How marrying Kim Sears 'has earned Andy Murray £30 million'

Sure, Andy and Kim seem very happy and so on. That's great.

But according to a sports marketing guru, Murray has also seen his earnings boosted enormously by getting married to his long-term girlfriend.

Sports marketing expert Nigel Currie told the Evening Standard that Murray on his own wasn't that attractive to advertisers, but his happy relationship with the glamorous Kim - daughter of top women's tennis coach Nigel Sears - has put him in a completely different category.

"Kim adds at least 30 per cent to Murray’s earnings," said Currie.

Murray's latest string of deals - including a new kit deal sign with Under Armour last December - are thought to put his sponsorship earnings at around £15m a year, so if £5m of that comes down to his other half, and he has six or so years of his career left, the £30m figure does have some logic behind it.

"Andy Murray on his own is not that attractive, but add Kim? They are now a celebrity couple and have more options.

"She brings in a whole new dimension to his marketability. They are using the same model the Beckhams are using.”

That Beckham comparison isn't as flippant as it seems: Murray works with Simon Fuller, the manager who looked after the Beckhams, and who also handles Lewis Hamilton.

And if you think Currie's guesstimate is far fetched? Another branding expert, Rikard Svendsen, suggested that it's a conservative figure.

"With her, you double the sale," said Svendsen. "Being seen with Kim and especially now being married, the subliminal messages are, he is more established."