OOH... SALUTE YOU SIR!
Stars just love a good Knight
TOP tennis stars paid another tribute to Sir Andy Murray at the end of his remarkable firstround victory at the US Open.
At the Australian Open last year, the biggest names in the sport honoured the Scot in a video montage to mark the supposed end of his career.
But by the end of his five- set comeback against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in New York, Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka, Dominic Thiem, Victoria Azaranka, Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas came out to witness another Murray Miracle in the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
For an arena that was supposed to be empty, there was a huge round of applause at the end. Six- time champion Chris Evert tweeted: “I took off my ESPN hat and was a fan watching and cheering ( secretly) for Andy.
“Players came out of their suites. It was a beautiful sight to witness the genuine ne love and support everyone one has for him!”
His former mixed doubles partner Serena Williams
( right), who had been waiting to go on n court next, later said: d:
“I love his grit. I’ve always loved that, way before we played doubles.
“I always said he reminds - me a lot of mymyself. I’m just a big fan.” ”
And British No. 1 Jo Konta
( above), who will face Romania’s Sorana Cirstea today, added: “It just shows his tenacity and perseverance and love for his sport. For that, he is regarded a sporting hero back home and rightly so.”
The three- time Grand Slam champion, who is 33 years old with a 19- month- old hip, was initially supported by fellow British players like Konta and his father- in- law Nigel Sears before word of his comeback spread.
“It’s a little odd playing in front of lots of top players because it’s very rarely the case,” Murray said. “Usually it’s just the fans and the players are watching on TV. It certainly created much more of an atmosphere than there was at the beginning.
“There was a few of the British players that came out to watc watch and support, as well well. Although the at atmosphere was very fl flat overall, at the e end of the match a and as I was starting to turn it around, I co could at least look up an and see some faces in d different points of the court to give me a little bit of encouragement, a which de definitely helped.” B Before hitting back to beat Nishioka, Ni Murray had won only one Grand Slam singles match since limping out of Wimbledon in 2017.
He now takes on Felix Auger- Aliasmme today in the second round.
The Canadian, 20, is facing the Scot for the first time.
He said: “I have seen him play a lot over the years. I came once as a spectator to the US Open in 2011. I was just a kid. We got tickets for the US Open centre court, Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“It’s crazy to feel today there’s not going to be a kid in the stadium watching, it’s actually going to be me playing.”