Sir Andy Murray has revealed he had reservations about accepting his knighthood because he was concerned that it would "distract" him from his tennis career. The 29-year-old received the honour in the Queen's New Year's honour's list following a sensational year on the court, which saw him replace Novak Djokovic as world number one, win Wimbledon for a second time, win another Olympic gold, and be named BBC's Sport Personality of the Year.
But, he has admitted, he came close to turning down the title when he was first informed via email during a training camp in Miami last month.
Sir Andy Murray has admitted he had reservations about accepting his knighthood
Andy – the youngest person in living memory to become a knight – told the Times: "I got it when I woke up in the morning, just saying that I had been offered and would I like to accept.
"I spoke to a few of the people closest to me. I didn't have too long, but obviously you think about something like that because I do feel like it's obviously a big honour, but with that comes maybe a little bit more responsibility.
"I'm still very young, I'm still competing and obviously don't want anything to distract me or affect my performance on the court."
The tennis star decided to accept the honour after speaking with wife Kim Sears and his mother
The Scottish tennis champion said he decided to accept the knighthood after speaking to his wife Kim Sears and mother Judy Murray – although older brother Jamie only found out on the night of the announcement.
"I kept it fairly quiet and just spoke to the people that I was closest with and explained what the situation was. I just tried to get the best advice possible," Andy added, before going on to admit that he found being referred to as 'sir' awkward.
"A few of the players have been chatting to me about it and asking what do we call you," he said. "Andy is fine."