Andy Murray broke down in tears following his victory for Great Britain in the Davis Cup after revealing he had missed his grandmother’s funeral to play in the match.
The two-time Wimbledon champion let his emotions run wild after a grueling 6-7 6-4 6-4 win over Swiss Leonardo Riedi to put GB 1-0 up with two to play in the qualifying group for November’s final .
The subject had come up after courtside interviewer Naomi Broady drew attention to the presence of a 90-year-old lady in the crowd watching her very first live tennis match.
Murray struggled to muster a response as he told the crowd of more than 9,000 people that he missed the funeral of his paternal grandmother – Ellen, mother of his father Willie – to fulfill his commitment to the team.
He apologized for not being there and dedicated his victory to her, which received prolonged applause from the AO Arena in Manchester.
Sir Andy Murray broke down in tears after battling past Leandro Riedi in Britain’s Davis Cup tie against Switzerland, revealing he missed his grandmother’s funeral to play in the match
He said: ‘Today is a hard day for me. Today is my grandmother’s funeral. I’m sorry to my family that I can’t be there. Grandma, that’s for you.’
His match had been a tough one as he tried to defuse the unpredictable might of world number 152 Riedi, who hit 52 winners mixed with 67 unforced errors.
Murray broke for 3-2 in the decider and just managed to hold off his opponent to take victory in three hours and ten minutes.
‘It was ridiculous how he came back. The match could have easily gone the other way, but I kept fighting,” he said.
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