Andy Murray said it would be “great” to play mixed doubles with Emma Raducanu after Britain’s only two active Grand Slam champions agreed to play together late at night at Wimbledon.
The dream pairing for British fans was announced on Wednesday morning and after his training session for the men’s doubles with his brother Jamie, Murray said: ‘We had talked about it a few years ago during the Covid year but we were both doing really well in the singles and it still didn’t happen.
‘Yesterday I had a conversation with my team and we were talking about mixed and last night I messaged her coach and asked if he thought she might want to do it. He said it was worth asking, so I did.
‘Luckily I got a reply pretty quickly! It was pretty late last night when I sent the message, it would have been after 9pm, so I was a little worried that she might have been in bed.
‘But I got a quick response. She said, “Yes, let’s do it.”
Andy Murray (left) and Emma Raducanu (right) play together in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon
Murray (left) joked that he was afraid Raducanu (right) would miss his text because of the time of night
“It must be fun. I played mixed doubles a few times when I was young and the last time was with Serena.
‘I really enjoyed it, it’s something we rarely do. And to be able to do it with Emma… well, it’s my last chance, so it has to be good.’
With the Murray brothers likely to play their first round on Thursday and the mixed round starting on Friday or Saturday, it is quite possible that the two-time singles champion will play his final match at Wimbledon against Raducanu.
Asked if any other names were considered after he decided to play mixed, Murray replied: ‘I’ve had a quick chat with my team about it and they were like, what exactly are you looking to get out of it?
‘First of all we want to be competitive in the matches. And then also playing with another Brit, that would be nice.
‘She’s clearly one of the best British players and she would have been top of the list, yes.’
Murray is preparing to play doubles with his brother Jamie, with the pair in action on Thursday
Murray is a very gifted doubles player, but Raducanu has played only one professional match in her career: at the 2022 Washington Open with Danish player Clara Tauson.
But Murray was not worried about his new partner’s abilities: ‘She’s obviously incredibly competitive and enjoys playing in big stadiums with big crowds, so I expect she’ll cope really well with that.
‘Many of the skills from singles can be used well in doubles.
“She’s a brilliant returner and a great ball-striker, so I imagine she’ll be good with returning guys. And when she switches at the back of the pitch, she’ll be really good. So I imagine she’ll do absolutely fine, yeah.”
