The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Swan hails her idol after breakthrough victory
Katie Swan hailed Andy Murray for his role in her breakthrough victory – then insisted she is just getting started.
Swan swept past world number 36 Irina-Camelia Begu 6-2 6-2 for the finest win of her fledgling career, to reach the second round of a grand slam for the first time.
The 19-year-old world number 201 recently signed to two-time Wimbledon winner Murray’s agency 77 Sports Management, and thanked the 31-yearold again for his support after her composed and controlled victory.
Pocketing £63,000 for her win, Swan will next face the winner of the clash between 29th seed Mihaela Buzarnescu and Aryna Sabalenka.
Murray is skipping Wimbledon this year so did not witness Swan’s success at first hand.
But Bristol-born Swan said: “He’s been so nice, he helped me with finding Diego (Veronelli) as my coach.
“Every couple of weeks he’d be asking me about how things were going and how the set-up was.
“We went out to lunch once and had a team dinner in Eastbourne. It’s so nice and almost surreal being in his company. He was my idol growing up.
“Winning here is something that I’ve dreamed about since I was a little girl. But it’s the first round.
“I’m really happy that I managed to come through, but it isn’t the end. I still want to win my next match.
“I want to enjoy the moment now, then I’ll get ready for the next one. I definitely want to keep going in the tournament.”