INTERVIEWS WITH SUE BARKER ARE LIKE CHATTING WITH MY MUM

TALKING to Sue Barker is like chatting with his mum says Andy Murray before the BBC presenter’s final Wimbledon in front of the cameras.

The 1976 French Open winner has shared the Scot’s most memorable Wimbledon moments over the years, with the tears after his 2012 final defeat followed by his historic first triumph a year later.

And a BBC documentary before the 2013 Championships, where Murray spoke about his experiences at Dunblane Primary School for the first time, boosted his popularity with the British public

“Away from the camera, I always loved chatting to Sue,” said Murray. “It was like chatting to my mum or a relative. She has that warmth.

“Usually you do interviews on the TV or publicly and it doesn’t always feel the most natural to me. But with her, a lot of the time I almost felt like she was able to make you forget about that.

“When I would go to the studio at Wimbledon or whatever, rather than doing an interview with the BBC in a studio, she made it feel more relaxed. It was like you’re chatting to someone in the living room. That was what I really loved about her.

“She also, I think, seems like a genuinely nice person.

“Obviously I’ve watched her on the TV growing up, whether that was Wimbledon or a Question of Sport or things like that. I mean this as a compliment but she was an amazing tennis player. And a lot of people maybe don’t realise that about her because she has become so good at what she does now. Or what she’s done as her post-tennis career.

“And that’s a pretty good compliment when you’ve been as good at some things as she’s been. To be now known as something different is pretty, pretty cool.”

BBC presenter Barker is stepping down after broadcasting at each of the last 30 championships.