As part of his final Wimbledon match, Andy Murray will play in a sensational mixed doubles pairing with Emma Raducanu. The 37-years-old veteran athlete is playing at the championships for the last time before his retirement later this year.
Following a recent back surgery, the two-time men’s singles champion announced that he was not well enough to compete in the singles. However, he will be competing in the men’s doubles with his older brother Jamie, and has chosen to form a team with fellow British athlete Raducanu for the mixed doubles.
Murray explained how his team-up with Raducanu happened: “I was chatting to my team and discussing mixed, so I messaged her coach and asked if he thought it might be something she’d be up for doing. He said it was worth asking, so I did.”
Despite his concerns that he had messaged Raducanu too late in the day, Murray expressed his gratitude for receiving a prompt response. He added: “She said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it’. That was it.”
Raducanu as ‘top of the list’
In the 2019 Wimbledon mixed doubles, Murray competed with the legendary American Serena Williams, calling the match a “once-in-a-lifetime” chance. Now, it will be an even more memorable experience to play with Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, in the last few weeks of his remarkable career.
He admitted that Raducanu was “top of the list” as a doubles partner and is “obviously one of the top British players”.
According to Raducanu, working with Murray will fulfil a childhood dream. She said: “My doubles record isn’t exactly the longest or the most vast but I couldn’t say no… It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a young girl.”
“Andy’s a hero to us all. It’s a real gift and a real honour that he asked me,” she added.
First-round matches in the mixed doubles are scheduled to begin on Friday and will continue on Saturday.
Source: BBC