LONDON - British tennis ace Andy Murray could secure a 100 million pounds sponsorship deal if he wins Wimbledon, analysts have predicted.

Marketing analysts have forecast that winning Wimbledon may make the 21-year-old Scot a new David Beckham of the tennis world, sparking off a bidding war between brands.

“If he actually won, we’re talking 100 million pound-plus, because it’s just going to go on and on from there. He would become a new David Beckham of the tennis world, then he goes totally international. I have seen reports that start at 80 million or 100 million pounds and go on from there,” The Scotsman quoted Jonathan Gabay of Brand Forensics, as saying.

Gabay added that Murray could be much bigger than Tim Henman.

“Henman had the underdog quality that the English love; they could identify with him. But if Murray picks up the tournament, then he becomes a worldwide phenomenon. It would be particularly powerful because given that nobody (British] has won it in decades, he would be a one-off,” he said.

When Murray won match point against Stanislas Wawrinka in the five-set battle, the audience reached 12.6 million, with an average of 8.6 million watching during the match’s duration.

More than half of UK TV viewers were watching BBC1 in the build-up to Murray’s triumph, figures showed.

A BBC spokesman said: “From the outset it looked like the match was going to be very close so we took the decision to move it to BBC1 and to stay with it right to the end to ensure the maximum number of people could enjoy this game.”

High profile sponsors of Murray can expect to see a boost through association with the player.

Professor Paul Freathy, marketing expert at Stirling University, said: “If people can see a sport being successful by an individual, then there’s an uptake on it. That has an effect on the amount of kit being sold. For anyone sponsoring Murray, this exposure will create an awareness of that brand - it’s then down to them to capitalise on it.” (ANI)