Andy Murray has shown little sign of slowing over the course of a fortnight that has brought 10 consecutive wins and two straight Challenger titles on grass but, after adding the Nottingham Open to the Surbiton Trophy crown he won last weekend, the former world No 1 was stopped in his tracks during his on-court interview.
Murray, who had just beaten Arthur Cazaux of France 6-4, 6-4 to move a step closer to securing a Wimbledon seeding, was just explaining how he hoped to get back home in time to see his children before bedtime on Father’s Day when a call from the crowd prompted him to look up to the stands where his wife, Kim, stood with the couple’s four children.
“Oh my God, ahhh, I didn’t know they were here,” said Murray, his voice suddenly softening as his thoughts turned from “getting pumped” for next week’s Queen’s Club Championships to more domestic concerns.
“I had no idea they were coming. They came last week, for the final at Surbiton, and they turned up and it started raining. So then they had to go home for the kids’ bedtime, so they missed they missed the end of the match.
“It’s great that they manged to come today.”
It was the first time that Sophia, Edie, Teddy and Lola had seen their father lift a trophy – although, as Murray admitted, they were probably more interested in hamburgers than silverware.
“It is really nice for them to come, I have loved having them come and watch today, but I realise for them, they are more interested in other things,” said Murray.
“But it was still nice because they haven’t been to Wimbledon, they came to Queen’s when I played doubles there [with Spain’s Feliciano López], but they haven’t been around it at all. They are more interested in when we are going to McDonald’s after the match.”
While another title on the ATP’s second-tier may seem a modest landmark in the career of a man twice crowned Wimbledon champion, Murray’s latest victory is not without significance. The 36-year-old will now rise to 38th in the world, his highest ranking since he had a metal hip installed four years ago. A quarter-final run at Queen’s Club, where the Scot is a five-time champion, would be enough to claim one of the 32 seeded positions at the All England Club, ensuring he could not meet a fellow seed before the third round.
Murray has had a number of tough draws at the majors since his return from surgery. At the 2021 US Open, he was beaten in five sets by third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round, while at this year’s Australian Open he was forced to battle for nearly five hours to get past Matteo Berrettini, the 13th seed. Last year at Wimbledon, Murray was drawn against former semi-finalist John Isner in the second round, losing in straight sets. Avoiding such matchups early on would enable Murray to play his way into form at a tournament where he still harbours ambitions of mounting a title challenge.
It remains to be seen whether Murray will be able to translate his form at Challenger level to the main tour, but he will be the only former Wimbledon champion in the men’s draw at the All England Club other than Novak Djokovic. If he is to arrive there as a seed, he will first need to get past Alex de Minaur, the world No 18, in the opening round at Queen’s. He has lost all three of his previous meetings with the Australian, but the pair have never faced each other on grass.