- Andy Murray will play mixed doubles at Wimbledon with Emma Raducanu
- Raducanu is a doubles novice but cannot resist the chance to play with Murray
- Murray withdrew from singles due to fitness but is keen to play in the doubles
Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu will team up in the mixed doubles this year for a sensational British alliance.
This means Murray’s final match at Wimbledon could well be not with his brother Jamie in the men’s, but with Britain’s other Grand Slam singles champion.
Raducanu, 21, has only played one professional doubles match in her career – but it seems she could not resist the opportunity to play with a legend of the game on his final appearance at the All England Club.
This will only be Murray’s second time participating in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon, after he formed a superstar alliance with Serena Williams in 2019, reaching the third round.
‘I think the biggest advice is just how he’s always taken care of his operations, how he manages his people,’ Raducanu said of Murray on Tuesday.
‘I haven’t really spoken to him so much. I think for me it’s just like watching him operate day to day, watching him be absolutely on it with everything.
‘Even in practice now, he’s so on it to the minute. I think me, when I was a bit younger maybe, showing up 15 minutes before practice to do a few arm curls, swing my hand around and warm up, he’s there for an hour and a half doing treatment. He just sets really good examples.’
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Murray was ‘proud’ but also ‘extremely disappointed’ that his Wimbledon singles career came to a crashing halt as he had to withdraw before his first round match against Tomas Machac on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old pulled out at 10.15am on Tuesday morning and then spoke to reporters after an afternoon practice with his brother Jamie, with whom he will play the men’s doubles.
‘I decided this morning,’ he said. ‘I slept on it. I told my team and my family I didn’t think I was going to play based on how I felt yesterday.
‘I practiced pretty well. I was playing pretty good but I just wasn’t happy with how my leg was feeling.
‘I wanted to sleep on it and make sure I was happy with the decision and also to give myself a chance when I woke up this morning to see if it felt much better.
‘I ran around a bit at home this morning when I got up. It just wasn’t where I wanted it to be unfortunately.
‘Probably a few days too soon but I am proud, I worked extremely hard to at least give myself a chance to play. Yeah, it was the right decision.’
Murray had surgery on Saturday, June 22 to remove a cyst from his spine.
‘It is obviously extremely disappointing I wasn’t able to play but where I am at, 10 days after the operation, in comparison of where I was told I would be and my expectations were, I think it is incredible really.
‘I practiced with my brother today and I look forward to playing in the doubles on Thursday.’
Going into more detail on his decision to withdraw from the singles, he added: ‘It wasn’t a clearcut decision. I thought long and hard about it. I practiced a few sets of singles and did well in those practices.
‘I certainly wasn’t moving as I would like but it was still able to be really competitive and it was just whether or not I was comfortable going out there and not feeling like I was able to give my 100 per cent.
‘Doubles is a slightly different game in terms of the physicality of it and yeah I am looking forward to that.
‘Getting the opportunity to play with Jamie here will be special – we’ve never done that before. Hopefully we can have a good run.’
Raducanu is in second round singles action when she plays Elise Mertens on Court No 1.
She hasn’t spent that much time around Murray what with her own busy schedule but the pair spent a bit of time together on the practice courts at Indian Wells.