Andy Murray is only at the start at the Swiss Indoors for the second time. His first guest performance was a memorable one.
Andy Murray is a big name in world tennis. The Scot has won over four dozen tournaments and raked in more than $60 million in prize money. He was world No. 1. And he’s an individual Olympic gold medalist and part of the Big Four.
While his constant rivals Roger Federer (19 participations), Rafael Nadal (4) and Novak Djokovic (3) have taken part in the Swiss Indoors several times over the years, Murray has only played once in Basel. However, its premiere in 2010 was a tough one – and the 35-year-old has vivid memories of it.
It was a weird feeling seeing him on the other side of the net. I only knew him from TV.
In terms of sport, the then 23-year-old Murray was doing pretty well. As world number 70, he beat two better-ranked players before being narrowly defeated by Chilean Fernando Gonzales (ATP 17) in the quarter-finals.
Twelve years later, Murray can still remember his starting game better than the Gonzales match. His opponent was the Brit Tim Henman. “I looked up to him as a teenager. It was a weird feeling seeing him on the other side of the net. I only knew him from television, »Murray looks back on the premiere duel, which he won in three tight sentences.
Congratulations from «007»
After the game, Murray had a voice message on his cell phone. No “08/15” voice message, but a “007” voice message. None other than James Bond Sean Connery – like Murray a Scot – congratulated on the win. “It was… unexpected,” Murray laughs today.
But that’s not all of the memorabilia. “That week my wife and I officially became a couple,” Murray reveals. He has been married to Kim Sears for seven years now.
An anniversary beckons
It is doubtful whether his comeback week in Basel will be quite as memorable. In the 1st round, Murray (ATP 49) does not meet a player of the caliber of a henman, but the Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin (ATP 93). Sebastian Korda (USA), Murray’s original starting opponent, withdrew from the tournament at short notice.
He will try to win the tournament, says Murray, who fought his way back into the top 50 (with a hip replacement) after four difficult years and a period of retirement. And a triumph in Basel would always be memorable: it would be Murray’s 50th tournament success.
