Former World No 1 Andy Murray broke down during the on-court interview after scoring his first win on grass in three years.
Murray scored a confident 6-3, 6-2 victory over Benoit Paire to move into the second round at the Queen’s Club on Tuesday.
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“I love it. I love playing tennis,” Murray said, with tears of emotion welling in his eyes.
“Obviously competing is why you put in all the hard work. In the last few years I didn’t get to do that as much as I would have liked, so it’s great that I’m out here and able to compete again.”
Not a single dry eye in the place 😢
Beautifully said, @andy_murray 👏#cinchChampionships pic.twitter.com/eg8JF4Y8K9
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 15, 2021
The five-time former champion took a wild card into the ATP 500 event in London, his first tour-level singles event since March.
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But it was like he had never been away, needing just 64 minutes to seal the victory in his first grass-court match since 2018 Eastbourne.
“The body is old, but I did quite well today in terms of my movement and stuff,” Murray said.
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“It’s my first match on grass in three years and I’ve only played two or three practice sets in the buildup to this.
“I didn’t know exactly how I was going to play or how I was going to feel, but I think for a first match it was good.”
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Murray will next face top seed Matteo Berrettini, after the Italian powered past countryman Stefano Travaglia 7-6(5), 7-6(4) earlier in the day.
