proof that is reputation as a sourpuss is undeserved as he donned a wig, glasses and a baseball cap to work a shift in an ice cream parlour in Cincinnati serving fans ahead of his next tournament.

But once a fan realised who was behind the counter, Murray, who ended his eight-match losing streak against Novak Djokovic at the Montreal Masters last week, happily posed for photographs.

A spokesman for Murray, who is expecting his first child with wife, Kim Sears, said the 28-year-old "was just larking about in disguise to see if people could recognise him", reports the Daily Telegraph.

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Despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, the Scot is regarded in some quarters as a "tartan misanthrope". Here are five other examples of why that tag is undeserved.

Charity tennis sketch

Earlier this year Murray appeared alongside comedian Jack Whitehall, Liam Payen from One Direction and Clare Balding in a video for Unicef. The Scot showed off his acting chops to good effect, cajoling his pupils at a tennis training camp.

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Twitter Q&A

His dry humour was in evidence in a Twitter Q&A session in early 2014 when his deadpan answers left many fans in a state of confusion.

He claimed that he had "daily" urges to kill rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, and described the former as "weird" in another answer. He also claimed he smoked "grass" to improve his chances at Wimbledon and teased fans by suggesting he would marry his then girlfriend Kim Sears soon after the tournament (they actually married in early 2015).

Elsewhere during the session he claimed that he did not smile in public because he was embarrassed by his teeth, suffered from "vicious" body odour and that his PR man was answering all the questions.

Afterwards he was forced to put some of his more gullible fans at ease with a separate tweet explaining that some of his answers had been tongue in cheek.

Battering Ivan Lendl

Immediately after winning Queens in 2013 Murray took part in a charity doubles match, partnering Tim Henman against his coach Ivan Lendl and Czech player Thomas Berdych. The knockabout was in aid of the Royal Marsden hospital where the Scot's good friend and fellow tennis player Ross Hutchins had been treated for cancer.

The highlight was a ferocious volley aimed directly at Lendl that hit his then coach amidships, prompting wild celebrations from the Scot, who later revealed that Lendl often did the same to him in training.

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Hanging out with Will Ferrell

Murray has admitted he is a huge fan of comic actor Will Ferrell, and the pair have a friendship that dates back to 2008, when a video of a young Murray looking starstruck to meet his hero when Ferrell gatecrashed a post-match interview was doing the rounds.

Since then the pair have played together at charity events, and last year the boot was on the other foot as Murray interrupted Ferrell in mid-flow at the US Open.

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Post-match interviews

Despite his reputation, Murray is often good value in post-match interviews. Earlier this year he dropped his Davis Cup colleague Dominic Inglot in the mire with his girlfriend.

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And after a particularly entertaining match against Michael Llodra at the Australian Open in 2012, Murray asked on-court interviewer for advice on where he could go out to "get hammered", after admitting that he thought Pippa Middleton looked better than her sister at that year's Royal wedding.

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