The two-time Wimbledon champion is bidding farewell to the tournament
Andy Murray was treated to a tearful farewell on Centre Court at Wimbledon on Thursday, but this weekend, he will reappear on court to play in the mixed doubles alongside Emma Raducanu.
The match follows his defeat alongside older brother Jamie in the men’s doubles.
In a recent interview, the two-time singles champion – who is playing at the All England Club for the last time before retiring later this year – revealed he needed just one text message to convince Emma to partner with him – much to the delight of tennis fans!
“I want to be competitive in the matches and then, I guess, playing with another Brit as well was going to be something that would be nice. And she’s obviously one of the top British players and she would have been top of the list,” he told reporters at Wimbledon this week.
“I texted her last night. Thankfully I got quite a quick reply. It was quite late yesterday evening when I sent the message. It would have been after 9pm, so I was a bit worried she might be in bed but, yeah, I got a quick reply. She said: ‘Yeah let’s do this!'”
The 37-year-old had to withdraw from the singles on Tuesday due to insufficient recovery time from surgery. On playing with 21-year-old Emma, he added: “It should be fun. Playing with her will be brilliant. I have played mixed doubles a few times when I was young and then the last time was with Serena [Williams]. I really enjoyed it, it’s something we rarely get to do. And to get a chance to do it with Emma…well, it’s my last chance to do it, so it should be good.
“She’s obviously unbelievably competitive and likes playing in the big stadiums and stuff with crowds so I expect she’ll deal with that really well. I’ve always enjoyed the mixed doubles so I think it will be good.”
On Thursday evening, Andy and his brother Jamie arrived to a packed Centre Court where they were greeted with a standing ovation. After they lost to Australian pair John Peers and Rinky Hijikata, iconic tennis and broadcaster Sue Barker returned to conduct a poignant ceremony shortly after.
“It is hard because I want to keep playing, but I can’t,” Andy shared. “Physically it’s too tough now. I want to play forever. I love the sport.”
Fellow Grand Slam champions Novak Djokovic, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe and Iga Swiatek witnessed the touching moment from the sidelines, alongside Tim Henman – who Andy replaced as British men’s number one in 2005.
“It was obviously very special to play with Jamie, we’ve not the chance to do it before,” he added. “It was a race against time to get out here and physically it wasn’t easy but I’m glad we were able to do it one time together.”
During his speech, he also credited his wife Kim. In an interview with READY for American Express, Andy touched upon the support of his family over the years. He said: “With Wimbledon, in the past, I have put quite a lot of pressure on myself to perform. So you do always feel pretty nervous.
“But the kids help you cope with that and give you a better perspective on things. It’s things we’re always trying to instil in the kids – it doesn’t matter how you do so long as you’ve given your best, the result is not the only important thing… your effort and your attitude are important too.”
The Zine is filled with hints, tips and stories on Wimbledon from the British pros Andy and Katie Boulter. Complimentary copies will be available at Amex spaces across the grounds while a digital edition is also available online.
