During his record-breaking career he was known as Pistol Pete. Last night the Royal Albert Hall was introduced to Prankster Pete, the latest recruit to the veterans’ circuit.

The hair is a little thinner and the belt around the waist may have gone out half a notch, but the competitive glint still burns brightly in Pete Sampras' eye. If he was still at his peak, the 37-year-old American was asked yesterday, would he still play the serve-and-volley game that brought him seven Wimbledon titles but has become as outdated as the racket he used to wield?

Who would have thought it: Andy Murray, the pensioners' hero? "I get a lot of fan mail and a lot of it is from older people, from 65- or 70-year-olds," the 21-year-old Scot said last week before heading off to his winter training camp in Miami. "It's a mixture, but it's surprising that I get so many from grannies and grandpas. They say, 'It's been great to watch you.' It's just very supportive about everything I've done."

Like most of us Andy Murray will step tentatively on to the bathroom scales after Christmas. Unlike the rest of the nation, however, the 21-year-old Scot will hope to have piled on the pounds.

The All England Club is to pay the Lawn Tennis Association £55m to buy back the 50 per cent share in its grounds which it gave to the British game's governing body 74 years ago.