Murray ready for late night watching vote on Scottish independence

Andy Murray will stay up late into the night to watch the result of the historic referendum on Scottish independence next month but refuses to get distracted by the issue during his assault on a second US Open title.

Murray, who won Britain's first Wimbledon title in 77 years in 2013, admitted he has been taking a keen interest in the debate and will be glued to the screen on the night of Sept 18 when the issue will be decided.

"It's very important for my family, so I will stay up and see," Murray said on Thursday.

If the 'yes' campaign succeeds it will see the 27-year-old Murray play under the Scottish flag at the 2016 Rio Olympics, four years after he won gold for Great Britain at the 2012 London Games.

"If Scotland became independent, then I imagine I would be playing for Scotland," he said.

"I haven't thought that much about it because I don't think it's looking too likely that it's going to happen. But if it did happen, then it would be pretty much the first time in my life that I would have ever not been Great Britain. That (playing for Britain) has been normal to me."

Murray admitted he watched some of the live television debates between the 'yes' and 'no' campaigns but was reluctant to air his opinions on the vote, having been caught out in the past when discussing the merits of England and Scotland.

"I watched like 45 minutes of the second one. But I didn't see the first one," he said.

"I don't want to talk about politics in here. I'll worry about my tennis."

In 2006, Murray suffered a backlash when asked who he would prefer see win the World Cup that year.

"Anybody but England," he was quoted as saying, although he later insisted he was joking at the time.

(China Daily 08/30/2014 page9)