2009 to be big year financially for Andy Murray. Andy Murray will start the new year as the hottest property in tennis, with the promise of £100 million from the management companies that are vying for his signature. The world No 4’s present representative, Ace Group, is in danger of losing its most prominent client as Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a subsidiary of Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment empire that is bursting with enthusiasm to sign him, IMG, the recognised No 1 management company in sport, and Lagardère Group, a French conglomerate with interests in aerospace, publishing and sport, brandish their chequebooks.There may be all sorts of restraints on such spending in an era of downturns and depressions — it is understood that Reebok, the clothing manufacturer, may be forced to pull out of its deal with Jelena Jankovic, the world’s No 1 woman player from Serbia, because of financial cutbacks. However, where Murray, who has played in only one grand-slam final, the US Open in September, is concerned, the money can be mustered. +The Times
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