LONDON (AP) — Sports statues have gone famously wrong in the past. That’s something Andy Murray is well aware of. When he saw a terracotta warrior statue of himself at a Shanghai tennis tournament in 2011, Murray deadpanned, “I thought I was better looking than that.”Wimbledon plans to unveil its own statute of the two-time champion at the All England Club next year and has tasked renowned sculptor David Williams-Ellis to get it right.“I think he was just concerned that it doesn’t end up like some of the sporting sculptures that are prevalent around stadiums and around the world,” Williams-Ellis said Saturday at the grass-court tournament.The infamous Cristiano Ronaldo bust leads the list of sports statutes that have received less-than-flattering reviews. More recently, one art critic compared a Harry Kane bronze statue to a comic strip character.
Williams-Ellis had a 90-minute session with Murray — who in 2013 became the first British man to win the Wimbledon singles title in 77 years — to work on poses.“The likeness is essential, but the likeness of his movement and character is also essential,” the British sculptor explained. “Yeah, there are lots of risks. We’ve all seen — I won’t mention any names about other sculptures that have been made in Britain — that have not been a success.
