He acknowledged the support of the 15,000 Centre Court fans on Monday night, but Andy Murray neglected to comment on the millions watching on TV who were attempting to twist fate the way Uri Geller bends spoons. For thousands, my wife among them, simply willing him on wasn’t enough: “He keeps losing games when I’m in the room,” she said, as the fourth set teetered. “If I go out now, he’ll win.”

This kind of sporting superstition is endemic among fans. Last year, one survey of British football supporters found that 21 per cent had a “lucky” item (including underpants), while another questionnaire revealed that 69 per cent of Spanish fans performed pre-match rituals. In 2007, Celta Vigo tried to capitalise on this by inviting their fans to send in their lucky charms before a match against Real Madrid. They lost.

The Brazilian author João Ubaldo Ribeiro summed up the crazy logic of fans when he revealed that his father’s World Cup habits extended to making him flush the toilet every time Brazil attacked, “because once, in 1958, Brazil had scored as I happened to have been flushing the toilet. After that he believed that we had made a significant contribution to the victory”.

Fans also feel that they can bring bad luck. Earlier this year, when divers repairing a bridge in Osaka, Japan, recovered a statue of Colonel Sanders, fans of Hanshin Tigers baseball team rejoiced. The statue had been languishing in the brine since 1985, when fans celebrating their double win threw it off the bridge. When it sank so did the team’s fortunes. Its retrieval, they reasoned, would finally end the KFC curse.

So what happens when superstition lets us down? Denial. Author John Lanchester epitomised this when writing about watching Ireland v Spain in the 2002 World Cup: “Jackie was in the room when Ireland scored so she then had to stay there for the rest of the game because she had demonstrated that she was good luck. Owing to the tension, she stood by the door for the penalty shoot-out and that is probably why Ireland lost.”

My wife, by contrast left the room, and Murray lost the fourth set. She returned, and he won the fifth. I laughed at her, then remembered Spurs on the verge of being knocked out of the Carling Cup by Burnley. “If I leave the room now, Spurs will score,” I told my kids, after 27 minutes of extra time. And they did. Twice.

Have you helped your team or your favourite player by following a special ritual or routine? Or maybe you've brought them bad luck. If so, leave your stories below.