IT IS fair to say that Andy Murray enjoyed celebrating his second Wimbledon title more than his first.
It is also fair to say that I paid a heavy price for joining in with the joyous scenes.
The Mayfair nightclub was called Drama and the early hours of Monday morning became one for this middle-aged hack.
Much like one of defeated finalist Milos Raonic’s cannonball serves, it is all a bit of a blur.
I can say with some certainty that Niall Horan of One Direction was there, too, as Andy, wife Kim, family, friends and back-up team lived it up in the wee small hours after his brilliant victory.
I am pretty sure I took part in the choruses of “Campione, Campione” screamed over the deafening rap music in the direction of first Murray, then fellow Wimbledon winner Heather Watson.
I definitely remember taking my turn on the Team Murray refillable vodka bottle while the champion and his entourage roared their approval.
But after that, it all gets a bit hazy.
Murray’s concern was touching when he sat down for his press conference at the far too early time of 10am yesterday, scanned the room and asked with a knowing smile: “Where’s Dan King?”
Preparing for the Davis Cup quarter-final in Belgrade this week, Andy.
Obviously.
And nursing the mother of all hangovers after an unforgettable night.
Murray himself will probably travel to Serbia but not play.
To switch from the green, green grass of home to clay and then to hard court to defend his Olympic title and go for glory at the US Open, all in two months, is too much to ask, even of one of Britain’s greatest-ever athletes.
It is completely understandable that he wants to rest body and mind after another incredible achievement — and after the epic celebrations, during which he allowed himself a little booze, for once.
When was the last time he had a proper drink? Murray replied: “Never. Never in celebration, that’s for sure. It was brutal. I didn’t enjoy the taste that much. It was good fun. Last time I won I said I didn’t enjoy it as much so I just wanted to make sure I enjoyed last night.
“You get a good group of your friends, work colleagues, family around, you can relax. You feel a lot more comfortable in those surroundings.
“The nice thing about winning here is that everyone is around. Like Mark Bender, my physio, who comes to a lot of tournaments. He wasn’t here as my physio but he was able to join us.
“A bunch of my family were there. It is nice. I don’t often get the chance to do that.
“Everyone messaging me seemed to say they had a good time. There were some amusing scenes.”
SunSport can neither confirm nor deny anything — but there was a serious reason behind the seriously good time. Murray had not won a Grand Slam title since his historic Wimbledon victory three years ago.
In between, there was back surgery in September 2013 and some heartbreaking defeats in finals, including in this year’s Australian and French Opens.
Matt Little, his fitness trainer and cheerleader-in-chief, is the longest-standing member of Team Murray and knows better than most what he has gone through.
Little said: “It’s very special because I think he has had quite a few tough times since his last one actually, including the surgery and lots of changes in the team.
“He is very relieved but this time really ecstatic as well, which is really nice.
“It was tough after the surgery. It took us probably the best part of a year to really get him back on track and feeling good and we still work tirelessly to keep him feeling that way.
“t’s been a long road. It’s hard to find the words to describe it — seeing what he has gone through and how much he has dedicated himself every day has been incredible. It has been really amazing to watch him do it.”
So now is time to kick back and smell the strawberries. But not for long.
Because there is an Olympic title to defend and, hopefully, more Grand Slams to win.
It would be fitting for a player of Murray’s talent to win at least a couple more and even to match the eight his idol Andre Agassi managed.
The American claimed five of those after he turned 29, the age Murray — and biggest rival Novak Djokovic — reached in May.
The restored king of Wimbledon said: “It is possible. But Novak is still clearly No 1 in the world right now. He is not just going to sort of go away because he has had one bad tournament.
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“You can’t forget what he has done in the last 18 months or so — it has been incredible. This has been a great tournament for me but if I want to win a few Slams over the next few years, I am going to have to get better.”
The prospect of Murray and Djokovic duking it out for years to come is an exciting one, so the British No 1 can be forgiven for not giving too much thought yet as to what his legacy will be.
Murray added: “When I finish, it would be nice if British tennis was in a better place than when I came in. It’s going in a good direction just now.”
Job done already, Andy. Let’s drink to that. Just not quite as much as the morning after the wonderful day before.
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