Andy Murray breaks down in tears after missing his beloved grandmother’s funeral to win Davis Cup match for Britain

Andy Murray cried on the pitch after beating Swiss Leandro Riedi in the Davis Cup as he revealed he had missed his grandmother’s funeral to play.

The 36-year-old Scot broke down during his on-court interview as he told the nearly 10,000 spectators at the Manchester Arena that “today is a tough day for me as today is my grandmother’s funeral.”

The three-time Grand Slam champion choked back tears as he spoke to Naomi Broady before receiving a huge show of support from the crowd who cheered and applauded the veteran tennis star.

His grandmother Ellen, from his father Willie’s side, has long been one of his biggest fans, but previously admitted she was too nervous to watch his Wimbledon final against Roger Federer in 2012, which he unfortunately lost.

Ellen, from Kilsyth, North Lanarkshire, often spoke of her pride in her superstar grandson, who she admitted was ‘very emetional’ and ‘gentle’.

Murray struggled to get his words out and apologized to his family for not attending the funeral

Andy and Jamie Murray pictured with their grandmother Ellen in 2012

Ellen told the newspaper earlier Daily record of the time Andy, or Andrew before her, rushed all the way from New York to her husband Gordon’s bedside in Galsgow before he died in 2016.

She said, “Andrew, God love him, stood at his bedside the whole time and held his hand. He said to me, “I was on time, Grandma,” and I said, “That’s good, son.”

It was revealed that Andy also missed Gordon’s funeral to play in the Davis Cup that same year, but had reportedly spent the day before with his beloved grandmother.

Speaking before Andy’s final Wimbledon loss to Federer in 2012, Ellen told the newspaper Mirror: ‘For me, Andrew is just my grandson. It’s hard to believe it’s him doing this, he just did it so well.

“He played tennis on the side of the house and in the backyard with Jamie.”

“We are proud of our entire family, especially Andrew today. It took him a while to get over it when Federer beat him last time at the Australian Open, but he can be proud of himself whether he wins or loses.

‘I don’t even know how I would feel if he won. We wish him nothing but the best of luck and we will be praying for him.”

Ellen revealed at the time that she was unaware of Andy’s decision to retire in 2019 before announcing it at an emotional press conference, but admitted he had had a “great career”.

She told the Daily Record: ‘I didn’t know Andrew was going to retire so this is news to me. It’s been a great career and I’ve been so proud of him, but his health comes first, right?

“As a grandma, when I watch him on TV, I just want to hug him when he starts crying. Andrew is very emotional, he is a bit soft-spoken.”

Murray then sat in his chair and rested his head in his towel after the interview, taking a moment to think of his late grandmother.

Murray received prolonged applause from the 9,000 attendees at the AO Arena in Manchester

After yesterday’s match, Murray apologized to his family for not being able to attend the ceremony for his grandmother as he was visibly overcome with emotion.

He dedicated his 6-7 6-4 6-4 victory over Riedi, which put GB 1-0 up as they looked to reach the final of the competition, to his late grandmother, saying: ‘Gran, this one is for you’.

No one, apparently not even team management, was aware of the external events affecting Murray until Broady drew attention to a 90-year-old lady in the crowd named Pat, who was attending her very first live tennis match.

Broady told Murray he was the grandmother’s “favorite player” and explained she only turned 90 last week.

She then asked if she could pass on a belated birthday gift, to which Murray replied: “I’ve got some sweaty T-shirts, I’m sure I can pick one out for her,” before bursting into tears.

Murray later explained after the match why he had decided to play: “I talked to my dad about it and he said she, you know, would want you to play.” He said make sure you win, so I did.”

He then suggested that he had kept the situation to himself, knowing there was a plan to get into the team to face Switzerland.

Murray said: ‘I hadn’t discussed that with Leon. We talked about this selection on Sunday.

‘My record against lefthanders is very good, and we expected one. We had only talked about Riedi an hour before the game, so it was a bit of a surprise when that changed.”

He fought past the Swiss Leonardo Riedi in a grueling manner on Friday and won 6-7 6-4 6-4

The Swiss squad almost teamed up with the talented but erratic Riedi teeing the ball up on service returns and nearly pulling off an upset before being broken at 2-2 in the decider.

Captain Leon Smith later confirmed that he was in the dark about the external factors involving Murray.

He said, ‘I didn’t actually know. It just shows his strength of character to do what he did today.

‘That must have been very difficult for him. “What he does next, it’s really incredible, and it was crucial, what he did for the team.”

Later, Dan Evans and Neal Skupski claimed a decisive doubles match to complete a 2-1 victory in the Davis Cup, putting hosts Great Britain top of the four-team group ahead of Sunday’s final match against France.