Andy Murray wept on court after he overcame Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi in the Davis Cup as he revealed he had missed his grandmother’s funeral in order to play.
The 36 year-old Scot broke down during his on-court interview as he told the crowd of nearly 10,000 at the Manchester Arena that ‘today is a tough day for me as it’s my gran’s funeral today’.
The three-time grand slam champion choked back tears while speaking to Naomi Broady before he was met with a huge show of support from the crowd who cheered and applauded the veteran tennis star.
After recomposing himself, Murray apologised to his family for being unable to attend the ceremony for his grandmother Ellen, from the side of his father Willie, 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 attempted make the finals of the competition, to his late grandmother, saying ‘Gran, this one’s for you’.
Andy Murray broke down in tears following his win for Great Britain at the Davis Cup after revealing that he had missed his grandmother’s funeral to play in the match
Murray struggled to get his words out and apologised to his family for not being at the funeral
Andy and Jamie Murray pictured with their grandmother Ellen in 2012
Nobody, seemingly not even team management, had been aware of the outside events affecting Murray until Broady drew attention to a 90-year-old lady in the crowd, named Pat, who was attending her first ever live tennis match.
Broady told Murray that he was the grandmother’s ‘favourite player’ and explained that she only turned 90 last week.
She then asked if she could pass on a late birthday present, to which Murray replied: ‘I’ve got a few sweaty T-shirts, I’m sure I can sort one out for her,’ before breaking down in tears.
Murray later explained after the match why he had decided to play: ‘I spoke to my dad about it and he said that, you know, she would want you to play. He said make sure you win, so I did.’
He then suggested he had kept the situation to himself, knowing that there was a plan for him to come into the team to face Switzerland.
Murray said: ‘I hadn’t discussed that with Leon. In terms of this selection we spoke about it on Sunday.
‘My record against lefthanders is very good, and we were expecting one of them. We hadn’t spoken about Riedi until an hour before the match – it was a bit of a surprise when that changed.’
The Swiss selection nearly worked with the talented but erratic Riedi teeing off on service returns and coming close to an upset prior to being broken at 2-2 in the decider.
Murray then sat down in his chair and sunk his head into his towel after the interview as he took a moment to think of his late grandmother
Murray drew prolonged applause from the 9,000 in attendance at Manchester’s AO Arena
He battled past Switzerland’s Leonardo Riedi in gruelling fashion on Friday, winning 6-7 6-4 6-4
Captain Leon Smith later confirmed that he was in the dark about the outside factors involving Murray.
He said: ‘I didn’t know actually. It just shows his strength of character to do what he did today.
‘That will have been very difficult for him. What he then goes out and does – it’s really quite incredible, and it was vitally important as well, what he’s done for the team.’
Later Dan Evans and Neal Skupski claimed a deciding doubles match to seal a 2-1 win in the Davis Cup, putting the hosts Great Britain top of the four-team group, ahead of Sunday’s final match against France.
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