Andy Murray reveals late-night message that led to Emma Raducanu mixed doubles pairing at Wimbledon
Andy Murray left it late to ask Emma Raducanu about playing in mixed doubles
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Andy Murray has revealed he only brought up the possibility of playing mixed doubles to Emma Raducanu's coach late on Tuesday evening.
The three-time Grand Slam champion has been fighting to get back to a level of fitness where he feels able to compete at Wimbledon.
Murray didn't feel confident enough to play in the singles draw as he pulled out hours before his scheduled match with Tomas Machac.
However, he confirmed his commitment to play in the men's doubles with brother Jamie and the two siblings will take to the court on Thursday evening.
Andy Murray left it late to ask Emma Raducanu about playing in mixed doubles
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And a shock announcement came on Wednesday morning with Murray and Raducanu named as late entrants into the mixed doubles draw.
The 37-year-old admitted that there was no initial plans between the pair to play together at Wimbledon.
He simply tried his luck on Tuesday night with a late-night message to Raducanu's coach.
“We’d spoken about it a few years ago during the Covid year, but obviously both of us ended up doing quite well in singles so it didn’t happen,” he said.
“And then yesterday I was chatting to my team, they were discussing mixed and then last night I messaged her coach and just said, ‘Look, do you think this is something that maybe she’d be up for doing?’
"He said it was worth asking. I asked her and she said yeah she’d be up for it.
“It should be fun. I have played mixed doubles a few times when I was young and then the last time was with Serena.
"I really enjoyed it, it’s something we rarely get to do.
Andy Murray is also playing in the men's doubles
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“And to get a chance to do it with Emma, well it’s my last chance to do it, so it should be good.”
Murray went on to admit that he didn't have to wait long for a reply from the 21-year-old.
“I chatted a bit with my team about it and they said, ‘What exactly are you trying to get out of it?’" Murray said.
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Emma Raducanu has never played in mixed doubles
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“Firstly we want to be competitive in the matches, and then playing with another Brit was going to be something that would be nice, and she’s obviously one of the top British players and she would have been top of the list.”
He added: “Thankfully I got quite a quick reply.
“It was quite late yesterday evening when I sent the message, it would have been after nine, so I was a bit worried she might be in bed, but I got a quick reply. She said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it’.”