ACES IN THE CROWD
Stars come out to witness Murray’s amazing comeback... and then pay tribute to him
TENNIS stars paid another tribute to Andy Murray at the end of his remarkable first-round 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 fiveset comeback against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in New York, Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka, Dominic Thiem, Victoria Azarenka, Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas had come 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 love and support everyone has for him!”
His former mixed-doubles partner Serena Williams, who had been waiting to go on court next, said: “I love his grit. I’ve always loved that, way before we played doubles. I’m just a big fan.”
And British No.1 Jo Konta, 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 as a sporting hero back home and rightly so.”
The three-time Grand Slam champion, 33 with a dodgy hip, was initially supported only 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 that’s very rarely the case,” Murray said. “Usually the players are watching on TV. It certainly created more of an atmosphere than there was at the beginning.”
Murray, who had won only one Grand Slam singles match since limping out of Wimbledon in 2017, said the full enormity of his latest logic-defying victory did not sink in until he returned to the locker-room.
“I got back to the locker room, looked at my phone, and saw the messages from family and friends, the team and stuff,” he said. “They’re the people that have seen me go through everything. I don’t know how many of us believed I’d be back winning matches like that. So, yeah, it was emotional after the match finished. When you read the mess ages from your family and friends, that’s when you feel it.
“The fact I got through a five-set match is brilliant and another tick for the metal hip. I don’t want to play too many more of them but it’s good to know it can last.
“I was very close to going out but kept coming back, kept fighting, so I’m proud of that. The biggest question would have been the physical one and that was the thing I was most happy with – that I lasted. But, tennis-wise, I could do better.”