Andy Murray is no stranger to winning hard-fought matches on the tennis court. But the three-time Grand Slam champion was playing under an emotional strain in his recent Davis Cup match in England.
The funeral for Murray’s grandmother was scheduled the same day as his tennis match. Murray overcame a deficit to defeat Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-4 in the group stage on Friday.
He was overcome with emotion after his victory because he was not able to attend his loved one’s funeral service. “Today is a tough day for me. It’s my gran’s funeral today,” Murray revealed during his post-match interview. “I’m sorry to my family that I’m not able to be there but, Gran, this one’s for you.”
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Andy Murray of Great Britain celebrates a point against Leandro Riedi of Switzerland during their 2023 Davis Cup group stage match at the AO Arena in Manchester, England, on Friday. (Nathan Stirk/Getty Images for LTA)
Murray then returned to his bench and wept under his towel as he was applauded by the Manchester spectators.
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The 36-year-old Murray later said he spoke to his father about whether he should play or not, “and he said that she’d want you to play. He just said, ‘Make sure you win,’ so I did.”
Stan Wawrinka defeated Cameron Norrie 7-5, 6-4 to level the tie, but Dan Evans and Neal Skupski beat Wawrinka and Dominic Stricker 6-3, 6-3 in their doubles match to seal Britain’s win in Group B.
Britain opened with a 2-1 win over Australia and is well-placed to reach the Final 8 in November.
Great Britain’s Andy Murray celebrates beating Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi during their 2023 Davis Cup group stage match at the AO Arena in Manchester, England, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)
Australia and France have one win and one loss each, while the Swiss are still searching for their first victory. The top two in each of the four groups advance.
Novak Djokovic sealed Serbia’s place in the Final 8 with a 6-3, 6-4 win in Group C over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain, which was eliminated.
Andy Murray of Great Britain plays a backhand during his 2023 Davis Cup group stage match at AO Arena in Manchester, England, on Friday. (Matt McNulty/Getty Images for ITF)
Laslo Djere had earlier won his match in Valencia, Spain, while Nikola Cacic and Miomir Kecmanovic won the doubles to give Serbia a 3-0 win and set up a showdown with the Czech Republic to see who tops the group. Both countries are through with two wins each.
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Defending champion Canada in Group A in Bologna, Italy, and the Netherlands in Group D in Split, Croatia, have both won their opening two matches.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
