“Maybe Billie Jean King?” Andy Murray makes a huge claim on Serena Williams’ legacy when speaking about her ‘sad’ retirement
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Andy Murray and Serena Williams
Former World No.1 Andy Murray went down fighting in the second round of the 2022 Cincinnati Masters to fellow Brit Cameron Norrie in three sets 6-3,3-6,4-6. Norrie was always the favorite to win the match but Murray showed glimmers of hope after he clinched the opening sets. But given the state of affairs and his fitness, Murray couldn’t hold on for much longer and eventually lost the match.
The buzzing news in the tennis world is that of Serena Williams’ retirement after the US Open. The 23-time grand slam champion announced that the US Open will be her last professional tournament and ever since then, talks about her retirement have been in place almost every day. Serena’s good friend, Andy Murray too spoke about the subject in Cincinnati.
Speaking to the media, Murray revealed his sadness but said that since she didn’t play for so long in the last few years, it was obvious. Despite everything, Murray said he was sad because of the legacy she has had.
“Yeah, it’s obviously sad, but then, you know, it happens to all players at some stage,” he said. “You know, she’s (Serena Williams) not played that much the last few years. So it’s been coming. But when you hear the news, it’s always, yeah, sad when one of the great players — because I think, as well, like they don’t seem normal, those players, so you kind of expect them to be able to go on forever.”
Murray then urged everyone to celebrate her career in the next 2-3 weeks instead of being sad because the things she has done for the sport have been immense.
“So when they stop, it’s obviously a sad day. Hopefully the next, you know, 10 days to two, three weeks, whatever it is, you know that her career is really well-celebrated and you don’t want it to necessarily be a sad moment like it’s probably a time to celebrate her career and everything that she’s done for the sport, because it’s been immense,” Murray said.
‘Let’s hope everyone sort of gets behind her and celebrates her career the next few weeks’: Andy Murray on Serena Williams
The 3-time grand slam champion then talked about the impact Serena has had on the sport. He said that he doesn’t know how many other players have had the sort of impact on the game like Serena and then revealed maybe only Billie Jean King. He again urged everyone to celebrate her career in the next few weeks.
“I don’t know how many other players have had that sort of impact maybe on the game,” he added. “Maybe Billie Jean King arguably. But, yeah, she’s been great for tennis, and like I said, it will be sad. But, yeah, let’s hope everyone sort of gets behind her and celebrates her career the next few weeks.”
Serena Williams lost to Emma Raducanu in the opening round in Cincinnati and will now gear up to play her last tournament, i.e. the US Open.
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)