ANDY Murray has revealed his dream dinner party line-up, including Muhammad Ali and Ed Sheeran.
The Scots tennis star was asked to choose five people, dead or alive, to invite for dinner.
His first choice was boxing Ali, whose career still “fascinates” him.
Murray said: “I’m a huge boxing fan. He’s one of the greatest boxers and sportsmen of all time, so to have five minutes, let alone dinner with him, would be amazing.”
Murray, in an interview with Scottish-based finance firm Standard Life, picked as his second choice the Irish sports journalist David Walsh – the man who exposed Lance Armstrong as a drugs cheat.
“David has been integral in attempting to expose drugs cheats in sport,” said Murray.
“Anti-doping and making sure we compete in a clean sport is something that I’m very passionate about, so I think we could have a lot of very interesting conversations.”
The “incredibly knowledgeable” Alex Ferguson came in third.
Murray said: “I know Sir Alex well, and when it comes to advice he is second to none. You don’t coach a team to 20 premier league titles by fluke. He’s a great guy and fascinating to be around.”
The ex-Manchester United manager was closely followed by champion tennis player Fred Perry.
“I think it would be pretty cool to learn how tennis has evolved since the time when Fred was playing,” Murray said. “It would also just be pretty cool to have dinner with the guy I aspired to emulate for so long.”
After struggling to choose a final guest, Murray announced that he would like to have Ed Sheeran “playing a few songs in the background”.
Murray added: “I’m a big fan – that would be perfect.”
The interview also delved into the former Wimbledon champion’s business interests.
He dropped an intriguing hint about his future plans. As well as a hotel and sports management agency, he suggested entering the world of technology.
“I’m incredibly interested in wearable technology and digital health, and I’ve been in talks with a crowd funding platform as I’m keen to help budding entrepreneurs,” he said.
“I’m trying to make sure that my decisions are smart both on and off the court, so I have been working hard to build a business portfolio outside of tennis.”
The athlete also discussed his recent wedding to Kim Sears, and said that
they turned down the opportunity to sell wedding pictures because they “didn’t think it was right”.
He said: “We have always tried to keep our relationship private and we’ve never really posed for magazines or done interviews together, so we didn’t think it was right for us to make an exception on our wedding day.”
Finally, when asked which tennis star from the past he would like to play, he picked his coaches Amelie Mauresmo and Jonas Bjorkman.
He said: “I would love to play either of them whilst playing in their prime. We always like to joke about who would win a match if we were to play each other at the top of our game.”
The interview ended with the tennis star providing a piece of advice: “There really is nothing more important than learning to treat others as you would want to be treated and always be yourself.”
Murray is currently at the French Open, where he began his campaign with a straight-sets win over Argentina’s Facundo Arguello on Monday.
Today he plays Portugal’s Joao Sousa in the second round of the tournament.
