“It is So Brilliant for Our Sport”: Andy Murray on Serena Williams vs Roger Federer

Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray is presently playing at the Battle of the Brits Team Tennis in London. He played some mixed doubles tennis with compatriot Jodie Burrage and the duo narrowly defeated Joe Salisbury and Emma Raducanu.

Post his victory, Murray talked about the joy of playing mixed doubles. He reflected upon the Hopman Cup, a mixed doubles tournament that used to take place in Perth, Australia every year. But unfortunately, 2019 was the tournament’s culmination edition and the ATP Cup replaced the event.

“I think sports miss a bit of a trick with this stuff. The Hopman Cup, for example, was a brilliant event in my opinion. The players enjoyed it. It sometimes had a little bit of an exhibition feel in some of the matches but that would be my only criticism,” Andy Murray said, as quoted by Metro.

Andy Murray reinforces mixed doubles play

Last year, Roger Federer and Serena Williams played against each other in Perth and represented their nations. The tickets for their match were sold out and about 15,000 fans witnessed the legendary players in action on the same court. That day, every moment on the court was priceless.

During that match, Serena was partnering with her compatriot Frances Tiafoe, and Roger was in tandem with Belinda Bencic.

“I played there a bunch of times and I loved it. It was a great event. Putting match-ups in tennis like Serena Williams and Roger Federer on the same court, it is so brilliant for our sport. We are able to do that in tennis and I think we should embrace it a little bit more, not necessarily every single week but at times it would be great,” Murray added.

At a personal level, Murry entirely enjoyed the mixed doubles show put up by Serena and Roger. Andy further spoke about watching Rafael Nadal’s play with and against another top-notch female player.

“I would like to see Rafa on the court with some of the top female players. When I watched Roger and Serena playing, it was great. They were into it and I’m sure they enjoyed it as well,” he said.

On the ATP Tour, Murray hasn’t played any matches in 2020 but is currently considering flying to New York for the US Open.

Source – Metro