Andy Murray 'stunned' by Serena Williams announcement ahead of US Open – Express

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Andy Murray has shared his thoughts on Serena Williams’ upcoming retirement after the 23-time Grand Slam champion revealed that the “countdown” to the end of her career was on. The Brit admitted the announcement came as a surprise despite being “inevitable”, with the US Open expected to be her final tournament.
Williams recently announced that she would soon be “evolving away” from tennis in a Vogue interview, published the day after she recorded her first singles match win in 430 days at the National Bank Open. The 40-year-old did not set a date for her retirement but is playing in Cincinnati this week before the US Open, with many expecting that she will hang up her racket following her home Grand Slam tournament.
The announcement sent shockwaves through the tennis world, and Murray has become the latest player to speak out on Williams’ impending retirement. “It’s a shame for the sport one of its greatest champions stops playing,” the world No 47 said.
“But it is inevitable that it’s going to happen at some stage to all of them.” The Brit also admitted that the younger Williams sister didn’t “seem human” given all she had achieved, making her retirement even more difficult to believe.
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He added: “It just always feels like a bit of a shock always when you see it because these are people, and Serena’s certainly one of them, that they don’t seem human sometimes and you think god they can just go on and on.”
Williams had won the women’s singles title at two of the three Grand Slam events won by Murray in the men’s draw – the 2012 US Open and Wimbledon in 2016 – and the pair teamed up for mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 2019. The 35-year-old has also fiercely defended the Williams sisters in the past, ensuring their achievements weren’t dismissed.
When the former world No 1 lost to Sam Querrey in the 2017 Wimbledon quarter-final, he was asked about his opponent becoming “the first American player to reach a Major semi-final since 2009” but quickly interrupted to correct the reporter, saying: “Male player,” with Williams having won a Grand Slam title earlier that year in Australia.
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“I don’t think there is a female athlete who isn’t supportive of Murray,” the 23-time Major champion later said when she was informed of Murray’s comment. And the current world No 47 did something similar a year earlier at the Rio Olympics when he successfully defended his gold medal and was the first person to win gold twice in singles.

“Well, [first] to defend the singles title,” he quipped, fresh off the back of his victory. “I think Venus and Serena have won about four each, but hadn’t defended a singles title before.”

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