Awesome Road Trip for Murray's Fans From Down Under

In January 2007, Andy Murray was ranked 17th, another up-and-coming player in the orbit of Roger Federer. But Nick Holloway saw something special in Murray and set out to do something about it.

"I liked his attitude and his game style," said Holloway, who was neither a coach nor an advance scout for a major sports sponsor. He was simply a teenage tennis fan in Melbourne, Australia.

As Murray reached the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time in 2007, Holloway elevated his fandom to new heights, recruiting friends to form a cheering squad called the Andy Boys. Decked out in T-shirts, each with a letter of Murray's first name, they would occasionally stand during Murray's changeovers and singing simple, goofy tributes to their favorite player. (Complete coverage of US Open)

Their first effort was "Old MacDonald," rewritten as "Andy Murray is a lege, e-i-e-i-o," with "lege" being an Aussie diminutive for legend. These days, Murray is, of course, one of the Big 4 in men's tennis and the Andy Boys have also taken a step up, making their first trip overseas to serenade Murray - and 20,000 others - at the U.S. Open.

"We've always wanted to go to another Grand Slam," said Holloway, 21. New York was the logical choice since a trip to France might well be cut short - "Andy is not that good on clay" - and England was not a good fit. "Wimbledon is a bit posh for us."

They have also expanded their songbook in response to Murray during an Australian Open interview when asked about his choral followers.

"He challenged us to come up with some new songs already," Holloway said. Their repertory now includes "Heaven Is a Place On Earth," which becomes "Andy Murray  is the best on earth," and "I Want Candy," which becomes "I Like Andy."

The group at first was a haphazard collection of Holloway's friends, said Sam Hetherington, 21, but has largely settled into a steady lineup in the last three years. Hetherington wears the letter N; Holloway is the D and Shane Bullen, 22, is the Y. The letter A, at least in New York, has become kind of like Spinal Tap's drummer - a rotating crew of Australians already in New York has stepped in for Matthew Owen, who is absent.

In his first match against Robin Haase, Murray seemed to acknowledge the songs with a tip of the hat; in a tough showdown against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga on Labor Day he never looked up. They have enjoyed their stay in New York, although Bullen said it feels more corporate than the Australian Open, where "it's more like a party" and there is often a longer wait to get into the beer garden than into the matches.

"Arthur Ashe Stadium is seriously huge," he said from their perch in the upper deck. "But Louis Armstrong was a really good size for watching tennis. That was great."

While there has been some speculation at the Australian Open about some superfans being paid to liven up the crowd - and a controversy erupted when the WTA supposedly offered to fly Genie's Army, the Australian followers of Eugenie Bouchard, to a tournament in Singapore - Hetherington promises that everything about the Andy Boys is on the level.

"We've never been paid," he said, "or even heard of it being done."

They have never met Murray, but Holloway does say his mother and his team have been both friendly and generous, giving them tickets for matches - especially in the later rounds when they become too costly for students. If Murray gets past top-seeded Novak Djokovic on Wednesday, they will be relying on the kindness of strangers for tickets to the semifinals Saturday.

"We couldn't afford that," Holloway said, "we're just a bunch of students."

© 2014 New York Times News Service