A SPORTS club situated a stone's throw away from the home of tennis star Andy Murray is riding the crest of the "Wimbledon wave" after the Scot won the championships on Sunday.
Oxshott Village Sports Club saw a sharp rise in tennis participation during the tournament, with hopes that Murray's success could lead to even more interest.
A large crowd also gathered at the club in Steels Lane to watch the game on the big screen, where they witnessed the Oxshott resident beat world number one Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
Speaking to the Advertiser, club manager Bob Gasston said: "Obviously there has been lots of interest in Andy as he is a local boy who has done really well.
"We are hopeful to reap the benefit that his win has created and get lots of youngsters nearby interested in tennis and then maybe we can have the next Andy Murray coming through here.
"Every tennis club in the country receives a big boost when Wimbledon comes round but hopefully the fact that Andy lives round the corner will lead to even more participation for us."
Andy Murray's win is his second career Grand Slam victory and ends a 77-year wait for a British men's champion at Wimbledon, after Fred Perry won the last of his three titles at SW17 in 1936.
The tennis ace moved to the village in 2009 after buying a six-bedroom mansion – worth £5.45 million – with his girlfriend Kim Sears and his two pet dogs.
Mr Gasston continued: "Andy has visited the club and popped his head round the corner a few times in an unofficial capacity. A lot of the members see him regularly on the heath walking his dogs.
"He has a big fan base here. We are a multi-sport centre so we had a cricket game on at the same time as the match and they refused to go back out to finish their game until Murray's game was over."
