ANDY Murray has courted his fair share of flak down the years.

The British tennis star, it seems, divides opinion among the masses regardless of his tennis achievements.

He won Wimbledon in 2013 and the US Open the year before yet still some people choose to pour scorn on those feats.

They would rather lambast him for daring to speak his mind in the run-up to Scotland’s vote on independence or continually remind him of his off-the-cuff remark about not supporting England during the 2006 World Cup, as if that’s important.

Murray is often regarded as an automaton, more intent on success than showing emotion, as if that’s a bad thing.

So, it is only right that he is praised for coming to the rescue of the ATP Tour organisers on Sunday when Roger Federer pulled out of the showpiece final against Novak Djokovic at the O2.

The Swiss cited a back injury and opted not to play, thus handing Djokovic the title by default and leaving thousands of fans with nothing to watch.

Cue a phone call to Murray, who was relaxing at home, to play an impromptu exhibition match against Djokovic.

While saying no might have been a public relations disaster, the Scot was not obliged to comply, whether he was being paid or not, particularly as he had already been unceremoniously dumped out of the event by Federer in London earlier in the week.

But he agreed to entertain the crowds, along with tennis legends John McEnroe and Pat Cash.

Murray’s involvement showed another side to his character which might just change people’s opinion of him.